The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered review: More than meets the eye

The Last of Us Part 2 is arguably the most polarising game of the last decade since Death Stranding, Final Fantasy XV, or perhaps even the vanilla Dark Souls 2. Despite that, I can confidently say that at its core, the sequel to one of Naughty Dog's most beloved IPs is an excellent video game, one that now has a dedicated PS5 remastered version.

Like many others, I was skeptical going into The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, simply because I remembered the original PS4 release already looking incredible for its time, which was roughly three years ago. However, believe me when I say this, the remaster is more than just your average graphical glow-up.

While I enjoyed replaying The Last of Us Part 2 with all the new PS5 exclusive bells and whistles, as well as the newly added roguelike mode, No Return, which probably is my favorite aspect of the package, at its core, this is still that sequel which left a sour taste in my mouth, in terms of its narrative, back when I first played it in 2020.

Say what you will, but when it comes to raw graphical prowess, very few studios can match what Naughty Dog has to offer. The Last of Us Part 2, even on the PlayStation 4, looked leagues ahead of anything you would've seen on PlayStation or even PC, for that matter. And with the remaster, the studio is again pushing the envelope for real-time graphics.

What makes the game's visuals even more breathtaking in the PS5 remaster is the increased texture resolution, which is very much evident in the photo mode, as well as during gameplay, especially in the Seattle section, with the detail on buildings and other environmental props being the highlight. The texture resolution bump is especially evident in the "Quality Mode."

Additionally, I also found