Does It Pass? The Last of Us Part II Remastered

Steam allows you to get a full refund on any game purchased that has less than 2 hours played. PlayStation allows Plus subscribers to play a free trial for 2 hours or more. The new question is whether a game can pass the 2-Hour Test and keep you playing.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered has improved visuals (more on that later), Lost Levels and a brand new No Return mode. Depending on where you start out for your first two hours, you could have a good amount of fun, or a lot of fun. If you’ve never played The Last of Us, then I’d recommend playing through the story first like a normal person. If you have, then you should definitely sink your teeth into the No Return mode. The No Return mode is the stand-out feature here, allowing for players to enjoy roguelike, wave-based combat in a tight-knit package.

No Return has taken up most of my time here, since I’ve already played through the story a few times. It is very fun and addictive. There’s finally something to give the action gameplay of The Last of Us a chance to truly shine. I haven’t gotten tired of it yet, and I’ve given it a lot of my time. There is a difference in how each character plays, and getting good with one will take more than a few runs. Going with one of the main characters will give you the experience you’re used to, but I encourage you to try others because it makes the game feel just different enough.

The Lost Levels are a cool way to take a glimpse behind the veil of game development. The chance to see how they truly look at every little detail of the level, like how it affects the character, the player, the pacing, the story, and trying to stay fun at the same time is really cool.

The updates to the graphics here aren’t nearly as big as the jump was for Part I. If you don’t have a 4k TV with HDR and VRR, then you probably won’t notice much difference at all. The only real difference is the excellent reflections in the puddles that show up occasionally throughout the game. It does, however, run at 60 fps throughout, and with VRR enabled, you can really pump up those frames of glory for your viewing pleasure.

I think The Last of Us Part II Remastered passes the 2-Hour Test. I wasn’t able to put the controller down after only two hours, and I’m still enjoying myself now.

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Matthew Davis

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I was born and raised in a town so small there were more cows than people. I joined the USAF as soon as I could, and I currently reside in San Antonio. I am a singer/songwriter on the side, but I've been a gamer since birth. I grew up with PlayStation and Nintendo, though, I don't discriminate between consoles and PC. I have a PC with a 3080, Steam Deck, and a PS5.