From “the sudden emergence of a masterpiece” to “polarized reviews”, the ups and downs of the “The Last of Us” series have led to “The Last of Us Part I” (hereinafter referred to as “Part I”) being accompanied by different voices when it was first announced: On the one hand, for the top-notch technical representative works from the PS3 era that have already been remastered for PS4, after being remastered on the PS5 platform with the latest technical specifications, how much improvement in experience can it bring? On the other hand, it is about whether the pricing of $69.99 is worth it for a PlayStation first-party title that lacks the original multiplayer mode.
By the time of submission, I had played “Part One” for over ten hours in total. Regarding the controversy mentioned at the beginning, I believe the answers will still not be uniform. However, it would be even better if everyone could find their own answers after reading this article.
The motivation to return to Salt Lake City
As a game that once left a deep impression in the hearts of many players, the first installment of “The Last of Us” has an indispensable memory beautification bonus for many people. Yes, when I first opened “Part One”, I once thought that the visuals were “no different from those back then”.
But in fact, Naughty Dog’s claim of “remaking it to the standards of Part Two” is not just empty talk. The first part is completely on par with the sequel in terms of visual effects and detailed presentation, and players can also actually experience those flashback scenes from the second part. It can be seen that the development of “Part One” was already in the planning stage.
The flashback scenes in “The Last of Us Part II”
The performance of PS5 has eliminated the gap between cutscenes and player operations in the PS3 era. The gameplay experience of “Part One” can now surpass the exquisite cutscenes of that time: Sarah’s tears sliding down the corner of her eye when Joel lost his voice in pain, Ellie’s relaxed “blowing” in the passenger seat of the pickup truck, Joel’s long sigh in front of the rearview mirror…
While playing “Part One”, I felt that some of the characters’ expressions and small movements, which have been remade with modern technology, are like the flickering flames on a homemade Molotov flask. They not only warm the player’s palm but also add a touch of liveliness and delicacy.
The little daughter pouted.
Animated GIF cover
The old father sighed
The original work of “The Last of Us” was once a masterpiece that left its mark in history for its “emotional mobilization”, and “Part One” is once again the answer sheet that Naughty Dog has delivered with its strength. If you are an old player who has just reviewed “The Last of Us” (PS3) or “The Remake” (PS4) recently, you might be shocked that Naughty Dog knew how to convey emotions through games nearly a decade ago. In “Part One”, this emotion has been perfectly inherited, giving Joel and Ellie’s first trip the opportunity to be presented to players in a better form.
From the perspective of game development, “The First Part” is essentially a repackaging without changing the “white box” of the first generation’s levels at all. From scene art to character models, from collectable objects to destructible ones, combined with the new generation of graphics technology, all scenes have been “completely renewed” while conforming to the original tone. Naughty Dog once again demonstrated its strong artistic strength.
The two modes of 30FPS/native 4K and 60FPS/dynamic 4K, which are standard in contemporary 3A games, are naturally not absent. The DualSense’s fine adaptive triggers and vibration performance are also expected. From character strolling to every action of modifying firearms, players will receive corresponding haptic feedback.
For example, there will be a small vibration when pulling the left-hand wheel collider
“Ok, OK, I see. But in the end, isn’t it still the same things as before?”
It must be admitted that for players with more gaming experience, describing these changes in “Part One” in words seems a bit like a cliche about the current trend of remastered games, and the old “white box” means that the scene structure of the levels and the way players clear the levels have not changed. So apart from the performance, what else gives Naughty Dog the confidence to invite players back to Salt Lake City? The answer might still be the same as it was back then, but with an added touch of fatherly tenderness like Joel.
The First part has rebuilt all the level scenes, so it has done better than before in some small details. For instance, at the beginning of the game, the originally empty bedside table has now been enhanced with a more lively atmosphere by various trinkets. After the player takes on the role of Sarah and goes downstairs, they will surely be attracted by the mobile phone ringtone that breaks the silence. Not to mention the upgraded light and shadow and the meticulous changes in the phone wallpaper, after putting down the phone, the player will naturally notice the light shining on the floor from the study directly opposite. Such meticulous guidance without spoiling the atmosphere is better done than plate-making.
Screenshot of “Remastered Version”
A screenshot from “Part One” shows the guidance on the floor and the change in light through the glass door on the right
The changes in the mobile phone interface
The original work of “The Last of Us” was already widely discussed by the media and players as early as 2013 for its superb and natural in-game guidance. Design techniques such as the yellow guiding color and the visible destination when looking up have been analyzed more thoroughly than the dust on Ellie’s face. In “The First Part”, this kind of detailed guidance is once again strengthened, as if it were the faint freckles beneath the dust.
