When did the first rumors about remake Last of us, that fantastic PS3 video game that hit the industry in 2013, most of us thought it was a completely unnecessary step. Cause? Firstly, the game is not even ten years old, and in addition, a year after the release, it received a remaster for PS4. Although game remakes have become commonplace for many companies, the period of time between an original work and its remake is usually not that short.
On the other hand, it is undeniable that Last of us He’s aged pretty well. Mainly because he was the graphic marvel of his generation; a preview of what’s to come soon in the world of consoles. However, it was enough to see the first trailer to understand that Naughty Dog, the studio that took over the development of the remake, pretty ambitious. This was to not only update the audiovisual part, but also the game part, building on what had already been achieved in the outstanding sequel.
AT hypertext we had the opportunity to play The Last of Us Part 1 during the last weeks. While I still think this suggestion should have been left for later, I must also admit that I never imagined that the original title would have ample room for improvement. Not a lot of newand they are well distributed in almost all sections included in its composition.
This time yes, I won’t go too deep into the narrative field because there is no change in that sense. Story Last of us is already well known to the vast majority, and we know in advance that his campaign is as violent as it is emotional. However, if the remake is your first introduction to the adventures of Joel and Ellie, in the next couple of paragraphs you can get a brief description of what awaits you – without spoilers, of course.
Last of us the action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. A strain of fungus called cordyceps has caused a devastating pandemic for the entire world. If the above weren’t enough, infected humans become aggressive zombie-aerial creatures – they can’t see or locate their prey with sound. History puts us at our feet Joel, who has just started, experiences a family tragedy that marks him forever. Some time later, due to such unexpected turns in life, the main character is entrusted with a mission: to escort a girl to a settlement on the outskirts of Boston.
Minor named Ellie, is immune to the disease. Joel realizes that keeping her safe and completing her mission is the first step to possibly finding a cure. Now, traversing a city in Massachusetts is becoming a major challenge as much of the region is swarming with all sorts of creatures. The narrative includes raw, visceral and painful moments.. The difficult experiences that Joel and Ellie go through together lead to them developing a very close relationship, almost a father-daughter relationship.
Lighting, starting point
Let’s now move on to graphic and game novelties. Surely what will surprise you the most once you start your game with The Last of Us Part 1 will be yours updated lighting. Yes, it was already good in the original title, but the leap made in the remake is significant. If you are familiar with the various technical aspects of video games, you know that the effect of light on a scene goes beyond the specific area that is intended to be illuminated.
A few simple beams of light, correctly reflected, can visually change everything around us. AT The Last of Us Part 1, lighting behaves much more realistically. The most obvious changes occur in shadows and places where darkness prevails. If before they already looked frightening, now they are even more so, because the light, for a natural reason, hardly reaches them.
I dare say that Naughty Dog had to manually intervene with the lighting behavior in certain interiors so that it was not so difficult to render what is inside, including enemies. The game has a large number of environments where you can make sure that both the light emitted by the sun during the day and artificial sources at night are projected and reflected, as required by physics.
Of course, this great improvement in lighting is accompanied higher resolution textures. Regardless of the type of surface or object we have in mind, there is perceived to be an improvement in the level of detail of the same, although some are more elaborate than others. Likewise, I must highlight particle effects, which were clearly created from the ground up to be more tied to the phenomenon they represent. Explosions or fire, just to name a few, have never looked better.
The Last of Us Part 1 introduces new character models
At this point I would like to comment that stages now have items that react to firepowersentence inherited from The Last of Us Part 2. Best of all, in specific cases, they are not just a visual addition, because they also interfere with the gameplay.
For example, when we defend ourselves in a shelter made of pieces of wood, which will be destroyed when receiving shots from enemies. Then at some point you will have to find another place to hide behind. Other times they’re just consequences destruction to enhance the atmosphere of chaos, such as surface damage or glass breaking when hit by a bullet or a nearby explosion.
The franchise has established itself as a game where storytelling takes precedence over everything else. Therefore, work on facial animation is necessary so that the characters can convey emotions. The Last of Us Part 1 In this sense, this is a qualitative leap. First, because new models the main characters – and in general all characters and creatures – are subjected to more polygonal loading and, in the particular case of Ellie, completely update the face and bring it closer to what was seen in the second game.
Obviously, when you have more detailed faces, expressiveness can be greatly improved. Story Last of us there are many emotional moments in it, in which the characters express both negative and positive feelings. The remake takes advantage of these technical innovations in an excellent way, and manages to create sequences, mostly cinematic, which are now generated in real time, enriching the excellent story.
Exploiting the technical potential of the PS5
In terms of gameplay, the main change can be seen in artificial intelligence. Let’s face it, the original game’s AI left a lot to be desired at times. AT The Last of Us Part 1, however, Naughty Dog has made efforts to ensure that the enemies finally behave like reasonable people. This time you will see how they progress through the stages better, and once they see you, they will do their best to outflank you.
The artificial intelligence of the allies is not far behind. Ellie, who accompanies you throughout almost the entire adventure and does not hesitate to support you in various confrontations, now moves much better to stay out of sight of human opponents. It was pretty frustrating in the 2013 title and subsequent remaster when your stealth strategy went to waste when your partner revealed their location in the most absurd way, causing an unnecessary and unplanned fight. Fortunately, there are fewer such situations.
The driving experience is also improved thanks to the benefits double sense. There is not a single interaction with Joel that does not have tactile feedback precise control. Naturally, the intensity of the vibration increases depending on the action being performed – using a consumable item is not the same as firing a shotgun. Similarly, they integrated adjustable triggersthe voltage of which primarily affects the activation of the weapon.
Also, we should all applaud Naught Dog and any other study that bets on the same. accessibility options. The sequel has already shone in this area and The Last of Us Part 1 It has been updated so that as many people as possible can use it. It’s great to see that the industry is becoming more and more aware of accessibility and leaving no one behind.
Usually, The Last of Us Part 1 This upset me forever. It is clear that the developers, thanks to the potential of the PlayStation 5, were finally able to implement ideas that they could not implement in the original title due to a technical barrier. Was this remake necessary? I keep saying no. But I’m not going to deny that I had a great time revisiting one of the best narrative works in video game history.
Undoubtedly this is the ultimate adventure. If you’re a fan of the franchise, I don’t think I need to tell you that you can’t miss it. There’s also a new permanent death mode and an improved photo mode for capturing new scenarios.
Source: Hiper Textual
