The Last of Us Part II Remastered: Exploring the roguelike survival mode, No Return

blog.playstation.com:

The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrives for the PlayStation 5 console on January 19, 2024. With it comes a slew of new behind-the-scenes content, technical enhancements to leverage the PS5 hardware, and new modes to ensure that whether you’re experiencing the award-winning sequel’s story for the first or fifth time, there’s something new to discover.

Preorders for both the standard version of the game, physically and digitally, as well as the W.L.F. Edition, are available starting today. And to mark the occasion, we’re excited to highlight one of the most expansive new additions: No Return, a single-player roguelike survival mode. Before we jump in, check out our trailer for the mode below.

No Return is a new foray for the world of The Last of Us, built to spotlight Part II’s nuanced and engrossing gameplay in a unique way. Let’s dive a bit deeper into what you can expect from the mode.

No Return allows players to choose their own path and test their skills across runs of randomized encounters, throwing you into familiar spaces from The Last of Us Part II’s campaign, like Jackson, the Channel 13 News Station, and many more. These scenarios will be unfamiliar and even unexpected, though, with unique gameplay twists. But be warned: death is permanent in No Return, so if you fail a run midway, you’ll lose all weapons, items, and upgrades accumulated for that run and begin again with a fresh set of randomized scenarios. How you progress during any given run isn’t pre-defined – throughout a run, players will have to choose between different encounters, which will determine not only the type of gameplay mode you tackle, but also what rewards you may unlock, what potential modifiers you’ll encounter, and more. And in between