The Last of Us Part II Remastered (PC) Review

It seems wrong to call any game a “masterpiece” these days. When video game technology was constantly changing, it was possible for games to be objectively better than others. Battlefield 3, for example, looked and played and sounded better than Call of Duty 3, so it made sense for the former to be reviewed better than the latter. Over the past decade or so, though, there haven’t been many improvements to the medium; a title from 2015 isn’t all that different from one that came out this year, and so it can only really be subjectively better. However, that only applies to most video games. Every once in a blue moon, something releases that is by all metrics a masterpiece. Its story, gameplay, graphics and content are so good that it’s the pinnacle of the medium as a whole. And, in case you didn’t see where I was going with this, The Last of Us Part II Remastered on PC is one of those games. Although its port isn’t without a couple of small problems, it’s still the best version of a game that is actually better than almost every single one of its contemporaries. It isn’t for everyone, but it’s one that blurs the line between interactive entertainment and art.

One of the first lines of dialogue in The Last of Us Part II is a literal joke: what’s so hard about eating a clock, Part I’s protagonist Joel asks Part II’s protagonist Ellie. It’s time consuming, he says when Ellie shrugs her virtual shoulders. In most media, that one-liner wouldn’t have any significance. But even gags in The Last of Us Part II foreshadow future events in its story, and Joel’s dad joke augurs the entire narrative of the title. Clocks aren’t the only thing that require a lot of time to digest; revenge does, too, which is ultimately what The Last of Us Part II is about. After one of the main characters from Part I is brutally murdered at the beginning of Part II, Ellie and her friend Dina leave the relative safety of their adopted home in Jackson to go to Seattle to kill the person responsible for killing a person they both cared about. 

Unlike in Part I, their actual journey isn’t shown on screen, and instead the 25-hour-long title focuses on the couple hunting a member of one of the groups that run the post-post-apocalyptic city located on the West Coast. That task is, expectedly, easier said than done, though. Ellie, and to a much lesser extent her companion, are forced to contend with both the ever-present infected and both of the warring factions in Seattle. It’s impossible to discuss what makes The Last of Us Part II so fantastic from a narrative perspective without spoiling its few very major plot points, however. Those points change everything about the game, including letting you play as an entirely unexpected character. And they, along with every single aspect of the story, are objectively perfect.

There isn’t a single piece of dialogue in the title, or a single second of its cutscenes, that are wasted. Everything about The Last of Us Part II’s narrative is intentional, well-executed, and most importantly, utterly depressing. It discusses very serious concepts like the effects of war on the people who fight it, the cost of both relationships and revenge, and gender and sexual identity. And it does so in a way that is simply better than almost any piece of entertainment media. Unless you’re a psychopath, you will be perpetually gutted by how the game’s narrative unfolds, because despite the game as a whole being about a fictitious post-apocalypse, it feels entirely too real.

That’s also true for The Last of Us Part II’s gameplay. At its core, it isn’t all that much different from its predecessor; it’s a third-person action/adventure title with a strong emphasis placed on stealth and crafting. However, unlike Part I, it’s disturbingly satisfying to survive combat encounters because of how brutal they all are. You’re free to move around its large arenas however you see fit, but only the most skilled players won’t inadvertently alert enemies who have unpredictable patrol patterns and incredible aim. After you’re spotted, then, you will have to use every tool at your disposal to dispatch your foes. Whether that’s the assortment of upgradable guns you find in Seattle, craftable explosives, or your knife is up to you. Regardless of what weapon you use, though, your enemies will cry and scream and spew blood when you end their lives. Human enemies whimper when you kill their guard dogs or their friends, infected let out terrifying noises when they notice you dispose of one of their pack, and both ooze bodily fluids on the floor after you’ve dealt with them.

You’ll likely feel sadistic while playing The Last of Us Part II, because it’s disturbingly enjoyable to complete its many combat encounters. There’s something intrinsically satisfying about its gameplay that’s hard to describe. You’re always given just enough ammunition and crafting materials to survive, but never enough to thrive. If you have ammunition for your revolver, for example, odds are you won’t have any for your shotgun. If you’ve stocked up on health kits, that means you won’t have the resources to make Molotov cocktails. If you perpetually miss your shots, you’ll have to beat enemies to death with your fists, which means you’ll need plenty of healing items to replenish the health you’ll inevitably lose. It’s a near-perfect loop that’s interspersed with just enough environmental puzzles and narrative moments to not be overwhelming. There is no right way to play The Last of Us Part II, and whichever wrong-seeming way you are all but forced to will be more enjoyable than it would in literally any other video game.

Of course, that was true for the original version of The Last of Us Part II. However, the remastered version on PC adds two new features that weren’t present in the base game: the ability to play it on PC (obviously), and No Return. The former is the main draw, because it allows you to experience one of the best games ever created without owning a console. Even on low settings, it looks noticeably better than it did on the PlayStation 4 or 5; environments are detailed, characters' facial expressions are amazing, the lighting is almost unbelievably good, and everything sounds almost perfect. The port also runs exceptionally well, with its only problems being that it can take a minute for levels to fully render. Unlike the disastrous Part I port, Part II on PC is the definitive way to experience the title, and one that works exactly as it should without issue.

It also includes the No Return mode, which was on the PS5 version of the title but not the PS4 one. No Return is essentially a rogue-lite survival mode; you start each run by picking which one of the game’s many characters you want to play as, all of whom have a unique set of basic equipment. Then you pick which encounters, most of which are from the more memorable levels from the base game, you want to tackle. If you survive the roughly three-minute-long arenas, you’re able to upgrade your character and their weapons. But if you die, your run is over and whatever progress you made is lost. It’s not exactly the most unique way to play the game, but it’s still incredibly fun and addicting. And it gives you an excuse to experience more of the game’s phenomenal combat, which is something you will want to do after beating its campaign.

“Want” may be the wrong word, come to think of it. Because The Last of Us Part II is a game that will make you far more depressed and gutted than any other video game, and yet it’s one you will likely keep coming back to. It’s almost impossible to describe exactly why that’s the case without ruining many of the moments that make its story so great, though. Just like revenge, it's something you need to experience instead of reading about to understand. If you don’t have a strong stomach, or you’re too young to have gone through many of the pivotal moments of adulthood, you likely won’t appreciate the title. If you can tolerate virtual violence, and have been through your fair share of turmoil in the real world, you owe it to yourself to play the game. It will make you think, it will make you squeamish, and it will make you depressed, all the while you’ll be enjoying some of the best gameplay ever created. The Last of Us Part II is a masterpiece, and being able to finally play it on PC means that’s even more true than it was when the title was only available on PlayStation consoles.