The Last of Us Part II: Remastered

They said The Last of Us Part II butchered its legacy. Said the story was a betrayal. That kind of talk, it got me curious. For years I kept my distance, but the whispers never stopped. Eventually, I caved. Needed to experience it for myself.

And yeah… I understood the hate. The direction, the shift, it hits you like a brick. But does it deserve the hate? No. Not when you’ve lived through loss like I have. Not when revenge is the only thing keeping you from crumbling.

Sure, I hated being forced to walk in the shoes of the second character. It felt like being dragged through broken glass. But time... time makes strangers familiar. I saw the cracks in her armor, the reasons behind her fists. And slowly, she grew on me.

At first, I wanted to fight the story. But I let it play out. Trusted the devils at Naughty Dog to lead me somewhere worth the pain. What they handed over wasn’t comforting, it was jagged. Raw. Human. A story that doesn’t ask to be loved… just understood.

It’s not a feel-good sequel. It’s a spiral. A slow descent into grief, rage, and the silence that follows. But if the first game left a scar, this one rips it wide open. You don’t play this to feel good, you play it to feel something.

This game hurts, just like the first one. And if you loved the first, you owe it to yourself to play this too. It’s a mirror, cracked and dirty, but honest. A masterpiece that doesn’t beg for praise. It bleeds for it.

I'd tie the story to a line from the song Daylight: You and I drink the poison from the same vine

what the story is about,
two broken people shaped by the same pain, walking different paths but poisoned by the same cycle of revenge .. The Story wasn't made to please the gamers .. it was made to play on the psychological side of human nature, to make you think and understand each character's perspective .. No character is 100% right nor are they 100% wrong either .. you can't hate both characters, one her father died at the hands of a selfish criminal while trying to find a cure to save the world * abs prespective * .. while the other lost the person who was like a father to her and protected her along the way ,her source of happiness, got killed trying to save her from dying so that a cure could be made at her expense, also his death felt rushed, a legendary character like him deserved a much more powerful and meaningful ending cuz he's the heart of the game.

Vengeance won't heal nor change anything, it might break whats left of you and you might get caught in a loop of violence, when it comes to revenge no one wins at the end.

Both characters are victims of revenge, paying a price that wasn't theirs from the beginning

I'll never get tired of re-playing this game over and over again, the visuals and gameplay are perfect i had a really great time playing it and spent too many hours it was worth it.

Cause I've lost love ones in my life,
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me.
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel.

I think this is the perfect way to describe something special that can melt your heart and maketh feel alive.
This game feels you alive no matter how much hate it deserves and that's why it's a masterpiece.
I have beaten the first game 4 times and this is the second time of part 2.
Never have I ever replayed any game other than rdr2 and you know what I ll play it again.

I think I'm becoming Simon cowell.

Excellent. Honestly, I'm not a critic who wants to talk about this masterpiece, but I'll write a few lines about my opinion.
This version was much better than the first version and it really improved in every way.
The music was great and the music really conveyed good excitement and energy to the player. Of course, it can also stimulate the player's emotions well in emotional scenes. But the guitar playing part was not interesting to me at all and I only got involved in it once during the game and it was completely boring and unpleasant for me.
The gameplay was really good and gave the player a sense of realism. I really enjoyed killing and tearing enemies to pieces and you had many options for killing enemies that you could enjoy enough. Of course, you could also have interesting strategies to deal with enemies, which was interesting. The only problem I can find with the gameplay was that the game was in slow motion and the characters moved as if they were carrying a large cow in their backpacks, which was really annoying.
In terms of the story, which was the strongest part of the game, there is nothing left to say and it was truly unique. The direction of the story parts and the arrangement of the different parts of the story together and the attractive timeline were really enjoyable. I also found the changes in the game environment during the progress of the story, which were in accordance with the character's personality changes, very interesting. The fact that it puts you in both the roles of the antagonist and the protagonist was really beautiful and you lived in the place of both main characters and it was you who chose which one was good and which was evil, and in the end the author's opinion was not imposed on you.
In terms of sound and graphics, it was also absolutely perfect, but it could have been a little more optimized.
Overall, it was a very good experience and I will definitely play this game again to pay more attention to its details.

Started at :
2025-04-08
1404-01-19
Finished at:
2025-04-29
1404-02-09
Finished in 28:02:20

Music: 10
GamePlay: 10
Story: 10
Visual Effects: 10
Audio Effects: 10
Fun: 10
Innovation: 10

Played on: Playstation 5
Version: Playstation 5
Edition: Digital

I have found an immense amount of love for Part II (I didn't like it at first). Very ambitious, daring, & is a masterwork in storytelling. The remaster is nothing short of this & then some.

The lost levels are a great bonus & very intriguing. I really think that the "Jackson Party" should have stayed in. The "No Return" mode is extremely challenging but also rewarding making it feel worth your time to play. The new skins (I'm not much of a skins guy) are pretty neat & add a little more bang for your buck.

All in all, this is a great add on to an already masterwork of a title. A $10 upgrade is fair for what you get (to those who already own it) & for those who don't, $49.99 is a great price for what awaits. It is arguably a game that DIDN'T need a remaster as it was already a fantastic looking game, but hey, I always welcome a tune up nonetheless.

Final verdict: Buy it

1st Playthrough (PS4/5, All collectibles, somehow):
Yes, this game is longer than the original, but it's not nearly as long as my playtime would make you think. I spent an approximate of *10 hours* in photo mode and otherwise awestruck at this game's visuals and world design (about 350 photos). That's not even to touch on the amazing stealth gameplay that feels so seamlessly added to the original formula that it makes going back to Part 1 a little confusing. With a lot of new player mechanics, an awesome open-zone section of the game, and a few new enemy types that might make you need a change of pants, the gameplay of TLOU2 is a marked step up from the original. And of course I can't skip the story. It's been two years and I still can't forget it. There's so many complexities to all of the key characters that make it endlessly fascinating, enjoyable, and heartbreaking to think about. All of this is boosted not only by the fantastic soundtrack but some absolutely incredible covers that can and will move me to tears VERY easily. "Future Days" feels like a bullet through my heart. I love this game with every fiber of my being and will never forget my experience with it.

In terms of the remaster, it's a fairly small update that adds some QOL from the Part 1 remake, MUCH faster load times and some slightly higher-res things that only someone who had been living in photo mode like me would notice. Oh and some photo mode updates!
If you *really* don't want to upgrade, you'll be fine. The PS4 version is already high-res and runs at 60fps on PS5. The only things you'll be missing are the extra gamemode and the fast load times.

No Return (Roguelike Mode) Thoughts:
I thought this would be a sort of throwaway mode, but No Return is fun as hell and realizes the more arcade-y elements of TLOU gameplay really well. I only wish this had multiplayer. This is so fun!!

2nd Playthrough (PS5, Platinum):
Played on New Game+ to get the platinum. I have to complain that the enemies of Hard+ are a bit TOO smart and it's made some sections miserable. I bumped specifically enemy AI down to Moderate+ finally at the first hospital section. Photo mode addiction as strong as ever!

3rd Playthrough (PC):
A really solid PC port, and FrameGen makes it run like a dream. Over 200fps on a game that looks this good is WILD. Hair has this bad dithering effect you can't disable, so ditch DLSS (you don't need it thanks to FrameGen) and enable TAA to smooth out the issue. Running on 1080p Max settings on a 4070.