The video and accompanying PlayStation Blog post show off some of the game’s newest features, most notably the visual improvements. The characters are exponentially more detailed “down to the irises and pupil depth.” Most of these changes are seen in the video itself, as the characters are more emotional both in cutscenes and during gameplay. For example, in the comparison above, Ellie in the PS5 version isn’t just standing idly when she talks to Joel, she’s crossing her arms and leaning in, which is more natural. The cutscenes will contain even more subtle glances and movements in a way that is “closer to some of the original performances.” Character models will also be the same throughout the game, meaning they will look better during interactive parts. Naughty Dog traditionally uses different models for gameplay and cutscenes, with the latter being more detailed and ready for close-ups. This means there will be seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes, something Naughty Dog started doing with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The art direction has even been reformed to give off a more appropriate atmosphere for what the level calls for, be it dark and gloomy or sunny and upbeat. This seems to be achieved mainly through better lighting and shadows. RELATED: The Last of Us HBO Show Gets New Image, Troy Baker & Ashley Johnson Join Cast Physics will also improve. There are more mobiles and destructible items to make the world feel “rich and populated”. Enemy AI is now stronger and built from the foundation of the second game. They are smarter in how they attack and flank, which will lead to more tense battles. The friendly AI has also been improved. Picking up again from continuity, allies will be able to more realistically hide from enemies. In the PS3 original and the PS4 remaster, in order to alleviate the game’s frustration, friendlies could not see enemies, which often meant that they would unrealistically sprint in front of enemies without alerting them. Naughty Dog also ran new mods and gameplay changes. There will be an “advanced” photo mode, Permadeath mode, Speedrun mode, many more unlocks, model viewer and many accessibility features. A lot of this was also leaked in the past, but it was also expected since the sequel made such strides in this area. It will even have an audio description feature that describes what is happening in each scene. 3D audio is another new feature and will allow players to more easily tell where enemies are as they think. DualSense also plays a big role in immersion. Each weapon has a unique amount of adaptive trigger resistance. The bow, for example, will have some tension when you first pull the trigger down and the harder it is held. Adaptive triggers will work alongside haptic feedback. The shotgun will vibrate the pad violently when fired, but will also vibrate slightly again when cocked. The new workbench animations – another feature brought over from the sequel – will vibrate accordingly as Joel disassembles and increases his weapons. Climbing, jumping, fighting, climbing, the giraffe scene, and more will all have varying amounts of haptic feedback support. However, it doesn’t look like the remake will bring any of the major gameplay changes from The Last of Us Part II. Many wondered if Joel could dodge or crawl, which Ellie then caught. Tracking would likely require new level geometry, while dodging would require seemingly new animations, both of which may have been outside the scope of this remake. RELATED: Neil Druckmann Gives Update on The Last of Us Multiplayer Naughty Dog Co-President Neil Druckmann said that The Last of Us Part I is supposed to keep the authenticity of the original, but “elevate it in every possible way” and that this remake will not just be different, but better. He then added that this was the definitive way to play the first game. While more information about the game was bound to come out sooner or later, it appears to have been timed around the game’s partial leak. As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Xbox Era co-founder Nick Baker recently tweeted several videos of the game, which he said were given to him by an unknown source. He also put out a cheeky tweet once Sony released the official video. More were posted on ResetEra, showing another batch of photos from the game. These were just more leaks for a series that has been chronically leaked in recent years. The Last of Us Part II was infamously leaked months before its release, showing spoilery scenes long before the public could play it. And while a Bloomberg article and other subsequent reports talked about the remake starting in April 2021, PlayStation itself leaked the game in June 2022, releasing the trailer and fact sheet just hours before the Summer Game Fest reveal . Druckmann has spoken candidly about the leaks about the sequel, telling Kinda Funny that the day the sequel leaked was one of the worst days of his life. He was also disappointed when the reveal of the remake was prematurely spoiled, as he reflected on stage when talking to Jeff Keighley during its official unveiling. Druckmann also joked during this presentation that it wasn’t time to talk about his next game unless “someone at PlayStation wants to leak it.”
