There have been rumors circulating for a while now that a remake of the firstThe Last of Usgame is in the works. In fact, insiderTom Henderson recently reported that a remake of the game could be coming as soon as the second half of 2022.
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The rumors have been divisive, as it’s still under a decade sinceThe Last of Uswas first released, and many people feel that the game, especially the 2014 remastered version,still holds up today. Despite this, if a remake of the game is indeed in development, there are a handful of new and improved features that we’d love to see included.
5Gameplay And Technical Performance Akin To The Last of Us Part 2
The Last of Us Part 2was a divisive game, to say the least. The game was a hit with critics, exemplified by its93 Metascore, but it received a ton of backlash for its story, so much so that Metacritic changed its user score system due to review bombing.
However, there are a few things that most fans and critics could agree on, most notably the excellent gameplay and high-quality technical features. Simply put,The Last of Us Part 2looks andsounds fantasticand fully deserved itsSound Design of the YearandBest Visual Designawards from the Game Audio Network Guild and Golden Joystick Awards, respectively.
The Last of Us Part 2also significantly improved the gameplay from its predecessor, with better level design, new gameplay mechanics, and more engaging combat. Although the original’s gameplay was solid for the time, it already feels somewhat dated. If a remake ofThe Last of Usimplemented gameplay, visuals, sound design, and animations akin to its sequel, then it would immediately appeal to many people.
4Better Puzzles
Like many linear action games,The Last of Usimplements regular intervals from combat and gives the player other tasks to complete - offering variety to the gameplay and giving the player a break from the intensity of gunfights andstealth sections.
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Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a stretch to even refer to the game’s puzzles as “puzzles.” Truth be told, the game’s puzzle sections often feel more like busywork, with players usually just having to play hide and seek with a ladder or wooden plank. To add insult to injury, there are a handful of puzzles in the game that don’t even make much sense as Joel could easily just climb up and over the obstacles blocking their path. Sure, this could be dismissed as “video game logic,” though this is an excuse that is becoming increasingly tougher to justify in modern games.
Although it’s unrealistic for the post-apocalyptic game to haveMyst-level environmental puzzles that contextually fit the setting, if the remake is going to have puzzles, then they should have better variety andmore complex solutions.
3More Survival Mechanics
Another aspect ofThe Last of Usthat can be chalked up to “video game logic” is how many people Joel kills throughout his journey. Granted, many enemies can be avoided with stealth, though most players will kill a plethora of human enemies in the game, which feels somewhat out of place in a story about struggling to survive.
The game certainly doesn’t need to remove combat completely, especially if it’s going to be branded as action-adventure, though it would better fit the story if a handful of the action sequences were replaced with survival gameplay sections. Another post-apocalyptic game that does this well is 2012’sI Am Alive.Although the game can’t hold a candle toThe Last of Usin terms of its overall quality, it did implement some great survival mechanics.
For example, inI Am Alive, there are sections in the game where the player has a gun but cannot find any bullets, so they must bluff that their gun is loaded to prevent enemies from attacking them. Climbing sections are also an interesting challenge, as psychical activities drain a stamina bar that is quick to diminish due to the protagonist’s unhealthy state in thepost-apocalyptic world. If a remake ofThe Last of Uswere to implement these kinds of survival mechanics, it could make for a more engrossing experience.
2New Characters
One of the main reasons why people believe that the rumoredLast of Usremake could be happening is because a TV series based on the game is currently in the works, so it would make sense for a new game to hit stores around the same time. Given that it’s a TV series and not a film, there’s a good chance that new characters will be introduced to flesh out the story.
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Although many fans are reluctant to the idea of changes being made to the story in a remake, it’s unlikely that there would be many complaints if some new interesting, charismatic, orenigmatic characterswere added to offer something new to the narrative - provided that they didn’t significantly change the original story.
Of course, the game is centered around Joel and Ellie’s long and lonely journey across the post-apocalyptic landscape, so it would be nonsensical to have too many new characters introduced, though a few new faces along the way wouldn’t do any harm.
1A Look Into What Joel And Tommy Did “To Survive”
On a small handful of occasions inThe Last of Us, it is made clear to the player that Joel had to do some pretty awful things to survive. When Ellie asks if he had to “kill a lot of innocent people,” he all but confirms it, and when Joel talks to Tommy about repaying him for the years that he “took care of him,” Tommy responds with “that’s what you call it? I got nothing but nightmares from those years.”
There can certainly be an argument made that keeping Joel’s past ambiguous is more interesting than being given answers, though with a TV series being made, it’s safe to say that the intent isn’t to leave many stones unturned with the IP. A deep dive into Joel’s past could be a great addition to the story if done right and would provide better context to the moral debate about whether or notJoel is a bad person.
The Last of Usis out now for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
