No more pallet puzzles: THE LAST OF US PART II

y'all... got some IRL flashbacks last week:

https://i.imgur.com/Ph4l55A.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7qjUQwH.jpg

Wow.

A friend of mine who is even less up to date on the last few decades of games came over for a beer the other night. He got a hoot out of the chaos and cartoonish cruelty of "Hitman," so just for balance I had him play the first several playable bits of LoU2. At first he kind of joked around, focusing mainly on the look of the game and his own inept gameplay, but as he got sucked in, and experienced his first enemies/set pieces, he stopped cracking jokes and admitted the game was making really unsettled and anxious.

So my current critical crush Jacob Geller* co-hosts a podcast called Something Rotten (as well as a regular guest on the MinnMax (sic) podcast, also a recommendation), and they're digging into Part II, and it's been worthwhile so far, as it goes beyond the typical "this game makes me feel bad" takes.

* A selection of 'tubes to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8n2DHiGp8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQQdnve5fQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5DqmTtCPiQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS5NeNglQYw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q85l1Fenc5w

Cool, thanks!

Started the podcast episode about LoU2 and think I'm going to go back and listen to the one about Part 1 first. As they say in the second one, it's kind of remarkable how two games and, only recently, a TV show have been enough to sustain this level of discourse for a decade.

I started the podcast episode about the first game. It's good so far, but whoever the hosts are are weirdly catty about it. Like, you know the game is good, you keep saying the game is good, you admit you might be a little tired of it because you've played it so many times, but you've done that because the game is good. So don't sigh and act like watching the TV show was some exhausting experience because it was so familiar to you. Not a deal breaker by any stretch, just a little irritating.

I do find it interesting when they address the 2013 discourse, because as far as I can remember, I had no idea the game existed in 2013. Just totally passed me by. I mean, I didn't have a PlayStation, so there's that. But for a game with so much praise and acclaim, it still managed to go under my radar as a non-gamer civilian.

I listened to the first two episodes of the podcast. The first is about Part 1, and then there are four (I think?) episodes about Part 2. I first guest was fine, the second guest (on the first episode about the second game) was pretty annoying to listen to, since his (Kenneth? A Kotaku writer?) voice kept cracking, which made it sound like listening to a 13-year old boy. I do like Jacob, who is a great moderator, in every sense of the word, which allows him to balance out Blake, who is a little too cynical and cool-for-school for my tastes.

Anyway, they've already brought up some interesting stuff, and keep alluding to a future discussion on race, which is intriguing. I never thought much about the role race plays in the first game, or whether it even matters. On my walk, listening, I started wondering if it would have made a difference if Joel were not a white man, and the conclusion I came to was no. But we'll see where the conversation goes. I do know that this podcast is why I am playing Bioshock Infinite now, not just because I recently played the first two but because they implied it apparently inspired similar sorts of discussions and debates at the time, which I knew nothing about. And indeed, in Bioshock Infinite the issue of race is much, much more explicitly foreground, so I wonder why they would group it in with Last of Us, where race is, iirc, not foregrounded at all. I guess I'll see what they have to say.

Anyway, the discussion makes me feel even more that this (second) game is a masterpiece that will be hard for anyone to surpass. Though you never know.

IDK if you care about podcast spoilers but the gist of the race things is that black characters pretty much all die with a cut to black, and their deaths function taking up pretty limited narrative space (as plot devices for the white characters to react to in the moment) as opposed to e.g. Joel's death as a constant specter that Ellie wrestles with throughout part 2; also, they talk about the dissonance of homophobia and transphobia existing in the world but not racism.

Hmm, I look forward to hearing what they have to say.

Meanwhile, there was supposedly a leak confirming a quietly rumored remaster of Part 2, which seems ... truly unnecessary. I suppose with a live-service multiplayer Last of Us scuttled indefinitely (good) and a potential Part 3 years and years away (expected), a remastered Part 2 seems like a logical stopgap, especially if it's been in the works already. But again, no idea what it might entail, the PS4/PS5 version looks and plays incredibly as it is. I assume they'd tie it to the return of the TV show, though last I heard the TV show had been delayed until maybe 2025.

