Earlier today, Sony accidentally revealed that a remake of 2013 blockbuster The Last of Us is coming to Playstation 5 in September. Titled The Last of Us Part 1, the game will be priced at $69.99 for the standard version and $99.99 for the ”Firefly Edition”, which includes the Left Behind prequel chapter, a limited edition display case, and issues one through four of the comic. The announcement trailer, which was probably intended to come out during Summer Game Fest or another of the several game events happening this month, also revealed that the game will be coming to PC at some point, although the release date is unclear.
The remaster’s page on Playstation Direct, which has since been taken down, promised “a total overhaul of the original experience, faithfully reproduced but incorporating modernized gameplay, improved controls and expanded accessibility options”. Players will also “feel immersed with improved effects and enhanced exploration and combat.” While this language is somewhat vague, it seems clear that one of the major goals of this remake is to align the gameplay and graphics of The Last of Us more closely with those of its sequel, whose popularity likely influenced the decision to remake its predecessor.
The Last of Us has found enduring success as a franchise over the past decade since the launch of the first game on PS3. It went on to inspire a PS4 remaster, a sequel, and an upcoming HBO miniseries with Pedro Pascal. Despite its success commercially and its reputation for cinematic storytelling, the original game is fraught in a number of ways, from its construction of masculinity as part of the “dad game” genre to its treatment of its Black characters. While the remake will update the game’s graphics and even its gameplay, it’s questionable whether these larger thematic issues will be addressed.