The Last of Us Part II Remastered Review

A masterpiece gets a second chance to impress — and this time, it has more than a visual upgrade to justify the return.

[IMAGE: Ellie standing in the snow outside Jackson, guitar slung over her shoulder, dawn light breaking over the mountains]

Remasters often have a hard time justifying themselves. Too many simply give an older game a higher resolution and ask players to pay for it again. The Last of Us Part II Remastered does considerably more. Alongside the original campaign, it includes the roguelike survival mode No Return, three unfinished Lost Levels with developer commentary, and Guitar Free Play. It also received Chronological Mode, which rearranges the entire story into the order its events actually happen. None of these additions changes the core game, but several give players a genuine reason to return. After multiple years on the market, this is still one of the most substantial remasters around.

The Campaign Still Holds Up

The core campaign remains unchanged — and that's a good thing. Ellie and Joel's life in Jackson, Wyoming, is shattered early on, sending Ellie on a brutal journey that tests how far she and the player are willing to go in the name of justice. The story remains divisive, and this remaster does nothing to change the writing or pacing choices that caused those divisions in the first place. But viewed purely as an interactive experience, the campaign remains remarkably impressive.

The performances, facial animation, sound design and environmental detail still stand out. More importantly, the game knows how to turn its environments into part of the experience. Quiet exploration can suddenly give way to tense stealth, which can then explode into chaotic combat. Few third-person action games make those transitions feel as naturally as Part II does. For returning players, the campaign also benefits from just how much detail Naughty Dog packed into its environments and character performances. The story may be familiar, but the presentation still holds up exceptionally well.

[IMAGE: Ellie and Abby facing off in a rain-soaked, muddy arena, tension frozen mid-frame]

Combat Is Still Exceptional

The strongest part of The Last of Us Part II has always been its combat, and it remains one of the game's biggest strengths. Even after several years, the combination of stealth, gunplay and close-quarters combat still feels remarkably fluid. Stealth gives you plenty of ways to approach an encounter. You can move between cover, crawl through grass, distract enemies, use silenced weapons and quietly take down isolated targets. But things rarely stay under control for long. One mistake can expose your position and turn a careful stealth sequence into a frantic firefight.

That's where the combat system really shines. You can dodge incoming attacks, move between cover, switch weapons quickly and use the environment to create opportunities. Enemies also communicate and react to what is happening around them, making encounters feel less predictable than a typical third-person shooter. The game also does a good job of making its larger encounters feel like spaces rather than enclosed arenas. You're constantly moving, repositioning and deciding whether it's safer to stay hidden or take the fight head-on. That flexibility is what makes the combat so effective. It isn't simply about having good shooting mechanics; it's about giving you enough options to react when a plan falls apart. It's also the foundation of why No Return works so well. Once the story is removed, the combat system is strong enough to stand on its own.

No Return Is the Remaster's Biggest Addition

If you've already finished the campaign, No Return is the biggest reason to come back. It's a roguelike survival mode built around the game's combat, with randomized runs taking characters through a series of encounters set across familiar locations. The important part is that the characters aren't just different skins. They can completely change how you approach a run.

Jesse, for example, starts with a silenced pistol and abilities that support a patient, stealth-focused style. Tommy and Joel are much more powerful offensively, but neither can dodge in melee. That sounds like a small restriction until you're suddenly in a close-range fight and reach for a mechanic you've spent the entire campaign relying on. Losing that safety net changes the way those encounters feel. A hideout hub between encounters lets you spend earned currency on upgrades, while daily challenges add another reason to keep coming back. The mode also offers enough character and encounter variety to make repeated runs worthwhile.

Later additions have helped keep it fresh, including Uncharted-themed cosmetics that let Joel and Tommy take on the appearance of Nathan and Sam Drake. No Return doesn't add anything to Ellie or Abby's stories; it's completely separate from the campaign. But that's also the point. It takes one of the best parts of Part II — its combat — and gives you a place to experiment with it.

Chronological Mode Gives the Story a New Perspective

Chronological Mode is perhaps the most unusual addition because it changes the way the entire campaign is presented. The original game deliberately jumps between different points in time and character perspectives. Chronological Mode instead rearranges those events into a single timeline, showing them in the order they happened. That sounds like a simple change, but it affects how the story feels. The original structure controls when the player learns important information and when certain characters come back into focus. Rearranging those moments naturally changes their impact.