For instance, in the middle of the university level, Joel and Ellie reach the end of their horseback riding journey. A door bound by iron chains might leave players at a loss. Familiar friends may have already remembered that here Joel needs to go to the distant slope to look for the green trash can to let the gravitational potential energy work.
It is worth noting that in addition to the overall scene adjustment, the trash can in “Part One” has also changed from green to dark red. This must be a further modification made to enhance guidance: the ground of the university scene is mainly green grass, and the trash can changed to dark red naturally has a stronger ability to guide information than the original light green one. Friends who are familiar with the University of Eastern Colorado may not pay much attention to such detailed changes, but such alterations do take care of new tourists who dream of becoming singers.
Screenshot of “Remastered Version”
Screenshot of “Part One”
A new toy as expected
Since the plot, gameplay and level structure remain unchanged compared to the original work, the modification work of “Part One” is like a battle of wits with the sound seekers in a museum – the venue is large enough, but the restrictions are also considerable. Perhaps for this reason, players find it difficult to gain unexpected content during their journey in pursuit of Fireflies. The most astonishing thing might be the minor adjustment in the position of the collectible items. The Firefly Dog card, which was originally hung on the corner tree, was moved to the side to visit a door, making players who are confident in their memory question their lives.
The dog tag that was originally on this tree is gone
Moved from the position indicated by the red arrow to the position indicated by the green arrow
However, the enhancements made by Naughty Dog to the existing content are obvious. These enhancements fill the entire process, mostly from the old friends that players are already familiar with in “Part Two”. For instance, various collectibles that no longer teleport into a backpack but are held in hand and examined closely;
For instance, no longer skipping passwords, but being burdened by one’s short-term memory, opening the backpack to confirm the numbers and manually entering them;
And no longer blocking the workbench with her body, but instead skillfully disassembling and upgrading weapons in front of the camera like a latecomer, allowing players to understand where Ellie in “Part Two” learned from.
Also, it is necessary to mention the teammate AI that has begun to learn to hide and no longer slips past the enemy’s nose as blatantly as before (at least not as frequently). And the enemy AI that always tries to surround the protagonist on normal difficulty but openly shouts out its actions.
Not to mention the highly praised assistance modes from “Part Two” – over 60 accessibility options such as motion assistance with multiple options, visual image assistance, and auditory assistance highlighting information, and even a new audio description content mode is included. Let “Part One” become an action-adventure journey that almost every player can enjoy.
For the Isolation Zone Kings who aim for the ultimate, “Part One” comes with a “Permanent Death” mode and a “Speed Pass” mode of different difficulties: the former allows players to choose whether to rejoin the battle of the heroically sacrificed Joel from the beginning of the chapter or the start of the process, while the latter offers timing functions of different difficulties and rules to help speed pass enthusiasts show their skills.
If you are a player obsessed with being mischievous, you can also use the 8-bit filter unlocked after clearing the game to play as Joel, a programmer in a plaid shirt holding a platinum shotgun, escorting Ellie, dressed in God of War costume and wearing Jack & Dast goggles, across the United States. Seeing such a scene, even the farthest giant would be attracted by the entertainment atmosphere exuded by the players and drop gas bombs to show their support.
8-bit filtered disguised Ellie…
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Finally, we have to confront a more serious problem. This is both a problem between Naughty Dog and its players, and a problem between the creator and the audience. There is one point that everyone may agree on, that is, today’s online world is like a huge vortex. No matter what identity one has, once they are drawn into it, it is difficult to remain independent. We have no idea who will be the first to attack in the next second. Even familiar people might start attacking for no reason, let alone strangers on the other side of the ocean.
Just as Socrates said, “Every action has its pleasure and cost.” Naughty Dog has now formed completely different images in the eyes of different players. It may be liked or detested, ranging from love to contempt. Each attitude has its own causes. But what is the same is that any work can be regarded as an exploration and value transmission. Whether the audience ultimately wants to accept this message or not, exploration always has value. It can make people remain calm and composed, and face what might be a more absurd life with ease.
I think the more players who were once well-versed in the content of “The Last of Us”, the more likely they are to notice the evolution of “Part One” and be moved by it. For those who are looking forward to the first part bringing about changes or expansions in the plot and gameplay, then this game might just be a cross-generational version that is visually closer to the second part.
Ultimately, the era we are in today is no longer one where linear action-adventure games are flourishing. Good works do exist, but they are becoming increasingly rare. Times are changing and technology is innovating. Perhaps the project goal of “The First Part” is to enable old players to relive the emotions of the first generation in a more coherent way, and also to allow new players who have not embarked on this journey to take a more comfortable “first step”.