The Last of Us Part 2 Goes Retro With New Filters in This Week's Update

The Last of Us Part 2 came in right at the tail end of a generation, much like its predecessor before it. In a new update coming this week though, the survival-horror game will pay homage to games generations before it, with a pixelated new way to play being added in.

As detailed in today's PlayStation blog, Naughty Dog is adding some new modes and ways to play through The Last of Us Part 2's campaign. Some errant trophies already let slip the existence of Grounded difficulty and permadeath options yesterday, which sounds absolutely brutal.

Some other fresh ways of playing also include some new rendering modes, to put a new spin on Ellie's journey. Cel-shading and sepia-tinted options are fairly straightforward, but one very notable mode is the "retro 8-bit era" option. Not only does it break the game down into chunky pixels, but there are also 4-bit and 8-bit audio options as well.

You'll have to beat the game once to unlock these options, along with others like Slow Motion, Infinite Ammo, and "Helium Audio" (can't imagine that will affect the drama of some moments in any way). The retro throwback is pretty cool though; I'm curious to see whether this affects the guitar as well. The musical options in The Last of Us Part 2, with Ellie playing the guitar throughout her journey, struck a chord with our own Jake Green—but what if those guitar covers of Green Day and Blink-182 could get chippier?

While the PlayStation 5 is still off in the nebulous void of holiday 2020, these seem like good enough reasons for The Last of Us Part 2 fans to give the story one more run. At the very least, an Infinite Ammo playthrough seems like it could make the normally serious, dire tone of the game's combat feel a bit more John Wick-like. The update will go live this Thursday, Aug. 13.