The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered all difficulty modes explained

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is quite similar to the original PS4 release of the sequel in many ways, sharing the same campaign, trophies, and unlocks. However, there are a few key differences between the newly released remaster and the original The Last of Us Part 2, which came out in early 2020 for the PlayStation 4.

First, among the many new pieces of content added to the remaster is the unique roguelike mode, No Return, offering a fresh new take on The Last of Us' rather refined and engaging gunplay as well as stealth. The remaster also comes bundled with the Lost Levels, which are essentially cut content from the original release.

Despite adding new game modes and levels, the remaster includes the same difficulty presets present in the PS4 original. Given Naughty Dog's focus on the accessibility of their titles, the newly released remaster's difficulty presets allow players, regardless of their skill ceiling, to enjoy the game at their own pace.

Here's a look at all the difficulty presets available in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.

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All The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered difficulty modes explored

Similarly to the PlayStation 4 version of The Last of Us Part 2, the newly released remaster features five difficulty presets for you to choose from. These presets range from the very easy "story" mode to the ultra-challenging "hardcore" mode. Fun fact: The ultra-hard preset "Grounded" was added to the PS4 version as a post-launch DLC.

Here's a look at all the difficulty presets The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered has to offer:

• Very Light: This is the "story" mode, i.e., the easiest difficulty preset The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered has to offer. The Very Light preset is best for players who simply want to enjoy the game's story, with minimal combat and puzzle-solving challenges.
• Light: The Light difficulty preset is identical to the "story" mode but features slightly more challenging combat encounters, especially the boss fights.
• Moderate: This is the default difficulty preset, which essentially offers a balanced experience for players looking to enjoy The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered's story without compromising on the challenge provided by the moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Hard: As the name might suggest, the Hard preset is a tougher version of Moderate, with significantly more challenging enemies and more restricting resource distribution.
• Survivor: Survivor is essentially a more challenging version of Hard, with even more scarce resource distribution and smarter as well as deadlier enemies.
• Grounded: Grounded preset aims to mimic a more realistic experience by limiting some of the game's HUD elements while retaining the challenge presented in the Survivor preset.

If this is your first time playing The Last of Us, or any such third-person shooter/ survival-horror game for that matter, it's best to stick to the Light or perhaps even Very Light presets. However, if you're familiar with the genre, choose Moderate or even Hard, depending on your preference.

You can also choose Survivor or Grounded, but I recommend saving those difficulties for repeat playthroughs. Note that you can also set custom difficulty parameters for your playthrough, which might prevent you from unlocking certain difficulty-related rewards. Custom difficulty allows you to tweak enemy awareness, health, damage dealt, and more.

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The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is scheduled to be released on January 19, 2024, exclusively for the PlayStation 5.