The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrives on PlayStation 5 console on January 19, 2024. With it comes a slew of new behind-the-scenes content, technical improvements to take advantage of the PS5 hardware, and new modes to ensure you’re experiencing Part II’s award-winning story. Prizes For the first or fifth time, there’s something new to discover.
Pre-orders for both the standard edition of the game, both physical and digital, as well as the WLF edition, are available starting today. To celebrate the occasion, we’re excited to highlight one of our most comprehensive new additions: No Return, a single-player survival mode. Before we get started, check out our trailer for the mode below.
No Return is a new foray into the world of The Last of Us, designed to highlight the sequel’s nuanced and interesting gameplay in a unique way. Let’s dig a little deeper into what you can expect from the mode.
What is no return?
No Return allows players to choose their own path and test their skills through a series of random encounters, throwing you into familiar spaces from The Last of Us Part II campaign, such as Jackson, the Channel 13 news station, and many more. These scenarios will be unfamiliar and even unexpected, with unique twists to the gameplay. But be careful: death is permanent in No Return, so if you fail a run halfway through, you’ll lose all weapons, items and upgrades accumulated for that run and start over with a new set of random scenarios. How you progress through any given round is not predetermined – throughout the round, players will have to choose between different encounters, which will determine not only what type of game mode you’re dealing with, but also what rewards you can unlock, and what modifiers you’ll encounter. And more. Between each combat scenario, you’ll return to the bunker, where you can prepare and choose your next battle via a path marked on a corkboard in these familiar locations.
If you make it to the end of the round, you’ll face one of six consecutive boss encounters (and after you beat them all, they’ll randomly stop for future rounds) against some part of Part 2. Memorable enemies, but not necessarily in the way you initially fought them. Runs, whether ending in victory or at the hands of a Clicker or Hunter mid-match, culminate in a score and you’ll receive a ranking based on your performance.
The next round will be unique from the one before, offering a new set of encounters each time you play. No Return’s challenges are divided into four different types – Assault, which pits you against waves of enemies; Capture, where you have to break into a vault full of valuable supplies guarded by enemies; Holdout, where you and your AI-controlled friend defend against hordes of infected around you; and Chase, where you have to survive until time runs out in the face of constant enemy reinforcements.
Each type can take place in a variety of locations, and to continue to ensure that each round feels fresh and distinct from what came before, tweaks will be randomly applied to encounters. Choosing to take on modified challenges affects the rewards you’ll receive. We don’t want to spoil the full list, but it will test your skills in some fun and surprising ways, including tweaks like enemies dropping pipe bombs upon death, thick fog shrouding the encounter map, and more. We’re excited for fans to experience the full range of in-game mods, as they offer some really exciting twists on any given encounter.
Maneuvers are optional dynamic challenges that can add to the excitement of any given round. From needing to land a number of headshots to dodging melee attacks, Gambits can help you solidify a plan for a challenge or provide an opportunity to expand your strategy while working to generate additional resources for that race.
Speaking of resources, as The Last of Us Part II players will already be familiar with, the campaign features a number of upgradeable weapons for Ellie and Abby’s arsenal, as well as skill upgrade trees. These ideas apply to No Return, but upgrades reset after each round, so you’ll have to make tough choices as you progress about which weapon upgrades to spend your acquired resources on or which skills you think might provide the best advantage in upcoming encounters. . The type of weapon drops also varies from run to run, which will further impact the upgrade paths you may want or need to follow to ensure survival.
Game of no return
In addition to purely trying to survive the run, No Return offers a set of metagame objectives and unlockables that carry over from run to run, so even if you can’t make it to the boss fight, you’re still working towards it. New characters, skins, and more.
No Return starts out with Ellie and Abby as playable characters, but one of the ways we wanted to introduce the player to the game was with a broader array of characters you can unlock, including some playable characters for the first time in the series. By progressing through the different challenges, you can unlock Ellie’s Jacksonian pals Dina, Joel, Tommy, and Jesse, while Abby’s companions Lev, Yara, Mel, and Manny can also be unlocked.
Each character has unique traits that offer different playstyles. Dina, for example, comes equipped with the Trap and Stun Grenades recipes from the jump, and has an upgrade in her skill tree to make double the amount of bombs, while Abby comes with a melee upgrade recipe and heals from melee hits. We hope the variety will allow players to not only invest in the playstyles they love but also test out mechanics they may use less often.
Challenge paths are tied to each playable character and the overall mode, and completing these objectives will unlock everything from new playable characters to new skins and gameplay twists like Gambits, Buddies, and more.
Although the runs are random, you can perform custom runs separately that allow you to toggle on or off various factors that affect No Return’s gameplay. And if you’re feeling competitive, a new daily round will be available every day to prove your skills against the world.* Each player will get one shot at the same randomly generated round with the same character. See how you fare with other players in Remastered Part 2 thanks to the leaderboard where you can track how your score and playtime are compiled.
No Return will no longer be playable once The Last of Us Part II Remastered is launched, though we encourage newcomers to play the campaign first to get a feel for the gameplay. For new and returning players alike, this mode is designed to challenge your skills, and although it offers educational information, it is recommended to get a solid foundation in the basics of our combat system. Whatever your previous experience with The Last of Us, hopefully No Return will offer something new and unexpected.
If you haven’t already, be sure to read The Last of Us Part II Remastered announcement blog to get a broader look at what the remaster includes. Players who already own The Last of Us Part II on PS4 will be able to upgrade for $10 to the Remastered Edition**.
But if you haven’t played it before, Remastered II is available for pre-order starting today. This includes the physical The Last of Us Part II Remastered WLF Edition, available directly from PlayStation in select markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Benelux, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Austria, which includes 47 Trading Hero Associations), cards, a SteelBook display case, and more.
Whichever way you decide to play, we can’t wait for you all to experience or relive The Last of Us Part II Remastered when it hits PS5 on January 19, 2024.
* Daily operation requires an Internet connection.
**The price shown is in US currency and may vary by country. Check the PS Store at launch on January 19, 2024 for local pricing.
Disc ripping upgrades from the PS4 version of The Last of Us Part II are only available if you have a PlayStation 5 console with a disc drive. Owners of PS4 disc copies must insert them into their PS5 system every time they want to download or play the PS5 Digital Edition.
Embark on a thrilling adventure into the survival mode of the roguelike game, No Return, as you navigate through treacherous environments and face off against formidable foes. In this high-stakes gameplay experience, every decision and action could mean the difference between life and death. With its immersive world and challenging gameplay, No Return offers players a chance to test their skills and wits in a battle for survival. Join us as we delve into the intense and unforgiving world of No Return, available now on PlayStation.