The Last of Us Part 1 considered every detail — it’s not just ‘beauty for the sake of it,’ say co-directors

polygon.com:

After publishing The Last of UsPart 2, the rumblings of a remake started at developer Naughty Dog. “What if we could remake The Last of Us?” asked creative director Shaun Escayg. What if people could jump between The Last of Us and Part 2, with no visual dissonance and all on the same console?

Soon, new and older players will be able to. The Last of Us Part 1, a remake of the 2013 game, is slated for release on Sept. 2, making the Sony classic accessible to more players, both on the PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. Make no mistake, Part 1 is a faithful remake of the original game; the story remains entirely unchanged. But technological leaps in both combat and cinematics have added even more depth — more watery tear ducts and darting eyes, more sneaky and intelligent AI, and more female runners.

That’s the difference between a remake and a remaster. A remake gives developers the space and technology to make major changes, but the real beauty in that design is knowing when to hold back, according to Escayg and game director Matthew Gallant, who spoke to Polygon in an interview Tuesday.

[Ed. note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Polygon: I think I might be the only person who hadn’t played The Last of Usbefore the PlayStation5 remake. Who did you make this new version for — is it for new players like me or fans of the original? Will these two different groups get different things out of The Last of Us Part 1?

Shaun Escayg: For me, it’s for both. It’s for existing fans and for new players. We treated The Last of Us Part 1 as our love letter to the franchise, to our fans, to ourselves. It put a lot of pressure on us to make this game, because the original was arguably one of the greatest games ever