The Last of Us Part 1 happened because Naughty Dog wanted it to be visually “contiguous” with Part 2. Despite generally favorable reviews, The Last of Us Part 1’s harshest critics call it unnecessary and, in extreme cases, “fraudulent,” but the developers say the remake was necessary to create a “contiguous” experience between the first and second game.
In a new documentary, creative director Shaun Escayg and game director Matthew Gallant go in-depth about the making of The Last of Us Part 1, and at one point, they discuss the reason they remade the game in the first place. Apparently, they wanted to create a consistent technical experience for folks wanting to play through the first and second games back-to-back.
The original Last of Us released in 2013 for the PS3, while its follow-up launched on PS4 in June of 2020, just a few month’s shy of the PS5’s debut. That said, The Last of Us was remastered for PS4 in 2014, so technically, that and The Last of Us Part 2 are both PS4 games. However, Naughty Dog aimed to avoid having back-to-back playthroughs feel like “playing a PS3 game and then playing a PS5 game.”
“The starting point for it was making the flashbacks in The Last of Us Part 2 and seeing those alongside the events of The Last of Us Part 2, it really sparked this inspiration in the studio of just like, ‘what if we could make the whole game look like that, what if we could make The Last of Us look like these flashbacks that we kind of faked to be contiguous with The Last of Us Part 2?'” said Gallant.
The Last of Us Part 1 remake was a way to pillage from Part 2, using what they loved about combat and AI, to create a consistent visual experience across both games. The developers acknowledged the existence of The Last of Us PS4 remaster, but likened it to “almost like a tech art exercise.”
Naughty Dog had to modernize the original game to make the experience more consistent with the studio’s latest efforts. These modernization things include UX improvements, accessibility options, and gameplay tweaks to resource balancing and tutorials.
In conclusion, Naughty Dog’s decision to remake The Last of Us Part 1 was to ensure visual continuity between Part 1 and Part 2. The developers used what they loved about combat and AI in Part 2 to pillage and create a consistent visual experience across both games. Naughty Dog had to modernize the original game to make the experience more consistent with their latest efforts, including UX improvements, accessibility options, and gameplay tweaks. The Last of Us Part 1 remake is the seamless connection between Part 1 and Part 2.
