There is a lot to be excited about when returning to The Last of Us for its remake, The Last of Us Part 1. Gameplay will supposedly undergo a massive overhaul with new AI systems, combat, and traversal to meet the standard of The Last of Us 2. Confirmed as a remake and not a reimagining, fans will be treated to the same narrative, performances, and cutscenes as the original game, but these performances and visuals will now have the benefit of completely rebuilt facial animations and modern graphical fidelity.

Much of what has been shown so far centers on Joel and Ellie, The Last of Us Part 1’s playable protagonists. Other environmental textures and notable sequences from The Last of Us have been compared to their modernized and visually enhanced counterparts. These comparisons have been largely impressive, though Joel and Ellie’s enhanced character models are less alarming to see in The Last of Us Part 1 since players have already become acquainted with them in flashbacks from The Last of Us 2. Tess, however, looks far different in The Last of Us Part 1 compared to the original.

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The Controversy Around Tess in The Last of Us Part 1 Explained

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The graphics in The Last of Us 2 are already exemplary of the incredible fidelity that can be achieved in games, and that game was released on the base PS4. Now, next-gen hardware has the ability to amplify that fidelity even further, as is represented in The Last of Us Part 1.

Tess's appearance has changed from 2013 on PS3 to today on PS5, and the difference is stark and dramatic. Tess re-envisioned on next-gen hardware is comparable to live-action in how authentic and realistic she looks, especially in motion with The Last of Us Part 1’s overhauled facial animations. The difference also lies within how the character’s face looks in general, with many fans claiming that the PS5 Tess looks much older than her PS3 counterpart.

It is true that there is a much greater disparity between how the character looks from the PS3 to the PS5 compared to how Joel and Ellie’s PS5 models look compared to their PS3 models. However, some fans defend this disparity in the enhancement, stating that Tess finally looks like she is the age that was intended for her. This argument implies that some fans think she looks less beautified or young than she did in The Last of Us, which is entirely subjective. The PS5 character does, however, look more like actor Annie Wersching than she had before.

Indeed, it appears as if Naughty Dog was finally able to portray her the way it had intended to nine years ago, and her portrayal is exceptionally rendered with fidelity echoing that of live-action performances. How Tess looks in The Last of Us Part 1 has been controversial on a superficial level, understandably due to the fact that she has undergone the most dramatic visual changes, but it should be admired for how much it enhances the actor’s performance.

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Tess’ Graphics Imply that Other Characters May Look Different As Well

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Tess is only a part of the whole, and The Last of Us Part 1 will likely have other visual surprises up its sleeve. Fortunately, fans have now seen a bit of the game’s remade content from The Last of Us Part 1’s cinematic reveal trailer, which also gave its first look at Riley, Bill, and David on PS5. Isolating Tess further is the fact that these three characters look relatively similar to their PS3 and PS4 counterparts, with only a few clear visual distinctions and improvements.

Likewise, Tommy appears to look similar to how he did in flashbacks of The Last of Us 2 as well, meaning that Naughty Dog was able to make more of a use out of more of these character models for the remake. Still, there is the potential for other characters and enemies to have a much higher fidelity than they did in PS3 and PS4.

In particular, two other notable characters that have yet to be shown are Henry and Sam, who could also benefit from the graphics update. It will be interesting to see if their character models have been revised to match an intended vision, or if they are also left relatively similar with minor fidelity improvements.

Moreover, Naughty Dog will hopefully be give The Last of Us' human enemies the same treatment as Tess and the rest of the primary cast. This should mean that enemy faces have responsive winces and reactions to being grappled or asphyxiated, but it also means that enemies could have a more dynamic and diverse wardrobe, where outfits may not repeat on multiple characters.

The Last of Us was particularly erroneous in this department, where its opening area in Boston with Tess boasted multiple character model facsimiles of the same individual, as well as many individuals wearing the same clothing. Fixing these repeated models and assets should definitely be a priority in the remake that would make the largest difference going through it again.

The Last of Us Part 1 Demonstrates How Good the Original’s Animations Are

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That said, it is important to take a look back at The Last of Us and appreciate it for how phenomenal its facial animations and character models are to this day. For example, many fans have argued and may still argue that The Last of Us needs no remake or future remastering due to how well its graphics still hold up nine years later.

This is true, and the comparison clip of Tess from 2013 to now demonstrates that the former’s facial animations are still exceptional, especially considering how long ago they were animated. This is almost to Naughty Dog’s disadvantage, since devoted fans of the beloved franchise will now hold The Last of Us Part 1 to an incredible standard when they comb through it to observe each and every slight change made in the remake.

Of course, no matter what it does, the remake is going to satisfy and surprise some fans, while it will leave others dissatisfied. The original still exists for players who are completely satisfied with it alone, and The Last of Us Part 1 is a fantastic opportunity for new players to experience it with modern graphics and gameplay.

The Last of Us Part 1 is scheduled to release on September 2 on PS5. A PC version is also in development.

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