Platform: PlayStation 5
Genre: Action-Adventure Post-Apocalypse 

2019’s The Last Of Us Part 2 is an action-adventure game that wore out its welcome, at least to me. The original title could have been 10 hours shorter to get its point of revenge and the cycle of killing across, its narrative just had some moments of shock value for the sake of that, and it does the whole dual protagonist storyline in a terribly-paced way. Still, it’s well-acted, has high production value, and both sides have their share of relatable characters for you to root for/despise. This isn’t a game where people make up and become friends at the end of the day -the title and cover art being a dead giveaway to its themes and mood. I’m still split on the story even after a few replays, but I can attest to the game’s combat and survival horror-esque shooter gameplay being more than adequate.

The PlayStation 5 remastering of The Last of Us Part 2 this year is the same concept as PlayStation 4’s The Last of Us Remastered back in 2014: a shiny new coat of paint and some bonus gameplay material to make you replay the title in a roguelike fashion. I’ll say this: these additions are welcome and are almost worth recommending if the price wasn’t so high from the get-go. But I’ll get to that later.

Strumming Along

The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered is the exact same game as 2019’s The Last Of Us Part 2, but now running on better hardware. It’s the 60fps (or 30fps 4K fidelity mode) version of Naughty Dog’s take on a revenge tale and dealing with the cycle of violence, blah blah blah. I’m happy that Naughty Dog got a bunch of awards for its masterclass in-game storytelling, and the fact that some fans do enjoy the twists and revelations thrown upon our heroines Ellie and Abby. But personally, it doesn’t jive with me and I wished it had better pacing and narrative structure. I am fine with how it started and how it ended, but everything in-between and getting there just felt like the team was just using tropes and shock moments we’re all too familiar with in other thriller, drama, and horror films over the past 10 years or so.

Still, if you love the game’s story, more power to you. The PS5 enhancements do make the depressing and worn-out tale a lot bearable due to the game’s art direction and the 60fps that makes it feel smoother to play. Keep in mind that this game turned my PS4 into a noisy jet turbine when it was running the whole game, so to have it play out smoothly on better hardware is refreshing.

While I don’t expect the remaster to revamp the whole story, the work in making the game run in 60fps and having the combat feel smoother does make my replays a lot more worthwhile. The Last Of Us Part 2 is a third-person action title with shooting, stealth, crafting on the fly, and resource management as you’re supposed to play the game in a stealthy but also gunblazing kind of way. 50-50. The game will test your endurance and patience especially in higher difficulties,

In addition to the 20-hour story campaign, you also get a No Return roguelike mode, where you pick any of the characters in The Last of Us Part 2 and go through a series of arena combat stages based on the story mode’s existing stages and layout. Kill everything in sight, or survive until the time hits zero, and you win the encounter and thus progress. Along the way, you unlock temporary modifiers, weapons, and power-ups, not to mention powerful weapons and passive skills like healing-on-melee-hit. Even if you die during your run, and you will, you can at least unlock future mods and permanent buffs to use for future runs.

And I have to say, it is really fun and is worth killing 30 minutes for, if only because you can unlock funky outfits for Ellie and Abbie, as well as new playable characters in the mode like Joel and discount Glenn Jessie, each with their own starting skills and perks to spice playstyles up. The Last of Us Part 2’s game engine and action-adventure trappings make for replayability, and making a simple roguelike to go along with a remaster is a great idea.

Worth It For The Frills?

The additional bonuses like playing the game’s lost levels, turning on developer commentary for the cutscenes (after you’re done with the game), and Guitar Free Play mode using Ellie, Joel, and game composer Gustavo Santaolalla will make the series’ fans and hardcore players feel like they’re getting their money’s worth with the RM200 price tag. I wished it wasn’t this expensive, but that’s just the way the triple-A gaming space works these days.

If you’ve played The Last Of Us Part 2 before and really, REALLY want to play the game in 60fps and don’t mind killing a few hours on a roguelike action title using the game’s brand of crafting and survival combat, I do suggest waiting for a price drop or PlayStation Plus version of this title. If you’re either impatient OR it’s your first time diving into this? By all means jump into the depressing world ruled by cordyceps-plagued zombie people and cruel military factions. The story’s divisive and isn’t as well-plotted out like the first one, but it’s got some good shooting and survival horror coatings to tide you over its other flaws.

Final Score: 70/100