For a first playthrough, the original presentation is still the better choice. Its non-linear structure is clearly part of how Naughty Dog wanted the story to work. For a second or third playthrough, however, Chronological Mode is genuinely interesting. Seeing Ellie and Abby's timelines run alongside each other gives returning players a different way to understand events they already know. It's not necessarily a better version of the story. It's a different one.

The Lost Levels Are a Rare Look Behind the Curtain

[IMAGE: A rough, unfinished pre-alpha environment from one of the Lost Levels — visible texture pop-in and placeholder geometry alongside a developer commentary subtitle]

The Lost Levels are smaller than No Return, but they may be the most interesting addition for longtime fans. Three pre-alpha levels that were cut during development are presented in their unfinished state, complete with rough textures and placeholder elements. Developer commentary explains what these sections were intended to do and why they ultimately didn't make the final game.

That's what makes them valuable. These aren't polished bonus missions that were quietly finished after the fact. They offer a genuine look at the development process and the kind of material that would normally remain behind the scenes. There are only three levels, and they're clearly unfinished, so they aren't a reason by themselves for most players to buy the remaster. For fans interested in how large games are made, though, they're a fascinating extra.

Guitar Free Play Is a Surprisingly Good Extra

Guitar Free Play takes Ellie's guitar sections and turns them into a standalone space where you can simply play around. There's more depth here than you might expect. Additional instruments can be unlocked through collectibles, trophies, No Return progress and higher-difficulty completions, while audio effects and other options let you change the sound.

It won't be essential for everyone, but that's not really the point. It's a relaxed creative space in a game otherwise built around tension, violence and loss. For some players it'll be a five-minute curiosity; for others, it'll become a surprisingly enjoyable distraction.

The PC Version Is Better, But Not Perfect

Since this review was played on PC, the port deserves a closer look. The good news is that this is a much more competent PC release than The Last of Us Part I's troubled launch. DLSS 3.5, FSR 3.1 and NVIDIA Reflex are supported, along with ultrawide and multi-monitor displays. Keyboard and mouse controls are also well implemented, with full remapping, primary and secondary bindings, and an adaptive mode that allows keyboard and controller input to work together.

Naughty Dog also skipped ray tracing. Given the performance problems surrounding the previous PC release, trading ray tracing for broader compatibility and more consistent performance feels like a sensible decision. The problems haven't disappeared, though. This remains a CPU-heavy game, and that becomes noticeable during the denser Seattle sections. On a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RTX 4080 at 1440p, performance was generally smooth during quieter exploration, but frame-time spikes became noticeable during heavier combat and traversal, with dips into the 50s in the worst situations.

Shader compilation also takes time on the first launch, and skipping that process can lead to the kind of stuttering you'd expect. It's certainly a major improvement over Part I's PC release, but calling it a flawless PC port would be going too far. One other limitation is worth knowing about: full DualSense adaptive triggers and haptic feedback require a wired USB connection on PC. Bluetooth reduces the controller to more standard functionality. It's not a problem unique to this game, but anyone expecting the complete DualSense experience wirelessly should know about it.

Who Should Buy The Last of Us Part II Remastered?

The answer depends on which version you've already played.

Coming from the original PS4 release? The upgrade is an easy recommendation. No Return, the Lost Levels and Chronological Mode give you substantially more than a simple visual upgrade.

Never played the game before? This is the best version to start with. You get the complete campaign alongside No Return and the additional behind-the-scenes material. The original story presentation should still be your first choice, but everything else is there when you're ready for it.

Already own the PS5 Remastered version and considering buying it on PC? This is the hardest sell. The core game is the same, and the PC version offers useful features, but they aren't essential enough to make another purchase an automatic recommendation. If PC is now your preferred platform, the upgrade makes more sense. If you're happy playing on PS5, there's less reason to double-dip.

Pros

• No Return is a genuinely deep roguelike combat mode

• Chronological Mode offers a fresh perspective for returning players

• The Lost Levels provide a rare look at game development

• Guitar Free Play has surprising depth

• Naughty Dog continues to support the remaster with meaningful additions

Cons

• PC performance can still stutter on capable hardware

• Full DualSense features require a wired connection

• The PC version is a relatively incremental upgrade for existing PS5 owners

The Last of Us Part II Remastered was reviewed on PC.