Fans of Joel and Ellie's first adventure will reportedly be able to relieve Naughty Dog's emotional game when Sony releases The Last of Us remake on the PlayStation 5. Not much is known about the eventual release except that Naughty Dog's core team is now spearheading it as a side project as the developer awaits plans for its next big launch. Many gamers have struggled to understand how a remake could distinguish itself from 2014's The Last of Us Remastered, but there are several improvements Naughty Dog could make that would vastly improve the 2013 release.
Starting from the basics, The Last of Us Remake is expected to refine the graphical fidelity of the original. That could include everything from upgraded environmental textures, polished character models, and frame rate options. Aside from the obvious visual enhancements, there's plenty of room for other changes Naughty Dog could make to take its original apocalyptic tale into the next generation of console gaming.
The Last of Us Part 2's release introduced new mechanics the remake of The Last of Us could work into its own gameplay. The 2019 release also included several inclusive design elements that the upcoming The Last of Us remake needs to include to make it more customizable and accessible than ever before. Here three things The Last of Us remake needs to fix.
The Last of Us Remake: More Accessibility Options
The Last of Us Part 2 was Naughty Dog's most accessible game ever, and the remake of The Last of Us should follow suit. The most recently released entry included roughly 60 different accessibility options in the game's menu, including audio clues, visual aids, and assistance for in-game navigation. TLOU2 covered the basics like subtitle sizes and colors while also featuring intricate text-to-speech options and a high-contrast mode for low-vision players. If Naughty Dog wants to bring The Last of Us to even more players on the PS5, making it as inclusive as possible will ensure it reaches the widest population of gamers.
The Last of Us Remake: More Difficulty Options
The Last of Us included five difficulty options, and TLOU2 stepped that up to six by splitting Easy into Very Light and Light. Naughty Dog also allowed users to further customize the difficulty they're playing in by allowing them to adjust in-game spawns and enemy behavior. Things like materials, enemy behavior, and friendly AI aggressiveness can be tweaked using the options menu. Much like the addition of TLOU2's accessibility options, more difficulty settings would allow gamers to play the remake exactly how they want.
The Last of Us Remake: Improved Stealth & Combat
Stealth and hit-and-run combat are the lifeblood of Naughty Dog's series, and The Last of Us 2 fine-tuned it to a degree that the TLOU remake needs to keep pace with. The stealth in TLOU 2 let patient players bypass certain gruesome portions of the game, or players could choose to go in guns blazing and high-tail it out of a situation when they've exhausted their supplies. The Last of Us remake needs to give players the same choices in combat and do away with the original's oftentimes grueling stealth mechanics.