Although The Last of Us Part 1 is a largely faithful remake of the original game, there are a plethora of subtle new details that offer players some more insight into the characters and the post-apocalyptic world they inhabit. These additions enrich and enhance the already-abundant lore of the original game.
While some of these new details answer long-standing questions, others cleverly tie into the sequel. Since The Last of Us Part 1's release, some eagle-eyed players have shared many of these additions on social media. Below are some of the key details added in The Last Of Us Part 1.
7 Joel's Letter To Tommy
In Joel's house in the prologue, one player spotted a letter from Tommy, Joel's younger brother. The letter appears to be from the brothers' childhood, with Tommy writing it from a summer camp. In the letter, Tommy reveals that he misses his older brother and looks forward to seeing him.
Although the contents of the letter aren't particularly exciting, it provides players with a look at the softer side of Joel and Tommy's often-tumultuous relationship.
6 Joel's Age
Joel and Tess attempt to pass through a security checkpoint early in the game. Because of the higher-quality textures in the remake, players are able to view the identification papers they use at the gate. As one observant player noted, these documents reveal new information about Joel.
According to these papers, Joel was born in 1981, which means that he was 52 years old during the events of the first game, and 56 during the events of the second. Given that Joel's exact age was never revealed in the original game, this detail answers a long-standing question that players may have been asking since 2013.
5 Seth's Appearance At The Dam
One of the most interesting changes in the remake is the inclusion of a familiar face. When Joel and Ellie arrive at the hydroelectric dam in search of Tommy, Seth can be seen guarding the gate. As players of the second game will remember, Ellie later clashes with Seth in Jackson after he makes bigoted remarks about her kiss with Dina.
Given that these scenes provide Joel and Ellie with their first look at the Jackson community that they will later call home, it makes sense to include a character from the sequel at this point in the game.
4 Outfits From The Last Of Us Part 2
The remake features a vast number of different skins for Joel and Ellie. While most of the outfits are fun references to other PlayStation titles, others may be familiar for another reason. Joel and Ellie's outfits from The Last of Us Part 2 are available for the characters to wear.
Although this is a small detail, it could be argued that Ellie's Seattle outfit has become synonymous with her character, so its addition to the first game is a welcome one.
3 Tess' Backstory
In the original game, very little is known about Joel's partner-in-crime, but the remake gives players some more insight into Tess' background. As an eagle-eyed Redditor pointed out, there are in-game textures that reveal Tess' full name, birthday, and place of birth.
The textures seem to confirm that Tess' full name is Theresa Servopoulos and that her date of birth is 26 February 1982. They also reveal that she was born in Rockford, Illinois. Given that Tess is arguably one of the most integral characters in the first game, it's interesting that players finally get the opportunity to learn a little bit more about her.
2 Characters Now Respond To Light Sources More Naturally
As some players may have noticed, the characters now respond to light much more realistically than they did in the original game. If the player shines a torch in the direction of the characters, they will often squint or cover their eyes. In the original game, some of the characters briefly responded to light, but the reactions are much more pronounced and authentic in the remake.
Interestingly, this detail was also in the sequel, so its inclusion in the remake creates a greater consistency between The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2. Though this addition is a very minor one, it makes the game feel much more realistic and nuanced.
1 Multiple References To Mortal Kombat
The remake adds multiple references to the Mortal Kombat games. The first is a themed skin for Ellie, and the second is a Mortal Kombat 2poster on Ellie's wall in the Left Behind DLC. These references are clearly a nod to the TV series, where Mortal Kombat2 is the game that Ellie and Riley play in Raja's Arcade.
Interestingly, in the games, Ellie and Riley attempt to play The Turning instead, a fictitious game not-so-subtly inspired by the Mortal Kombat series. On HBO's The Last of Us Podcast, Neil Druckmann revealed that this was due to licensing and that Mortal Kombat 2 was indeed the basis for The Turning. So it could be said that this detail is also a reference to the story he'd originally envisioned.
The Last Of Us Part 1 is available now for PC and PS5.