With the recent news that The Last of Us is reportedly getting a remaster, the internet has received the news with generally mixed reactions. Of course, The Last of Us is a beloved game, but fans have started discussions online about which Sony-published IPs deserve a remake before the already-remastered The Last of Us. One Sony-published IP has been dormant for some time and fans are hoping that the PS3-era titles will be remastered for current-gen consoles: Infamous.
Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, Infamous gained quite a following on the PS3 and on the PS4, with the last installment being Infamous Second Son on PS4. Now that Ghost of Tsushima is finished, fans are hoping that Sucker Punch will revisit this beloved Sony property so fans can revisit Cole's journey with remastered graphics and performance.
The Case Against The Last of Us Re-Remastered
The Last of Us was a groundbreaking title on PlayStation 3 when it first launched. The graphics were unparalleled, and they only got better with the Remastered version for PlayStation 4. If The Last of Us Remastered were to get a PS5 update, that would be a different story, but with Naughty Dog supposedly working on a full remake for The Last of Us, many fans are wondering if their time could be better spent elsewhere (perhaps reviving the beloved Jak and Daxter series).
Even the follow-up, in spite of the criticisms that The Last of Us: Part 2 received, did incredibly well in terms of both sales and critical reception — taking home more than its fair share of Game of the Year 2020 awards. It's no surprise that Naughty Dog is trying to keep The Last of Us in the spotlight, but fans are wondering if it's really necessary.
The Last of Us doesn't need a remake, not because it isn't worthy, but because the graphics were already phenomenal. The Last of Us Remastered already is one of the best-looking titles on PS4, remastering that just seems like beating a dead horse. It's clear that Naughty Dog is putting a lot of their focus on The Last of Us, to the point where fans of the studio are worried about the fate of the other IPs that Naughty Dog holds.
The future of the Uncharted series is still in limbo, aside from the upcoming movie. The Jak and Daxter franchise is MIA with no current plans for another game. While Sony is the publisher and not the developer of The Last of Us, Sony itself has a lot of IPs under its publishing umbrella that are more worthy and deserving of a remaster.
Cole's Time to Shine
The Infamous series has stood out among the rest of the Sony published properties for a number of reasons. It featured a compelling story, an interesting and morally-challenging karma system, and main characters that got to wield cool superpowers. The first two installments in the Infamous series followed Cole MacGrath, set during the rise of the Conduits — those with the ability to wield superpowers.
The first Infamous title took place in Empire City, right after Cole is framed for the detonation of a device that killed countless people and gave him his electric-wielding powers. In Infamous 2, Cole ventured to New Marais (inspired by New Orleans) to stop a large threat that is destroying cities. In this installment, in addition to Cole's signature electricity powers, Cole can also learn to wield fire or ice powers, depending on which narrative and karmic path Cole decides to go down. These two games, along with the Infamous 2 DLC Festival of Blood, are beloved classics of the PS3 era and are long overdue for a remake.
Setting Up for Future Infamous Titles
Infamous: Second Son launched back in 2014 alongside the launch of the PlayStation 4 and served as a follow-up to Infamous 2. Set seven years after the events of Infamous 2, Second Son follows the story of Delsin Rowe and the crackdown on Conduits by the DUP, who are imprisoning Conduits and labeling them as "bioterrorists" publicly.
While Infamous 2 had multiple endings, Second Son picked one and made it the "canon" ending. It's been quite some time since the PS3 Infamous games came out, and outside of playing them on PS Now, there's not an easy way for players today to experience these games. Even though the PS3 storefront is not closing down, PS3 consoles aren't particularly easy to come by. Second Son does an okay job at recapping Cole's story, but it fails to capture the emotional choices that players have to make in both Infamous and Infamous 2.
With proper remasters, players can go through the journey and see how the world of Infamous evolves with each game. Moreso, it can help set the stage for a future Infamous game that will hopefully release in the new generation. Infamous Second Son left the door open for games to follow after it, regardless of which ending players went down. There is so much potential in the series for new titles with new protagonists and new flashy abilities. Across two protagonists, we've seen a handful of abilities, like electricity, fire, ice, smoke, and light, but the possibilities are endless when it comes to what Conduits can do in the Infamous universe.
Having all three (or more, counting the DLCs) Infamous titles on one platform will allow fans to jump from game-to-game easily, tying together the three stories. Then, with a new Infamous game hypothetically coming to the PS5, then players can play the full gambit of Infamous games and experience the stories and evolving worlds of Infamous.
The Infamous series has been a fan-favorite Sony-published property since it first launched back in 2009. Whether following Cole MacGrath or Delsin Rowe (or Fetch in the First Light standalone DLC), the Infamous series has been a strong IP that's featured unique gameplay, a great superhero fantasy, and compelling stories that are worth revisiting. With the internet's general disinterest in a remaster of another iconic Sony-published game, The Last of Us, many fans hope that Sony is going to push for a remaster of the beloved Infamous series as well.
Infamous and Infamous 2 especially could use some love as they are only available through PS Now and PS3, and frankly they could use a bit of polish. Infamous: Second Son could honestly just use a PS5 patch, as it's still a breathtakingly beautiful title, but if it's bundled as part of an Infamous Remastered Collection then fans surely won't say no to that. Hopefully these games will be getting some love from Sucker Punch and Sony here in the near future.
No Infamous games are currently known to be in development.