Highlights

  • The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered justifies its existence by offering updated visuals, DualSense integration, and two new game modes.
  • The inclusion of "Lost Levels" in the remastered version gives fans a deep look at Naughty Dog's development process and offers insights into the game's story.
  • The Lost Levels feature could become a new staple for Naughty Dog in future game collections, providing a fun novelty for fans to explore unfinished content.

Video game remasters have become a bit of a controversial topic in recent years. While video game remakes often justify their existence by completely remaking a beloved classic from the ground up, adding a ton of new gameplay and story content along the way, remasters tend to only update a game's overall visuals, and occasionally get it running at a more consistent framerate. In an age where many remakes go above and beyond, it's hard for a remaster to look worthwhile by comparison, especially when it's asking for $60. But thankfully, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered more than justifies its own existence.

Costing just $10 if fans already own the PS4 game, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered not only updates the game's visuals and brings DualSense integration to the table, but it also adds two pretty sizable new game modes. While the "No Return" roguelike game mode will probably be the one that'll draw most fans in, it's the "Lost Levels" that'll really intrigue long-time Last of Us fans, offering a deep look at Naughty Dog's development process by letting fans play through three unfinished levels, all while developer commentary plays over the top. And if The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered's Lost Levels end up being as interesting as they seem, they could become a new staple for Naughty Dog moving forward.

Not much has been officially revealed about The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered 's Lost Levels just yet, so a lot of the sentiments mentioned in this article are based on wishful thinking more so than any grounded evidence.

the-last-of-us-2-remastered-ellie-key-art
Related
The Last of Us 2 Remastered May Unintentionally Make One Feature Even Better

Though it is seeking to improve other aspects of the game, by doing so Naughty Dog is also making a great The Last of Us 2 feature even better.

The Last of Us Part 2's Lost Levels Should Become a New Naughty Dog Staple

Naughty Dog Presumably Already Has a Rich History of Lost Levels

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered's Lost Levels are set to let players explore three unfinished levels that never wound up in the finished game. As players make their way through the level, some developer commentary will play, presumably explaining a bit more about the level and why it was eventually cut from the game. While this might not appeal to many players, die-hard Last of Us fans are incredibly excited to see what these cut levels could have been, and discover more about their role in the game's overarching story. These Lost Levels will probably act as a great bit of fan-service, making them a perfect addition for a remaster, and one that Naughty Dog should use for any future collections it plans on releasing.

Naughty Dog has been making games since 1985, and over the last few decades it's presumably made its fair share of levels that have ended up on the cutting room floor. Whether it's the original Crash Bandicoot series, the Jak and Daxter series, or Uncharted, Naughty Dog has worked on a lot of games in its time, and for each of those beloved franchises there are probably a handful of missions that never ended up in the final product for one reason or another, and after all these years, it would be great to see them return in some form.

Naughty Dog's Lost Levels Should Only Be the Beginning

Video game remasters aren't exactly the hot ticket items they once were, but with some extra effort, they could easily be worth the price of admission. That extra effort could come in the form of lost levels, directly inspired by those in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. Getting an insight into a beloved game's development process would be fascinating for long-time fans of the series, and while some special editions have included developer commentaries in the past, it's pretty rare to see that nowadays.

It's even rarer to get to play through a game's lost levels. Even if The Last of Us Part 2's Lost Levels end up being pretty barebones and extremely unfinished, it'll still be a fun novelty to explore each one freely, being able to see firsthand what the developers are talking about on the commentary. If The Last of Us Part 2's Lost Levels end up being as intriguing as they sound, then it would be great to see them be used as the basis for other legacy collections or remasters in the future.