A Part 2 remaster amid recent layoffs sounds like a major red flag, if that rumor shakes out.

I imagine the layoffs follow ramping down the multiplayer project. Or at least, I could have sworn it was less about downsizing and more returning back to the level they were at before they brought in a bunch of new people for the thing that is no longer happening.

Finished the podcast. Disagreed with a lot of what they had to say, and especially how they said it, but it was still really interesting and full of good insights.

Native PS5 version coming, $10 upgrade, extra content, reportedly.

https://i.imgur.com/tQKPApc.png

They're really putting off working on new IP, huh?

I saw somewhere that this remaster might have been given the the new hires/B-team while the A-team worked on said mystery new IP.

i'm... actually ok with $10

i totally bailed on my Grounded playthrough for LoU II. just too hard. i didn’t even make it to the theatre.

Give it another shot! If I can do it, you/anyone can do it.

And yeah, $10 is totally reasonable. I can't believe TLOU Part 1 is still going for $50+ *on sale*.

Naughty Dog officially pulled the plug on its long-gestating Last of Us online live-service multiplayer game. One one hand, good. On the other, what a waste of time. They've essentially released one game since 2017. Though I guess the same goes for Rockstar.

Yeah from what I hear they are working on a new IP and TLOU sequel. Perhaps they needed to reallocate the team or recycle the assets from the online game to save some time.

Probably spent a good number of cycles on the re-remaster of TLOU 1 and remaster of TLOU 2.

i know one of the multiplayer devs from another forum and he was so excited about it. it had a lot of co-op elements so you’re basically teaming up with players against the clickers etc. to hear him tell it the game was largely finished. i guess there’s an ongoing admin and tech overhead for multiplayer games that naughty dog didn’t want to commit to

essentially the demands of live multiplayer are such that naughty dog would have become a live online company and never make another single player game again

A studio known for its almost oppressively immersive narratives and impeccable set pieces might have benefitted from a 15-year old kid with the handle DiaperDoodie69 hopping around while decked out like Barney the dinosaur and screaming nonsense over a headset mic.

I imagine it's the lure of all that live service money; otherwise it probably would've just been a gradually updated multiplayer mode for TLOU2.
Also - maybe relevant - Sony's acquisition of Bungie was completed in early 2022. Two giant live service bets is probably too much.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/kaitlyn-dever-last-of-us-season-2-abby-1235782912/

TLOU II Remastered out on 1/19, btw

Dever is a great actor. It's too bad that there is no way to keep the plot secret for two years, gonna be impossible for newbies to avoid spoilers. Wonder how that may affect changes or additions they make to the story.

I guess she's got two years to get properly hench, especially since Bella's got a head start on her:

Bella Ramsey begins training for HBO 'The Last of Us' S2pic.twitter.com/zI5fycK3te

— ScreenTime (@screentime) January 8, 2024

Two more casting announcements for Jessie and Dina:

https://kotaku.com/the-last-of-us-hbo-max-dina-actor-isabela-merced-1851159653

Digital Foundry review of the PS4 to PS5 upgrade barely finds any differences from the way the current PS4 version plays on the PS5. Like, next to nothing, even as far as these subtle things sometimes go. I guess there is a touch extra content to justify the $10, which is not a big ask. Still hoping they take $20 off Last of Us Part 1.

Some of the reviews for the roguelike mode have been pretty high: https://www.polygon.com/24036476/the-last-of-us-part-2s-roguelike-mode

Good to hear, since it's likely all you're really getting for that $10. But I've seen it discussed in the context of the recent God of War roguelike DLC, which 1) reportedly contains new plot and 2) was free.

Ah I didn't realize they're offering an upgrade option -- I thought they were making people buy the new version by itself.

(As for the Ragnarok DLC, yes on both counts.)

The timing of this seems strange, doesn't it? You've got a hit TV show that just announced the cast of its in-progress second season, and *now* is when you drop the Part 2 remaster? It's all but asking people to catch up (and get spoiled) before S2 airs.

