Be loyal or be a performer?
Like many games, The Last of Us 2 Remaster offers two display modes: Fidelity and Performance. Of course, it’s in Fidelity mode that the game will be at its most beautiful and best, unless the number of frames per second is locked at 30fps. If you switch to Performance mode, we’ll be at 1440p but with a framerate of 60fps and unlocked as long as you have a screen compatible with VRR, with a variable refresh rate and an HDMI 2.1 cable, meaning a small portion to manage. is able. the population So, as I told you, your experience will not be the same depending on the equipment you have at home. Basically, it’s prettier, prettier in native 4K, but it’s not even a graphics gap, let’s be honest. Personally, I chose to play the game in fidelity mode to enjoy the original 4K graphics, get out of it and tell myself that after almost 4 years, The Last of Us 2 is one of the most beautiful and best technically masters.
No, where The Last of Us 2 Remastered is most interesting is in its additional content, including new modes like the famous “Sans Return” or “No Return” in VO, a roguelike “survival” mode that lets you create . Sweat like never before and improve your skills in this game’s amazing gameplay. But before entering this merciless and relentless clash, you have to choose your character. There are 10 in total and only Ellie and Abby are initially accessible, the others unlock as you progress and depending on the character you control. For example, to unlock Dina, you have to play with Ellie. For lev, AB is for pick, and so on. It’s nice because it obviously allows you to play with new characters like Jesse, Tommy, Mel or even Manny, but it’s a roundabout way of making up for one big disappointment: playing Joel again, sacrificed on the altar of narrative needs. Giving and creating one. An emotional shock to the player. Although roughly speaking, every character is played the same way, they don’t start with the same type of weapon, knowing that some will be more advantageous than others at certain points.
Blood return
For example, Yara will have the ability to heal herself more easily, especially since Manny can’t make medikits, he can pick them up in levels, but he doesn’t have the skills to make them. So, it changes things a bit and you have to adapt your game to the character. Abby, Manny, and Joel are fairly tanky characters that are effective in close combat, while characters like Lev or Yara are better at distance. All these differences bring variety and consistency to each session.
Once a character is chosen, you must begin calling sessions which are a series of random encounters taking place in familiar locations from The Last of Us 2’s single player mode. Jackson, TV Station Channel 13, Jungle, Metro, Restaurant, Lumberjack Camp, etc. Everything is randomly generated and therefore each session is new, with added bonuses of different objectives. Hunt, capture, defense, attack, not only the type of encounter, but also the type of enemy is different, such as a score multiplier that allows you to return with loot and thus improve your skills and weapons between each fight.
Capture asks you to open a chest full of resources and jealously guarded by enemies; In Defense, you’re accompanied by an AI-controlled partner and must defend yourself against waves of infection, while in Hunt, you must avoid constant enemy attacks until a timer runs out. And from time to time, these encounters are punishing, as is the fact that each downed enemy throws a grenade when it dies, forcing you to run away to avoid exploding later. The good thing is that enemies who are close to this thrown grenade can also succumb to its injuries. Sometimes, the atmosphere is shrouded in dense fog, which limits the view, while it is not a filter that disrupts the vision. Conversely, certain encounters will require you to complete specific objectives, such as achieving a certain number of headshots or avoiding melee attacks, and if the contract is completed, you’ll then earn additional bonuses.
Be careful, without the return being a roguelike, every death is permanent, and if you ever fail during a session, it’s a guaranteed game over with the loss of weapons, items, skills, and everything else you’ve collected from the start. Basically, you should never lose a single life during the entire session, from the beginning to the boss fight. And between each encounter, you can return to your hiding place, take a breather and prepare for the next battle, while choosing the path you prefer and which you can see on this cork board. There are a total of 6 bosses to defeat, from the easiest to the most venerable, namely the Rat King that Abby faced in the hospital, and I can also tell you that it’s not a cakewalk, and you’ll be fine. No Return is really the reason why you should buy this remastered version of The Last of Us 2 again, because it will not only provide hours and hours of additional gameplay, but you will also put your performance to the test and prove that you are the master of the gameplay. . And you’ll find that once you get past this no return mode, the single player campaign will feel like fun.
Guitar and backstage
But that’s not all, The Last of Us 2 Remastered also offers a free play guitar mode for music lovers who want to tame the musical side of the game. Three characters are available: Eli, Joel and Gustavo Santaolla, the composer of the music from the game. Unlocking many instruments, you can choose where you want to play your songs and even add effects. I will not hide from you that I tried to make my comments into musical compositions, but the failure was complete. There is also a Lost Levels mode, which involves playing three levels that were removed during development, mainly for pacing reasons. There are 3 on offer: a village festival, a sewer and a wild boar hunt. As the first two do not add much to the story, especially when we know where they were supposed to be placed, the wild boar hunt should be integrated into the game, not only because it is important to understand the character of Ellie and this increase in violence, but also because the wild boar The battle ahead was worth the detour. Note that these levels are far from finished, some still need several months of development to finalize. It’s missing textures, animations, sounds, dialogue, but at least it’s ready with developer commentary to give you more context. Interesting and crunchy.