The Last of Us Part 2 is getting a remaster and fans are already triggered with PTSD and horror as Naughty Dog revealed the names of the Lost Levels present in the PS5 upgrade.
The Lost Levels were initially cut when the original game was released. These levels are now included as bonus content for The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered and are accompanied by dev commentary. The names revealed for each Lost Level are “Jackson Dance”, “Boar Hunt”, and “Sewers”.
Although not much has been further divulged for the Lost Levels, the reveal of the “Sewers” has already placed fans on pins and needles. Redditors have started to steel themselves to dealing with “wall stalkers” and dreading possibly fighting another rat king or “cordyceps Pennywise”. This anxiety is understandable, especially when the name of the level implies that players will need to fight hordes of fungus-infected beings in the dark below ground.
The other two levels – “Boar Hunt” and “Jackson Dance” – seem to be mellower. Reddit users have figured out that the former will involve Ellie hunting a boar in the general store and the latter to be a walkthrough around Jackson before dancing with Dina.
Aside from the Lost Levels, The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered will also include guitar freeplay, improved visual fidelity, DualSense integration, Speedrun Mode with leaderboards, and more. Additionally, the highlight of the upgrade seems to be a new roguelike survival mode called No Return where players fight hordes of enemies while juggling “new, unexpected factors”.
Gamers who own the original PS4 version will get to upgrade their game for US$10 (~S$14). The price point for the upgrade seems extremely justifiable, giving existing fans the opportunity to experience new content at reasonable prices. Although the recent release of The Last of Us Part 1, rebuilt for current generation consoles, was generally well received with improved enemy AI and current-gen visuals, some fans were skeptical of justifying the need to pay the full price for a game to experience the same old story.
Regardless, it feels good to find a legitimate reason to return to Seattle in The Last of Us Part 2. The remaster will be available on 19 January 2024.