The Last of Us Part II Update: Grounded Difficulty, Permadeath and new trophies

After an extremely tumultuous development cycle, The Last of Us Part II was finally released on June 19th to massive critical acclaim, coupled with some fan backlash. The game has been massively divisive but none can deny its sheer technical brilliance and ambition.

The release of The Last of Us Part II is a console generation-defining moment for the PS4, with Naughty Dog truly pushing the boundaries of both the technical capabilities of the PS4 as well as the boundaries for storytelling in games.

In what is good news for fans of The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog have recently released an update to the game, and it massively changes things for fans looking to replay the game.

The Last of Us Part II Update

The Last of Us Part II was no walk in the park, with even the Moderate Difficulty option proving to be quite a challenge. However, players looking for a more challenging experience can now try playing the game on Grounded Difficulty.

Grounded Difficulty has been brought over from the previous games and takes away major advantages such as the HUD and significantly improves enemy AI. It is the most challenging way to play The Last of Us Part II and will, no doubt, make full use of the new and improved combat mechanics.

For players looking to fully utilise the new combat mechanics, playing on Grounded Difficulty is a must, although it comes with its own set of challenges and learning curve.

Furthermore, the game has also seen the addition of Permadeath- a game mode that takes the player all the way back to the start if they die even once during the entirety of the game.

Permadeath is truly one of the most daunting tasks for players and one that is bound to result in broken controllers and destroyed TV sets. Players will be rewarded with 2 new trophies should they complete the game in Permadeath and Grounded.

New Audio, Graphics and Gameplay Modifiers

Fans of Naughty Dog games have expected the studio to give them a variety of modifiers to alter the game experience. Graphics can now be modified to look cel-shaded and 8-bit, with plenty of other fascinating modes.

The audio and gameplay modifiers also offer a lot in the way of changing up things in The Last of Us Part II. There are 30 gameplay, audio and graphics modifiers added to The Last of Us Part II.

• Mirror World
• Mirror on Death
• Slow Motion
• Bullet Speed mode
• Infinite Ammo
• Infinite Crafting
• Infinite Melee Durability
• Infinite Listen mode Range
• One Shot
• Touch of Death
• 8-bit Audio
• 4-bit Audio
• Helium Audio
• Xenon Audio

The Last of Us Part II Improvements and Fixes

• Saves now display playtime up to the second
• Film Grain Adjustment option
• Disable Listen Mode option
• Motion Sensor Function Aiming option
• Arc Throw HUD Display option
• Aiming Acceleration Scale option
• Aiming Ramp Power Scale option
• Accessibility improvements to Ground Zero encounter, collectible tracking, Enhanced Listen Mode for collectibles, and rope gameplay

(Source: PlayStation Blog)