The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered patch adds a chronological story mode
There’s a new update for The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which adds a new way to play through the game’s story with the chronological mode.
The new feature is added today in patch 2.1.0 for PS5 and patch 1.5 for the game on PC via Steam and Epic.
The Last of Us Part 2 was released with a story that plays out non-linearly, showing Ellie and Abby’s stories in a jumbled up order that also blends in flashbacks alongside the present-day story.
“Through the new Chronological mode,” Naughty Dog’s Jonathan Dornbush writes, “we believe players will gain even deeper insight into Part II’s narrative. Players will be able to see how Ellie being gifted a guitar flows so neatly into her learning to play, for example, while the journey through Seattle will showcase the fascinating parallels between Ellie and Abby’s crisscrossing journeys. You’ll see just how close they come into running into each other, how their actions impact each other, and more.”
The studio still recommends playing the game as it was originally put together, but this gives a potentially fresh perspective. If you do play this way, however, you will be able to unlock two new skins that dress Joel up as Nathan Drake and Tommy up as Sam Drake, made available for the No Return roguelike survival mode.
That this update even exists is an unusual one, coming half a decade after the game’s original launch on PS4, and in some ways it feels like this echoes the chronological story mode added to Beyond: Two Souls for its PS4 remaster. It’s also strangely timed to release this after Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation, which inherited the non-linear story of the game. Surely if there was a time to reconsider how the tale was to be unspooled, it would have been through the TV series? Certainly, this could have helped with some of the most…. disliked narrative points in both game and TV show.
Looking back at The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s release for PS5, Gamoc said, “The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered refines and improves a much misunderstood masterpiece. It’s hard not to be amazed at how good this game still looks, and it comes with a new mode and some behind the scenes stuff to enjoy. It’s not as big a step from the original release as TLOU Part 1 was, and so feels like a less noteworthy release, but the price for upgrading from PS4 is reasonable for what you get. For those who haven’t played it, this will be the best version to play, even if it’s just for No Return to add some more longevity without all the incredibly intense emotional stress of the main story.”