Nah, better than waiting even longer. I'm sure this delayed whatever the heck they're working on for the end of the PS5/beginning of PS6 era

I think it's probably the opposite, no? They wasted a bunch of time on the Last of Us multiplayer that got the plug pulled, and this remaster is a stopgap to make some money with a roguelite mode tossed in.

You're right about the abandoned MP, but it seemed inevitable there was going to be a "remaster" of Part II for PS5, or least of a new coat of paint (like the first one) so might they might as well just drop it

I did notice that they are selling this remaster for $10 less than Part 1. Granted, Part 1 was a ground-up remake, but it's nice they're not going strictly cash-grab. Or maybe they kinda are? I could have sworn I bought Last of Us 2 new a couple of years ago for less than $20, maybe ... $10?

the trailer for the remaster looks fucking incredible

Digital Foundry, a bunch of nerds, did a comparison of this and the PS4 version and iirc noticed next to no visual improvements, fwiw. But I think that's largely because this was an incredible looking/playing game from the start. From what I've read (I downloaded the upgrade but won't get to it for a long while, assuming I ever do, lol), the biggest/newest additions are slightly faster loading times, the commentary, (eventually, as DLC) a great looking documentary , the roguelite mode and cool haptics. Oh, and tons of new accessibility settings. Oh, and a couple of apparently fine but incomplete unreleased sections.

For $50 I would scoff but for $10, sure

It's a $10 upgrade if you already own it, but $50 if you are buying it for the first time, which I believe is a price *increase*, at least compared to what it's been sold for over the past few years, let alone secondary. That's kind of eh but to be expected, I suppose, because I really do think Naughty Dog needs to fill the coffers. They are likely years away from any new game.

I loved TLOU2 (top 5 all-time for me) but the roguelike mode doesn't sound like my kind of thing, and I watched YouTube videos of the unreleased sections (the commentary from the game makers is pretty interesting! They put a LOT more thought into seemingly small details than you might think.), so I'll pass on the $10 upgrade (which, imo, seems like a totally reasonable price). And people have noted that you can save a few bucks by getting a PS4 disc then getting the $10 upgrade, instead of paying the full PS5 retail price. A year ago when I bought the PS4 disc, new copies were plentiful at $20.

Also, re: timing of this upgrade release, maybe they are cleaning their plate so that they have full resources available to work on Part 3 (I hope)?

They've been coy about it. I think Druckmann said he had a loose idea for a part 3 but that's it. Meanwhile there have been rumors about a new IP - fantasy of sci-fi? - which I assume is in progress. And maybe I heard they were working on more than one thing? I might be thinking of From. But given Naughty Dog shed a ton of staff when the Last of Us multiplayer got cancelled I doubt they're anywhere near ready to dive right back into that world. This remaster seems to me a pretty clear stopgap.

From what I've heard they're working on two new IPs, one fairly active across multiple teams, the other pretty early going - still being conceptualized, and neither are related to The Last of Us. Would be surprised if either of these see the light of day before 2025.

I'm not even sure TLOU3 will make it to this generation, though you'd expect it to be an end-of-system PS5 title, I think the pandemic probably pushed all their giant multi-year plans up

New doc dropped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3C7GMMfDU

Apparently there is a passing reference to a potential third installment.

Just watched this, it's pretty solid. The connection the cast and creators feel to each other and to the characters (especially Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson) is palpable. The doc apparently stopped filming when covid hit, so the last bit was filmed in 2023, and there's some remarkable stuff where they recount the impact of all the shit surrounding the game, from the infamous leaks to the release, resulting in everything from death threats on down (people even threatened the family of the person that plays Abby). Druckmann notes the irony that the Dutch person that leaked tons of hacked footage was ultimately just a fan, the proverbial young guy living with his parents, who thought leaking the gameplay would force Naughty Dog's hand into finally releasing the game, which had been indefinitely postponed by the pandemic. Druckmann and others interviewed were clearly brought down to their knees with disappointment, but they all seem to be in a much better place now.

On a slightly different note, I admit I am a total pushpver, but it's been a while since I've seen some of the LOU2 clips included in the doc, and boy, did they immediately dredge up dark things I felt while playing the game.

people even threatened the family of the person that plays Abby

More to the point, they threatened her 2-year-old child.