Naughty Dog is scrambling to fight The Last of Us Part 1 leaks

Make no mistake. We're not undermining Naughty Dog's efforts. We can also see why an animator defended The Last of Us Part 1 from allegations that it's just a "cash grab." At the same time, you can't blame those who feel that the project is underwhelming, because it is.

This isn't like Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered for the PS5, which is also getting a PC port on August 12, by the way. The aforementioned remaster initially came as a "freebie" for the standalone expansion, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Sony later made it available as a digital upgrade for those who already owned the game on the PS4 but the company didn't ask for full price.

Meanwhile, The Last of Us Part 1 costs more than The Last of Us Part II without necessarily being better-looking than its sequel. The main point here is that The Last of Us Part 1 could set a precedent where studios can just re-remaster a game for next-gen consoles instead of releasing a next-gen patch.

Perhaps this is what Naughty Dog wanted to do all along. The Last of Us Part II still doesn't have a proper PS5 release. Theoretically, the studio could release The Last of Us Part II for the PS5 as a separate title for $70 sometime next year while fans are waiting for The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off. Nothing is stopping Naughty Dog from doing this, but we hope the studio knows better.

In an ideal world, The Last of Us Part I and Part II could have been released together for the PS5 for $70. Maybe then there wouldn't be as much backlash.