The Last of Us Part II Remastered offers much more than a fresh coat of paint. Between Lost Levels, the guitar free play mode and No Return – which is easily the star of the show – there’s plenty to get excited about.
I’ve spent most of the last month sampling everything the game has to offer, writing in our review: “The last of us Part II remastered It’s everything fans can expect from this release. If you’re a new player, this is the perfect way to experience the next chapter of Ellie’s journey, and for those who return for a second round, you’ll undoubtedly feel a renewed sense of awe at the wonder of this game. (… ) we all thought Part II Naughty Dog was a magnum opus, but Part II remastered Indicates that there is too much gasoline in the tank. If this is a preview of what’s to come from the studio, I can’t wait to see what Naughty Dog cooks up next. »
While my review gives my take on the game as a whole, there is one particular moment in the lost level called “The Sewer” that I haven’t stopped thinking about, and it’s worth discussing. I didn’t know what to expect from these unfinished bits of cut content, but I certainly didn’t expect to find what could be one of the franchise’s most impressive shots.
Needless to say, I will now talk about what happens in the extended segment “The Gutter”. I’ll tell you why I didn’t expect to see anything revolutionary in Lost Levels, because they were removed. Due to pacing issues, these segments were deemed non-essential. Naturally, as a huge fan, I’m excited to dive into any The Last of Us content, but I was still expecting to play through segments that I felt were largely unimportant.
Imagine my surprise when the inevitably extended traversal sequence that ended left me completely breathless. The sewers are incomplete and yet deliver a fairly impressive moment that easily ranks among the best images created in the franchise.
Allow me to set the scene. The next day in Seattle takes place in the sewers, when Ellie drifts into a stalker-infested office building following her time. We saw a shorter version of the sewers in the end game. Eli emerges from the water, before we are tasked with climbing several platforms to reach a ladder – our exit and entrance to our first encounter with the Seraphites.
Originally, Alley would have descended deeper into this sewer system, extending her escape to street level. To begin with, you are tasked with solving a few puzzles. How to cross this room despite the flow of water? I’m in the final stage, what’s the next step? Meanwhile, audio clips from the developers provide a fascinating overview of each of these obstacles, including why they were chosen and how they’ve evolved over time.
After a while, Ellie comes across a narrow crawl space. Using the prone mechanic, I prepared myself for the passage, quickly realizing that the shaft was full of infected material. When you see it, a clicker is embedded in the wall. You have no choice but to fight back or crawl towards him with no room to maneuver yourself. Is the clicker dead? Is it just passive, ready to strike as soon as it sees a human victim? A feeling of sheer terror sets in. Eli gets up first to prepare for the strike.
The pressure builds with an intensity that tightens your throat. As Ellie finally starts to pass out, it becomes clear that this clicker is long gone. However, there are far greater horrors in this tunnel. Eli’s flashlight goes out. The timing couldn’t be worse. With his heart in his mouth and humming to the music, Joel turns the flashlight back on to see the bloody head of the clicker. The flashlight flickers again, bringing Ellie back to reality.
With a sigh of relief, I – as Ellie – left that vile crawl space, quickly pausing the game to process what I had just seen. For those who have played the original The Last of Us Part II, you may remember a scene that works similarly during the farm segment of the game, where Eli and Dina live after the events in Seattle. While she is tending a flock of sheep in a barn, a barn door slamming during a sudden change in weather triggers Ellie’s PTSD, causing her to flash back to this bloody image of Joel.
This is an incredibly important moment in the game because it’s a depiction of Ellie’s ongoing trauma that drives her to Santa Barbara to follow Tommy’s lead, but it’s actually the removal of the aforementioned moment in The Sewers that caused the developers to recycle. Thought later. In terms of pacing, it makes more sense for this moment to fall during the farm sequence.
We need to see why Ellie doesn’t let this go. She now lives a somewhat idyllic life, living on a picturesque farm with Dina and baby JJ. As a player, you assume the violence is over, so there has to be a big catalyst to send us to Santa Barbara—and that catalyst is Ellie’s emotional well-being, or lack thereof. As she tells Dina, she cannot sleep, eat or breathe. She needs to move on, and the flashback to Joel’s death reflects that perfectly.
During the gutter iteration of the moment, perhaps we need less of that kind of inspiration. Joel is dead, Ally and Deanna are off to Seattle to find Tommy and get revenge on Abby, and we’re off to another day trying to get revenge. Ellie ticks off Abby’s companions one by one, slowly finding leads that will lead her to Abby. There’s no need to show Ellie’s motivations, so in that sense I can understand why this moment was cut for pacing.
That being said, as an aside, I think the first iteration of the sewers of this moment is more effective in showing the intensity of the emotional trauma Ellie is subjected to. The firm version essentially plays as a scare, leaving you completely off guard. Even the sewer level achieves this – I wasn’t expecting to see Joel’s face – but it goes beyond that, giving players a glimpse of the kind of ongoing turmoil Ellie is going through.
As I said before, as a player, you feel many emotions in this scene: fear, dread, apprehension. Of course, these feelings will be much milder than what Ellie feels, but the scene forces you to develop a strong level of empathy, making a moment so intense that you have no choice but to seek comfort from Ellie and trust in her strength. Determination when proving that you have one.
That’s what I’ve always loved about The Last of Us as a franchise. It is a saga that challenges us emotionally, but it is our participation in the story and our survival from the low that makes these noble and joyous moments so uplifting. In this version of the scene, like Ellie, I was so relieved to lift that manhole cover and see the light of day again.
All I can say is that I’m so glad Lost Level exists. Elsewhere in the “Jackson’s Party” level, you discover a sweet story about JJ’s toy elephant, Ollie, while the “Boar Hunt” brings to life a short hunt mentioned in Ellie’s journal. These may be minor points of the story The Last of Us Part II But seasoned fans, like myself, will be thrilled to see brilliant ideas, previously relegated to the editing room, finally come to life.
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