The Last Of Us 2 Remastered Has One New Feature More Games Should Use

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is a bit of a misnomer. It certainly ups the visuals from the original 2020 release of, but it also provides a fair amount of new content. The most significant is No Return, a roguelike game mode, but it also includes three Lost Levels, galleries of concept art, new skins for characters and weapons, a developer commentary track for the main game, and a few more odds and ends. Developer commentary piques interest, and its implementation in the campaign is middling, but the Lost Levels, which also include it, are a revelation.

Developer commentary for a video game is a bit of an odd idea, especially since the practice has fallen mostly out of vogue in movie home releases. Especially in, which is by no means a short game, and one that's very heavily narrative-driven, it ultimately feels like an odd way to re-experience Ellie and Abby's story. The Lost Levels, however, which don't have a traditional commentary track, are incredibly interesting, and they're the kind of bonus feature that would be welcome in many other video games, and would have been a great addition to on PS5.

includes three levels cut from the game at various points in development – Jackson Party, Sewers, and Boar Hunt. They each fit into 's story, but were cut for a myriad of reasons. Jackson Party would have seen the player spend more time in Jackson before her fateful kiss with Dina at the dance; Sewers was intended to be an extended puzzle and platforming sequence after Ellie's first run-in with Stalkers in Seattle; and Boar Hunt was going to be an extended opening to the Farm sequence, focusing on Ellie tracking an injured boar.

Each Lost Level has an introduction from director Neil Druckmann, in which he explains where the level was intended to fit into the story, what players can expect in its unfinished state, and some of the reasons it was left on the cutting room floor. Inside the Lost Levels, however, are interactable icons that trigger developer commentary with a wide array of insights. The