The Last of Us has been a heart-wrenching part of the gaming world since 2013, bringing difficult choices to life with strong characters and a captivating storyline. The developers have come forward with a personal look into the remaster and what they feel is going to make it an incredibly special experience for players.
Matthew Gallant, the game director, starts the video off by stating that the remake transcends a traditional remaster, which often just means that better graphics have been imposed over the original game. Instead, they've taken The Last of Us and remodeled it from the ground up, building new models for each character, creating all the artwork from scratch, and explaining that there are parts of the world that are going to be much more dynamic rather than generic. The example provided in the video shows some of the more standard looking offices that have been given new life, being turned into new places to explore and admire.
Eric Baldwin, lead cinematic animator, stated that The Last of Us Part 1 won't be compared to the original itself, but rather in memory of the time players spent getting to know the characters and their world. Side-by-side comparisons of the two show off an incredibly heightened sense of emotion from Joel, Ellie, and the rest of the crew they meet up with later in the game. With the new tools that the developers are using for these improvements, they are able to showcase more of the character's personalities and their fight to survive with their facial features, and how they interact with the world around them. This also means that The Last of Us Part 1 is going to be much more accessible as well, allowing more people to enjoy their time spent playing.
John Bellomy, the lead programmer, says that they wanted to recreate the game using the technology that they have to spark excitement at how each muscle contortion and facial expression adds new life to the characters and that, as someone who cannot wait to play The Last of Us Part 1, he will look forward to those things. He goes on to explain later in the video that they also have a new AI core, which means that the combat scenarios will be much more unique, so that each playthrough could be vastly different.
Despite the controversy surrounding the current price tag of The Last of Us Part 1, it looks as though it's turned into a serious labor of love. With updates to the character models, artwork, combat, and the way that the AI interacts with the player character, this is shaping up to be an excellent addition to the franchise.
The Last of Us Part 1 is scheduled to release on September 2, 2022 on PS5 with a PC release to come later.
