No more pallet puzzles: THE LAST OF US PART II

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.

Head and sub-head are great: https://kotaku.com/last-us-tv-show-season-2-pedro-pascal-joel-hbo-1851366131

lol!

lol

Walkback: https://www.ign.com/articles/pedro-pascal-isnt-done-filming-the-last-of-us-season-2-after-all-hbo-says

Gotta do some guitar playing.