The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is set to launch on PS5, bringing with it a host of technical enhancements. The PS4 original was arguably the best looking game of the previous generation, but now thanks to the remaster will have a full native PS5 version with native 4K options. But how much better does this PS5 remaster actually look? Well, we’ve crafted up some side-by-side comparisons, so you can be the judge.
We’ve tested both the PS4 version of The Last of Us Part 2 running via backwards compatibility on PS5, and the new remaster running on Fidelity mode, which outputs at a native 4K and targets 30 frames-per-second. If you’d like to see the game in motion, we have a full comparison video up on the Push Square YouTube channel for you to check out.
We have to say, side-by-side, the most noticeable changes are in the lighting. The PS5 version of the game is a substantially darker version, which on HDR capable screens — particularly OLED — looks phenomenal, although it can look a bit too dark in still images. It gives the game’s already photorealistic graphics, another layer of realness to them, making the more horrific moments all the more impactful.
There is of course a more defined look to the smaller details of each shot here. Focusing on the ground, foliage, and the texture of materials, these are likely the biggest graphical upgrades in the remaster. They won’t mean much in motion, but Naughty Dog has always excelled with the smaller, seemingly inconsequential details. And while you really have to be pixel-peeping to spot them, we feel like it means the game can now stand among the best looking titles on PS5.
But what do you think about this graphical remaster? Do you think it’s worth the £10/$10 upgrade? Or is there nothing to see here? Let us know down in the comments below.
Comments 83
"arguably the best looking game of the previous generation"
No.
I have to admit, that's actually a difference like night and night
@J_e_f_f__D Yes
@J_e_f_f__D Objectively it is. See? We're arguing.
looks like they just made it darker to me lol. i don't really have the eye for graphical subtlety though
Why are you showing the same game twice with slightly lower brightness?
I can’t stand the ps4 version now. It disgusts me.
Wat’s with the space suit? Am i missing something??? Definitely a difference tho, the lighting an shadows look a lot better on the remastered version.
@Bonjo dude, you can't go against the hive mind mentality, now you've got a target on your back.
Played it on the ps4 pro and it was amazing.
Not going again though as I like the experience once and nothing can compare with your first time through on games like these.
There’s a bit of difference but nothing special.
@J_e_f_f__D just wrong plain and simply.
Tell me what you think was better?
You can really see the care, passion and skill they poured into turning the brightness slider down.
Digital Foundry did a great analysis vid. The foliage is significantly improved and the game does actually look across-the-board better in native 40K/40 fps if you muck around in the settings.
I'm skipping this upgrade. I'm a sucker for Horizon Zero Dawn so I'll probably do that one, though.
@Boucho11 Balan Wonderworld.
They really should’ve called this director’s cut instead of remastered. I feel like that would’ve stopped a lot of the negative feedback towards the game. Remastered brings an expectation of it with visual improvements especially. The fact that Metroid Prime Remastered and TLOU2 Remastered both share the same label is laughable.
An article that tells that the most noticeable change is contrast, which can be replicated to perfection with a slider... 😳😳😳
Digital Foundry pretty much confirmed there's no real difference and what is different no one would notice. I'm fine with that as it already looked incredible and the extra content is what i'm here for plus a good reason to replay it.
@J_e_f_f__D The only other game that competes against it is Red Dead 2.
@Logonogo Even if there is a small difference, YouTube's compression will probably make that impossible to see in a video.
@DennisReynolds there's a post above you that's also bringing up the DF video and says the opposite.
Are you aware of the implications of this?
@J_e_f_f__D @DennisReynolds I’d argue Death Stranding, Red Dead Redemption 2, possibly Ghost of Tsushima, possibly Final Fantasy VII (the highs are higher, the lows are lower), and maybe even Resident Evil 3 top TLOU2. I remember being far more impressed with Uncharted 4 when I played that, but I also felt the same way with TLOU1 following on from Uncharted 3 ages ago too. That’s not to say Uncharted tops TLOU visually overall, but just that TLOU games feels like one step up the stairs rather than the leaps Uncharted games have felt like. That’s just my two cents though. I also feel The Last Guardian’s animations could be a contender for visuals of the PS4 generation.
