Here’s the thing though, the game visually looks like a modern-day AAA game. The lighting mixed with the particle effects in the game is absolutely stunning. The character models are incredible for starters, the foliage and vegetation look fantastic but what takes the cake is the lighting. Which is when I realized just how much better the game looks. Until I went back and looked at footage of the PS3 and PS4 versions. It felt natural and like not much was changed. To me, this is how the game always looked when I played the opening few hours all those times. And to put it bluntly, the game is breathtakingly beautiful. The game also features a Fidelity Mode which is 4K 30fps (40 on supported displays). I played the game mostly on the Performance Mode which is 1440p-4K Dynamic Resolution and 60fps.

Let’s start by talking about the visuals because that’s one part where you can immediately see a change. This means upgraded character models, new lighting tech, new sound tech, improved animations, upgraded AI, and most importantly, new accessibility features. It’s been remade in the upgraded engine that was used for The Last of Us 2. The DLC, The Last of Us: Left Behind also comes bundled with this and has received the remake treatment. So a remake ends up being way more time intensive than a remaster and ends up being a much more modern product. New assets, oftentimes a new or updated engine, and more.

A remake on the other hand is the game being remade. It’s the same game most of the time with a fresh coat of paint if you will. A remaster is usually when they apply some upgrades and minor changes to a game to make it look better or run better. If the terms remastered and remake have confused you then don’t worry. So let’s talk about what’s going on with this remake. With that out of the way, let’s jump into the review. And this will be a spoiler-free review of the game.

I also didn’t have any nostalgia or attachment to this game before playing it, which meant I could give it a fair, unbiased look. So I had some idea in my head of how it looked and ran. I tried it on the OG PlayStation 3 as well as the Remastered PlayStation 4 version. Not because the game was bad but simply because life got in the way and I would restart the game because it had just been that long. I mean, I started the game multiple times (I think about 5 times) and got maybe 4 hours in before dropping it. I imagine a lot of reviewers out there will be playing this game for at least the 2nd time. But first, a little bit about my history with the franchise. I’m going to discuss all of that and more in this review. Was there really a need for a remake? Is it that big of an upgrade? And is it worth the $70 asking price? There’s been a lot of discourse about this decision though. The game got a remaster for the PlayStation 4 generation and now, a proper remake using the technology from The Last of Us Part 2.

The last of us 2 models