The Last of Us Part 1 Remake Review (PS5) – I first played The Last of Us Original on the PlayStation 4 many years ago. It’s definitely one of the best games I’ve played and deserved to win Game of the Year, along with many other over 200 awards and achievements. I really liked the game that I bought the Remastered edition later on, planning to replay it again one day.
Years later, I still don’t have the time to open the plastic cover to play it but there is now an even better version: The Last of Us Part 1 Remake. This is not just a remaster of the Remastered edition though. It’s completely rebuilt from the ground up with the latest PS5 engine technology and a fully integrated PS5 DualSense wireless controller features. It’s as if the team relook into every scene and frame, and tweak everything manually to make it look and feel better.
Is the game really that good that deserves a third chance? Yes.
Before playing the game, you’ll have to pick between Fidelity and Performance graphics mode. The Fidelity mode offers 4K visuals with 30fps (if you set your PS5 to 60Hz output), 4K with 40fps (with 120Hz). The Performance mode sacrifice a bit of graphics quality for a boost of gameplay performance, offering 1440p resolution with 60fps.
I decided to try out Fidelity mode, because I’d like to experience what the team has been up to in terms of the graphics engine and fidelity. I was surprised to find that playing in 30fps didn’t really affect my gameplay and perception (maybe it’s a good thing that I didn’t try the 60Hz first). And I didn’t regret my decision.
The Last of Us Part 1 Remake improves many visual details with more realistic lighting, eerier atmosphere, more life-like environments, more life-like movements (character animation), characters visual redesign, and much more. Thankfully, they didn’t try to re-record the voice acting – which I believe will be really hard to triumph the ones from the original. So yes, you’ll hear the same familiar voices as before (assuming you’ve played the original before) and that emotions you pick up from them. This time however, the experience is better thanks to the better facial animation and amped up visuals.
The introduction scene in the game is one of the most moving ones and I was surprised to see that my wife was actually watching me play through the whole scene (she didn’t normally do that when she’s working on her laptop). The new visual upgrade (character, effects, lighting, environment) and animation definitely make the scene even more memorable than ever before.
Walking through the world in the Remake also feels more real as a lot of the environment gets a visual upgrade to make them more life-like, and rooms filled with more variety of objects than before. You’ll see more grass on the ground, some structures get redesigned (and sometimes changed), and more.
Character models were already looking great when I played the original and I don’t think I had a complaint before. However, the new models get better textures like facial complexion, awesome hair strands, freckles, eyes, and more. Players of the Original and Remastered may not immediately like the visual upgrade though because this process actually changes some of the character looks you’ve grown a fond of on screen.
If you haven’t been playing the Original or Remastered for a long while, you probably don’t exactly remember how they look before and you’ll be fine the moment you start the game. If you do remember them, it may take a while before you’ve grown love into the new models.
The Last of Us Part 1 Remake Review Conclusion
The Last of Us Part 1 Remake makes the characters look more expressive, environments to look eerier and more real, plus many elements in the game also get redesigned – and all these make the cutscenes into far better ones. And since the cutscenes in The Last of Us play an important part in the game, the boosted graphics fidelity simply makes the overall game better than before visually. This translates to being able to see and feel the emotions of the characters and voice acting better in the Remake.
Visuals are not just there for the cutscenes though. As you explore the world and face the enemies, having amped up visuals feels good and makes you more immersed in the game. Thankfully, the team didn’t just focus on visuals and has also upgraded the AI, character animations, UIs, and some gameplay to complement.
If you’ve played the Original and Remastered, there probably isn’t much incentive for you to get the Remake, except if you want to replay the game again or as a collection. It’s at a full price so you’re probably not going to miss out a lot if you pass on this one. But if you’ve never played The Last of Us before and you are on the PS5, the Last of Us Part 1 Remake is a must have.
Available online, at retailers, and also Amazon.com
Disclosure: The Last of Us Part 1 Remake licence review was supplied for reviewing
The Last of Us Part 1 PS5 Remake Review
Overall
Summary
Is third time the charm? YES!
