The Last Of Us Part 2 Player Restores Cut Gameplay Mechanics That Were Basically Finished

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A little over seven months after The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered was released on PC, bringing the former Game of the Year winner forward on Steam with an array of features and even a new mode in the form of “No Return,” one hardcore fan and creator has discovered what are apparently cut gameplay features that never made it into the final product.
Of note, The Last of Us Part 2 was one of the first major releases on PC this year to have been cracked by video game pirates. Then, the floodgates opened and dozens more titles were cracked as the year went on.
Now, they’re working to bring those gameplay features to the PC release, showcasing what might have been the original vision from Naughty Dog as to how The Last of Us Part 2 would’ve played.
I enjoyed the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us, but I can see where this is headed.
If You Thought The Last Of Us Was Done, Then Think Again
Over on Twitter, Speclizer, a modder and content creator, shared their discovery of two features: “Peek Mode” and “Hold Up,” both of which never made it into the final product, but have animations, scripts and even dialogue available within the game’s files.
“Peek Up” is exactly what it sounds like, with it allowing players to peek around corners, as well as under or over objects. Given the way the camera works in The Last of Us, it’s easy to see why this feature may have been cut, as it likely provided zero gameplay advantage.
The real treat, however, is “Hold Up,” which would’ve allowed you to sneak up behind an enemy and force them to put their hands up before controlling exactly where they could move and even what direction they faced. It feels very Metal Gear Solid V meets OG Splinter Cell.
As Speclizer demonstrated in a follow-up video, the feature is actually pretty neat and would almost certainly have been a key part of the gameplay.
That element rings even more true when you add in the found dialogue scripts, with phrases such as “Don’t do anything stupid” or “Hands where I can see them.”
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Personally, I’ve never had any issue with the gameplay in The Last of Us. It was perfectly tight where it needed to be, but after watching these videos, it’s apparent that there were plans to make things a lot deeper.
When and if there’s a third The Last of Us title, or, (shocker) another re-release of Part 1 or Part 2, perhaps we’ll see the final form of these features.
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Developers are reportedly crunching on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at Naughty Dog.
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