@Jey887 lol
@CharlieChooChoo Have you watched the DF video? Unless you have the 2 versions side by side to compare you're not going to notice any changes. The improvements are very minor and no one will notice them while playing unless they have the PS4 version running right alongside it.
I have to say, I was set to buy the upgrade tomorrow, but after seeing the comparison, I think I'll skip it, it just looks worse to me being so much darker
@DennisReynolds yeah its weird seeing so many trying to claim there's much difference when DF have already shown it to be basically identical. The only differences are a subtle depth of field change, the odd shadow looks a tad better and that's about it, sure 4K will look a bit sharper but surely most will be playing the 60fps mode anyway
@somnambulance The details, animation and facial animation in TLoUP2 far exceed anything else in last gen in my opinion. The game might not have been a huge leap from U4 (that already looked incredible) but it was still a leap. I disagree with FF7R being one of the best of last gen, the PS5 version looks incredible but the last gen version had many visual issues especially textures and you can tell the game pushed the PS4 maybe a bit too much. As for DS and Ghost yeah they're in the top 5 for sure of last gen visually but for me Red Dead 2 and TLoUP2 are better though at this point its just personal taste and opinions as all of them look incredible.
Wow! Nobody told me I could just change the brightness in photo mode to create a PS5 version!
@VaultGuy415 40K?!?! Where would I get a TV with that resolution?
As expected, the changes are not that noticeable to dish full price. Get a used ps4 disc and pay the $10 fee
Next time put the same brightness on both platforms.
I think I will wait for the PS5 PRO remastered version.
It looks like the PS4 version in the footage is running on a PS5 and as a result, at 60fps.Maybe running the PS4 version on a PS4 might be more representational.
Still, no one who already owns this is buying the upgrade for the shadows, they’re buying it for No Return and Cut Content.
Now we understand why they were so generous with the $10 upgrade, they barely did anything to the game it's self that would earn it the remaster name. Why though?! this is one of Sony's most successful games ever, why wouldn't they go all out for it?
They shouldve called it “Directors cut” and nobody would care. Even the pricing is fine.
10 bucks to see Naughty dog turned off the lights
I think I’ll pass this round too and will buy the PS6 ultra digital bundle director’s cut bilogy of the century version for 1000$
I'm just waiting to read why there's an astronaut in the PS5 version.
@DogPark Its a skin for Ellie based on the section where a younger Ellie wears the astronaut suit.
Removed - inappropriate
They really squeezed all the awesome out of the PS4 version to make it stand pretty much neck and neck with the PS5 version. I am not quite sure what that says about the PS5 though....
@J_e_f_f__D you are right, is not even a discussion. It's a fact.
Bring on midnight! Been waiting until now to play it again and this looks to be an extremely polished offering, like the Ghost of Tsushima or Death Stranding Director's Cut. Not a bad price either, although I've just bought part I and part II Remastered on disc 😬 gonna lock in for a couple weeks and play them in reverse order.
40fps mode for me wins out every time.
@roylaza that's just the contrast that Push Square had it set to... They could have done with matching the settings.
@Ghostngoblins Adjusted for inflation, that'll be $70 in today's moneys.
I feel it's more of an accumulation of subtle changes rather then a one answer difference.
@J_e_f_f__D I agree the only problem with that sentence was “arguably”.
TLOU2 was DEFINITIVELY the best looking game of the last gen… imho of course
Thank you for labelling the images. I wouldn’t have been able to tell which was which otherwise.
@themightyant Still beats quite a few PS5 games though.
If it weren't for the extra modes attached to this game, this would've been a difficult $10 upgrade sell.
@Deoxyr1bose While I agree that it should be called Director's Cut, I don't think we'd see less entitled comments (talking about the ones saying it should be free, not other legitimate opinions) trashing its existence.
@InsaneWade I mean it would help. A $10 DLC with costumes, cut levels, a developer commentary, and a new mode with new playable characters is a much easier sell. Advertise it as a PS5 exclusive DLC first and foremost like Burning Wilds, then call it definitive edition or something.
