The Last of Us has represented and still represents one of the jewels of the PlayStation worldone of those games capable of uniting audiences and critics and which represented, until the arrival of the second chapter, the highest point of the refinement process that the developers (the studio is called Naughty Dog) had put in place with Uncharted.
A process that is based on the ability to generate highly cinematic experiences, with a writing rich in human characters, convincing settings and mechanics now known but pushed to the maximum of their possibilities. Why in the end The Last of Us it’s just another zombie storythis time created from a mushroom, mixed with elements of the novel The street by Cormac McCarthy and a sprinkle of the classic archetype that sees an adult and a child traveling together. But the narrative ability of Naughty Dog, their attention to detail, the sensitivity in being present directors, but never too invasive in the player’s choices and their knowledge of how she puts on a great action scene in a video game, they made this title one of the most loved and well-known as far as mainstream titles are concerned.
And so it is no coincidence that shortly after his debut, which took place in June 2013 on PlayStation 3, the game was promptly brought the following year in a Remastered version on PlayStation 4 and that today it also landed on PS5 with a version called Remake. All with one TV series coming up with Pedro Pascal e Bella Ramsey.
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But what are we talking about when we talk about Remake, in this case? The term, although borrowed from the cinema, in the world of video games lends itself to many different interpretations. From a narrative point of view, the game is identicaldoes not change a comma in the dialogue or in the game sections, and included is also the additional content of Left Behinda beautiful spinoff dedicated to the character of Ellie and her best friend, which narratively is worth at least as much as the main game.
Watching a video comparing old and new version, the graphic differences immediately catch the eye: the colors are more intense, the panoramas richer and in some cases they have been changed to be even more beautiful and detailed, the details are infinite, from the way a muscle contracts to the dress that follows the shapes passing through puddles and debris. But above all the faces have changed, to make everything more consistent with the second chapter or to give it a greater characterization, and they are much more expressive. This enrichment it also somehow affects how the game speaks to us, because now facial expressions are able to convey even more emotions and nuances than in the past. Imagine the restoration of a painting in which suddenly we can actually see expressions hitherto hidden.
And the same goes for audio, which take advantage of new technologies to offer more three-dimensionality, and for the actual game, where the artificial intelligence of companions and monsters has been improved, offering a more accurate and varied level of challenge. Of course: it is a shame not to be able to reach the level of animations and the gameplay of The Last of Us 2but they are still games designed differently.
Additionally, the developers applied all their accessibility knowledge they learned with The Last of Us 2 to implement them in this Remake, which can therefore be played by many more people with disabilities. The last two additions are a modality speedrunto time exactly how much you manage to finish the game, and permadeathin which after only one death you will have to start from the beginning.
In short: the value of this remake is not even to be questioned, if it is the first time you play it you absolutely must not let it escape, if instead you are already on the second or third round it is up to you. decide whether to spend the 80 euros asked by Sonyfor which there has been some controversy.
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And this actually puts us in front of a very interesting debate that mixes with the intricate way video games speak to us and the substantial difference from the world of cinema. If as far as the concept of remaster is concerned, cinema and video games are more or less close, because we are talking about a product of the past that is visually cleaned up but nothing more (even if cleaning up a film and putting textures in high definition are two different things and disasters can happen in video games), when it comes to remakes the two paths separate quite clearly.
In the cinema the remake often means taking the same concept and changing the setting or some points of the story to update it. In video games, where the interactive component is essential, when you do a remake the distortion is felt in a more personal way. From this point of view I am excellent examples the remakes of Resident Evil 2 e Final Fantasy VII, which are completely different games than the originals with which they keep some points in common. It runs the same difference that goes between The Thing from the Other World of 1951 and The thing Carpenter’s 1982, plus the alienation of a completely different game system.
From this point of view, the remake of The Last of Us, despite being a completely rebuilt game, it is much more faithful to the original. Something similar to George Lucas adding more X-Wings in the final battle of Episode 4 and more realistic explosions now that he can. Even if you have already played it, replaying it will be a pleasure, especially if you haven’t done it for years: it’s worth it to appreciate the writing of characters, Joel above all, who while not revealing everything about themselves say a lot about their nature and a world that through violence and trauma it left only rubble, against the backdrop of a complex relationship between makeshift fathers and putative daughters.
Its strategic importance to Sony, which treats it as if it were a brand new exclusive, it is clear: both because he is keen to remind everyone of the power of his exclusives, even if only thunderstorms, and because there is still a TV series to pull the sprint. And who knows if the series, lacking the strong emotional component given by interactivity, will be able to give the same emotions, once again.