The Last of Us Part 1 remake is coming to PlayStation 5 on September 2nd, and its overhauls certainly appear impressive, but they don’t appear to be completely comprehensive. Since The Last of Us Part 2 launched without multiplayer and is yet to receive it, fans of the original game’s multiplayer were likely hoping that this remake would herald its return. Unfortunately, official promotional material and store descriptions seem to outline the opposite.
In the original and remastered versions of The Last of Us, players had access to its Factions multiplayer mode, in which they led a camp of survivors and struggled to provide for them. By performing well in any of the game’s three types of matches, players could earn supplies to upgrade their survivor camp and care for characters that became sick or wounded. This framing device took place over the course of 12 in-game weeks, with each match played passing a day. Many players held this combination of gameplay and narrative in high regard, so it was one of the most anticipated features for The Last of Us Part 1 remake to bring back. However, fans may have to wait for the PC version, or perhaps even longer, to experience the franchise’s multiplayer again.
According to The Last of Us Part 1‘s PlayStation store page, the remake will not feature its original version’s classic multiplayer. There are no mentions of multiplayer anywhere in its features, and there are no indications that online play is possible. The PlayStation website typically indicates a game’s player count, as well as whether PlayStation Plus is required for any online play; The Last of Us Part 1‘s page has no such indication, and lists its player count as 1. Comparatively, The Last of Us Remastered explicitly mentions online play and the inclusion of the original’s multiplayer, and has no listed player count. Barring a line explicitly stating that there will be no multiplayer, there could hardly be a more definitive confirmation. For fans to whom everything new The Last of Us Part 1 remake has to offer doesn’t seem quite enough without its multiplayer, this may not be a worthwhile investment.
The Last Of Us Part 1’s Multiplayer Will Get Its Own Game
While it may not make an appearance here, The Last of Us‘ multiplayer is thankfully on the horizon in the form of a standalone game. This new iteration of the franchise’s multiplayer has been in development for some time, as it was originally intended to be a part of The Last of Us Part 2. When Naughty Dog realized that their ambitions for the game’s multiplayer and single-player modes were both increasingly expansive, they made the decision to separate the two modes into different projects. In the wake of that update on The Last of Us Part 2‘s missing multiplayer, fans’ impatience and frustration was largely shifted to speculation. The answer to why The Last of Us Part 1 seemingly dropped its predecessor’s multiplayer may be here.
If the standalone multiplayer is as ambitious as Naughty Dog claims, they may have decided to cut multiplayer from The Last of Us Part 1 for the same reason, to preserve their multiplayer developers’ resources for this new title. Since there was no multiplayer in The Last of Us Part 2, this remake’s multiplayer wouldn’t have had updated mechanics to match those being added to its campaign. The developers could have added new features from scratch, but that would have taken more of their time and tipped their hand when it came to the multiplayer game still in development. While this shift may have unfortunately made The Last of Us Part 1 remake’s price seem not worth it to some players, it could end up being the best decision for the franchise’s future.