Will be grabbing the upgrade mostly for the zippy load times, haptics and for the excuse to play it again now I have an OLED TV (and because for the extra content the upgrade cost is very reasonable)
Stinky PS4 version is obsolete starting tomorrow because of this high tech comparison
@CupidStunt It doesn't really say anything about the PS5 as the PS5 has games that far surpass anything on the PS4 visually including TLoUP2. ND could have easily improved the visuals if they really wanted to for PS5 but that would have required more time and work.
@InsaneWade I think you misunderstand why many roll their eyes with a release like this. ND haven't had an original idea in over a decade or put out new content in 4 years (which is fine in terms of longer dev times) . Yet in that time they have cashed in on recycled content now three times. Alongside all of that ND put years of dev time into a now failed live service scheme.
It's that simple. You can excuse make for ND all you want, but one is downright delusional if they think the above hasn't greatly affected the timeline of new projects. It's one thing to release a smaller project to add revenue during longer dev cycles. But 3 in 4 years?! Come the F on...
This whole trend of cashing in on these retread is just getting old. Even the good ones just feels meh. Those good ones take years to develop what are ultimately just better looking and playing versions of that which many have already played. These are More than just cash grabs. They are sucking the life out of a medium that once had a great diversity of games and ideas.
Now we get this every increasing assembly line of overtly safe and iterative sequels and remasterakes.
@Flaming_Kaiser MANY ps5 games look worse. It’s proof positive that artistry is superior to tech specs.
Even Digital Foundry have said similar
It is almost identical. Mine arrived today and I really think we have been mis sold on this next generation of consoles
Literally is the same
almost the exact same game, even the £10 upgrade fee seems steep.
The difference is, greed. This company is happy to fleece its customers for everything. This is beyond a joke now. Stop supporting greedy dev houses.
@KundaliniRising333 "This whole trend of cashing in on these retread is just getting old. Even the good ones just feels meh. Those good ones take years to develop what are ultimately just better looking and playing versions of that which many have already played. These are More than just cash grabs. They are sucking the life out of a medium that once had a great diversity of games and ideas.
Now we get this every increasing assembly line of overtly safe and iterative sequels and remasterakes."
We just had one of the greatest years in gaming what was a mix of everything from sequels, new IP's, remakes, incredible indies, top AA games and more. This idea that gaming has no life nowadays is quite frankly pathetic and usually comes from those who spend too much time complaining on the internet rather then you know actually playing games. Yeah there's a lot of BS now with gaming but then remove the rose tinted glasses and you will see BS has always existed in gaming in some form or another. Gaming is better then ever when you really take a step back and actually look at where we are now with it. I'm currently in bed right now waiting for TLoUP2 to finish downloading while playing Spider-Man on my friends Steamdeck he's let me borrow and god damn its a good feeling, i would have killed to play a game like this in handheld form while relaxing in bed 20 years back. Gaming right now is good.
As for ND and TLoU do you really think ND main teams have been working on this remaster? They haven't and even the remake of the first game was done by a small team. Its also not really ND deciding things its Sony as they want PC ports, tie-ins for the TV show and to milk out current gen "remasters" of last gen games, ND don't really have a choice here.
can we get some brightness up on the PS5 version bro??
What annoys me is this stupid trend of ‘remastering’ games that came out a year or two ago. And ‘remaster’ meaning nothing more than a resolution upgrade.
So no difference whatsoever. As expected though
I tried examining the stills to see if I could spot a difference. Funnily enough, I couldn't. Also, I have gathered that GOW's rogue lite mode is better than TLOU2's, that DLC is also free by the way. However, the comparison need not detract too much for the overall package found here.
I will personally skip this upgrade. Not for me.
Let's be real folks..the upgrade ain't isn't big from graphics standpoint and why...it's because TLOU2 looks incredible already on PS4
I just finished the PS4 version on my PS5. Maybe it came with a 60 FPS mode? Felt very fluid. Playing it on my 1440p display so gonna pass on the 4k mode. Cool deal for newcomers to the games though.
If I could have got new trophies the mabey as I don't like part 2 enough to play it again just because
There's a discernible difference in the texture of Ellie's clothing fabric texture — you really have slow it down and zoom in, but at its highest resolution, it looks ever so slightly more space-suity than in the original.
