Since its initial release in 2013, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us has garnered a massive following on PlayStation that has grown with a PS4 remaster and a popular sequel. Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann joined this year's Summer Game Fest to reveal The Last of Us Part 1, a remake of the first game for PS5, and The Last of Us fans are already dissecting the video shown off during the event.
Summer Game Fest was full of announcements from big gaming companies like Capcom, Devolver Digital, Xbox, and PlayStation came prepared with The Last of Us PS5 remake news and a proper announcement trailer for the teased project. Beyond the upcoming remake, The Last of Us HBO series that will adapt the first title is also in the works, which will offer fans a way to play as and watch the heroes surviving the post-apocalyptic world. YouTube channel Digital Foundry recently made a video highlighting the differences between the destroyed worlds of The Last of Us Part 1 and the PS4 remaster that shows it may be like The Last of Us Part 2.
Digital Foundry's video focuses on high-quality screenshots, and trailer clips from the 90-second video revealed by Naughty Dog during Summer Game Fest. From the first side-by-side, The Last of Us Part 1 has significantly enhanced visuals going beyond upscaling, with environments offering changes to existing landmarks and dense foliage to reflect the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us more effectively than the PS4 Remaster. Fans may also notice an improvement in reflections, detail, and environmental clutter, better lighting, and minor changes to the placement of some objects.
According to Digital Foundry, the remake uses similar tech to The Last of Us Part 2 based on footage from the trailer compared to scenes from the game. The video analysis emphasizes this with side-by-side footage of The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2 scenes that both appear to have 1440p resolution at 60FPS. The PS5 remake breakdown also highlights the character model similarities between The Last of Us Part 2 and the remaster of the first game, while the cinematics and playable areas look much better despite following the same level design and camera work as The Last of Us.
The footage of The Last of Us highlighted by Digital Foundry shows a nearly identical game to the original 2013 release with fundamentally improved visuals, which may entice some fans of the original that skipped the PS4 remaster or sequel. Many fans didn't immediately notice the graphical enhancements during the Summer Game Fest debut of the remake's trailer, but Digital Foundry's comparison video has opened some eyes to the changes. While The Last of Us Part 1 promises modern gameplay improvements to accompany the aesthetic upgrade, but it's currently unclear if it will be more like The Last of Us Part 2 or the original title.
The Last of Us Part 1 will release for PC and PS5 on September 2.