In a move that’s entirely unhinged for a game that’s just three years old, Naughty Dog recently announced The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered and some of the new features coming to the game. One of the highlights for the upcoming game is a huge roguelike survival mode which reportedly adds a substantial amount of new content to the remaster – hopefully enough to justify it all.
According to newly leaked information, the new roguelike game mode called No Return will have 12 unique levels. The information comes from the LinkedIn profile of Colin Freeman, an ex-Naughty Dog QA Tester. This unofficial information suggests that Naughty Dog is adding a massive quantity of new content to the remaster which was reportedly developed by fresh hires.
The information was found by Naughty Dog fan @Joanastic and was reshared by The Last of Us News account on X. The tweet by the latter was subsequently deleted which, as always, adds some credence to the leaked information.
Un EXTRABAJADOR de #NaughtyDog🐾 afirma en LINKEDIN que ha trabajado en ❗️12 NIVELES DIFERENTES❗️ del modo #NoReturn☠️ de #TheLastofUsParteIIRemasterizado🌿. ¿Puede ser ese el TAMAÑO del NUEVO MODO ROGUE LIKE 🤩 que saldrá el 19 de ENERO 📆 para #PlayStation5? https://t.co/fmI3gkELwv pic.twitter.com/v6O8NQNkFE
— Joanastic (@Joanastic) November 21, 2023
According to Freeman’s LinkedIn profile, he worked and tested AI dialogue regions in 12 different No Return roguelike level layouts for the remaster. He also worked on extraneous audio regions for the roguelike and adjusted the lighting levels for the story mode. Freeman left the studio just this month.
Naughty Dog confirmed that No Return would be one of the modes coming to the remaster when the game was announced. The roguelike survival mode puts players into randomly generated combat/stealth missions where they have to fight off waves of enemies to earn rewards. Gamers can choose between several available characters, each with their own unique traits.
Having 12 unique levels means that each playthrough will be a bit different from the previous one. However, there may be more levels than the 12 that Freemen helped develop but there is also a possibility that there may be fewer maps in the final product. Either way, the information he shared gives players some insight into the new mode’s scope.
No Return isn’t the only feature being added to The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. Naughty Dog revealed that a Speedrun mode with a global leaderboard will be added to the game alongside three additional missions called Lost Levels. The remaster will also feature new outfits, director’s commentary, and the Guitar Free Play mode.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is coming to PS5 on January 19, 2024. Players who already own the PS4 original can upgrade to the remaster for $10.
