The current era of gaming has seen the industry get flooded with remakes and remasters of varying quality. Titles such as Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls have illustrated how past games can be adapted to the modern gaming scene, while games such as the Life is Strange Remastered Collection have left gamers feeling a little disappointed. Recently, The Last of Us Part 1 was released, and it retells the epic dystopian story from Naughty Dog that first gripped the gaming world in 2013.
The Last of Us Part 1 is an impressive remake, and it illustrates many of the benefits of keeping the development of remakes in-house. Naughty Dog, with its intimate knowledge of the game, has been able to produce a remake that remains faithful to the original while providing attractive improvements. The game can be compared to the Grand Theft Auto trilogy remasters, which Rockstar Games handed over to Grove Street Games, and the result was a collection of remasters that left a sour taste in the mouth of Grand Theft Auto fans.
The Devil Is in the Details
The Last of Us is an action-packed game filled with intense action sequences and toe-curling horror. With the Infected roaming around, every step forward is a march towards more danger, and players are constantly ambushed with new threats. Despite the constant adrenaline-raising moments, the game captured the hearts of players thanks to the softer, quieter moments sprinkled throughout the game. During these times, players learn more about Joel and Ellie, and they get to understand the intricacies of their personalities and their relationship with each other. The Last of Us Part 1 excels because it does not forget about these minor details, and it ensures that these moments are enhanced to take advantage of modern technology.
One of the most memorable quiet moments in the game occurs quite late in the story when Joel and Ellie come across a herd of giraffes traveling freely through the urban rubble. After all the death and gore Ellie has been exposed to, getting a glimpse of nature's beautiful side melts her heart. One of the giraffes trots close enough for Joel and Ellie to pet its neck, and it almost makes up for all the terror they have endured. Quite impressively, The Last of Us Part 1 recreates this scene but manages to enhance it by implementing the DualSense controller's haptic feedback, increasing immersion. Plenty of other minor details, including breakable glass and more destructible environments, greatly raise the quality of the remake.
Grand Theft Auto is a franchise that also includes a lot of fine details in its open worlds. Eagle-eyed gamers will spot plenty of jokes and pop culture references woven into the environments and dialogue, giving multiple layers to the games' humor. With the GTA trilogy remake, visuals and gameplay have improved, but there is a notable lack of focus on the minor details, resulting in little errors creeping their way in. There are plenty of embarrassing spelling errors, including a storefront in GTA: Vice City that should read "Shaft Hot Dogs - The Taste Of A Real Man's Meat" suddenly reading "The Taste Of A Real Man's Heat." Though some errors have since been fixed, they left a bad impression on fans.
Remakes and Remasters Should Not Be Treated as Side Projects
Before the launch of The Last of Us Part 1, some gamers accused Naughty Dog of attempting a cash grab. The complaint is understandable, as it is a full-priced game that is a remake of a game that is less than a decade old and has already been remastered. Now that the gamers have had a chance to see reviews and play the game, it is evident that quite a bit of effort has gone into it. Many features were lifted from The Last of Us Part 2, including the workbench and many innovative accessibility features.
Developers have also included new features such as an improved AI system for The Last of Us enemies and companions. The DualSense has also been integrated, allowing various weapons to feel different thanks to the adaptive triggers. Most noticeably, entire environments have been redone, making the dystopian destruction players trek through feel far more realistic. The result is that while the original The Last of Us story remains intact, gamers get to experience it in its best form.
The GTA trilogy was not handled by Rockstar's main studios, and it was instead developed by Grove Street Games, which is a studio known for making mobile game ports. The studio is responsible for the GTA mobile ports, which have received a less than warm reception. It is conceivable that the GTA trilogy would have been received better had it been developed by Rockstar Games, as it has shown that it is capable of delivering satisfying remakes and remasters.
This was seen with GTA 5's current-gen remake which does not feature the glitches, text errors, and unsightly character models that found their way into the GTA trilogy. As seen, it is not a good idea for remakes or remasters to be treated as side projects, as it will likely result in the game not being done justice.
Perhaps the main advantage of keeping the development of remakes and remasters in-house is that it is more likely to be a passion project and not a simple task to be completed. Of course, there are a few studios that have proven themselves to be quite talented at taking IPs from different studios and developing outstanding games. This includes Bluepoint Games, which has since become a Sony first-party studio. Following the GTA trilogy's less-than-triumphant launch, plenty of steps have been taken to improve the game and please upset fans. However, it remains an example of how things can go wrong when studios decide to delegate remakes and remasters to an external team.
The Last of Us Part 1 is available now on PS5, and a PC port is in development.