The continued adoption of roguelike gameplay staples has stepped up a gear this week, after Sony and Naughty Dog announced a new roguelike mode for The Last of Us: Part II Remastered.
This new mode is called No Return and it lets you play as one of several characters pulled from the main campaign, this time thrown into a series of combat gauntlets where there ain’t no coming back from death. Just how you like it, basically.
There was a press junket for the new mode (I first read about the mode over on GamesRadar) and I’m sorry to report that my invite got lost in the post. That being so, I can neither confirm nor deny just how roguish No Return actually is, however, I am always intrigued when a big budget dev has a crack at making a roguelike mode.
The aforementioned event means that there are some hands-on impressions flying around, and from what I’ve read, everything sounds great, if you’re into action-survival and everything else that TLOU does so well.
Sony have put out a trailer for the new game mode, so I suggest you clamp your eyes on that for 90 seconds or so, then read the official blurb below, before heading to the homepage in search of something else to read.
Experience The Last of Us Part II Remastered’s deep combat via an entirely new single-player mode! Survive as long as you can in each run, as you choose your path through a series of randomized encounters featuring different foes and memorable locations from throughout Part II, all culminating in tense boss battles. Unique gameplay modifiers can offer new and unexpected challenges as you fight to succeed – and survive – in a host of different encounter types. Play as Ellie, Abby, and a variety of unlockable characters, including never-before-playable characters like Dina, Jesse, Lev, and Tommy and more, each with unique traits to offer a variety of playstyles, and unlock skins for them as you progress to use in the mode.
One final date for your diary: The Last of Us Part II Remastered is heading to PlayStation 5 on January 19, 2024.