Still no 4K/60 FPS in an almost 4 year old game from a generation ago.
Current gen has been the most disappointing so far.
@somnambulance
Ghost of Tsushima has by far the worst graphics of the last gen Sony exclusives. Was the main reason I couldn't play it for more than 8 hours or so.
@species Thats the most sensible thing I've read in all this debacle.
Calling it a remaster, accepting everyone appears to now understand that word means far less than remake, is the mistake.
Directors Cut would be perfect. And £10 for a new mode and a couple of mini pre-alpha levels feels fine. Dont even mention the graphics.
@ZhuckelDror Care to elaborate on why you feel that way? That’s a really hot take.
@somnambulance
The level of detail and the texture resolution is low. Don't get me wrong, the art style is great but frame to frame graphics just don't hold up there.
Also the gameplay is the same old ubisoft style open world shenanigans with the combat just copied from Shadow of Mordor and Arkham games (same goes for the Spider Man games BTW).
It's like chalk and cheese - if chalk tasted like cheese.
I will wait for ps6 and ps7 remakes and most probably enhance version for ps7 pro plus 😂😂😂
"Corporate need you to find the difference between these two photos".
PS4 has some really great looking games and to me, ND is still top dog when comparing all PS Studios! (also liked SP’s art style & atmosphere of Ghosts of Tsushima and wouldn’t compare it to Ubisoft myself, but different tastes and all).
BUT… the PS5 era seems to be all about focusing on Remasters and Remakes? Adding things like Lost Levels is a nice touch and the upgrade path on this one seems to be fair?
I do wonder why GOW R had a free upgrade and TLOUP2 had a €10/$10 upgrade, since they are both under the umbrella, PS Studios? Do they decide after spending X amount of development hours or how is this being measured?
PlayStation has lost a bit of being the powerhouse it was during the PS4 era. Almost like, copy/paste the PS4 gen —> PS5 gen …
@Pusher2021
I'm totally with you on this. PS5 has been nothing but a disappointment so far with all the remakes and remasters and total lack of real current gen exclusives. Not to mention that the "cinematic storytelling" formula is getting stale with these games being either boring open world games (Horizon/Ghost etc) or linear action/Adventure (TloU/GoW).
@ZhuckelDror you are 100% an Xbox fanboy!! You expect me to believe you found Horizon, GoW, TLOU an GoT boring? Name me a better Xbox game??? I’ll wait…..
@Bonjo
What does Xbox have to do with Sony's cross gen exclusives being subpar?
Horizon is just a pretty good looking bloated open world game.
GoW made a wrong turn with moving from the gripping combat and arcadey'ness of the OG titles.
TloU 2 is a sequel noone needed.
Got had the same problems Horizon has but with fancier art style.
Also, having movable crates as the main puzzle elements in games made for 8th generation? 10/10 reviews my ass.
@ZhuckelDror all these games reviewed 10/10. Try Google! TLOU 2 broke the world recored for GOTY wins, God of War won GOTY beating Red Dead 2 in to 2nd. You sound just like another guy on PureXbox!! Go on, tell me, wat are the best console exclusives? Let me guess, Starfield, Hifi Rush an Halo?? 🥴🥴😂😂
@Bonjo
I'm sorry I don't need Google to have an opinion.
@Bonjo
And to answer your question, “Zelda: Breath of the Wild" would be the most recent example.
@ZhuckelDror Zelda is your example of what? It’s a great game for sure. If your opinion is that every Playstation exclusive is poor then it is obvious that’s not really your opinion. It’s just wat ya say because it hurts you that Playstation is number 1. Like i said, they’re the highest reviewed games around an the reason Playstation are number 1 by a long way!
@Bonjo
You asked me to give you an example of "best console exclusives".
Also if you check Metacritic, you'll see that there's only one Sony exclusive in the top 20 and it it's from two generations ago. So I don't really understand what you mean by "they're the highest reviewed games around".
You know how Metacrytic works right??? There are literally a host of Playstation exclusives that score 90+!!
@Bonjo
So out of 354 games that have a Metacritic score of 90+ 17 are PS exclusives from first party developers. And that's in almost 30 years time. Not exactly "a host".
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