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Geek Culture
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
Naughty Dog Includes Chronological Mode To 'The Last of Us Part II', Adds 'Uncharted' Outfits
Naughty Dog, the studio behind the hit post-apocalyptic stealth-action game franchise, The Last of Us , has released a surprise update for 2024's The Last of Us Part II Remastered , adding a new Chronological mode that reshuffles the game's original non-linear narrative into a linear storyline. Announced via a post on the PlayStation Blog, the new update, which is out today for the PS5 and PC, re-orders the title's narrative beats into one cohesive storyline and is meant as a fresh way to experience the game for returning players. Those familiar with the game would no doubt remember that its story was told non-linearly, intertwining flashbacks and present-day events to help enhance its emotional storytelling, and now, by enabling the new option, players can witness the game's plot unfold in chronological order. 'Through the new Chronological mode, we believe players will gain even deeper insight into Part II's narrative.' wrote Naughty Dog Editorial Content Manager Jonathon Dornbush, 'Players will be able to see how Ellie being gifted a guitar flows so neatly into her learning to play, for example, while the journey through Seattle will showcase the fascinating parallels between Ellie and Abby's crisscrossing journeys. You'll see just how close they come into running into each other, how their actions impact each other, and more.' Despite realising such a substantial shake up to the game's narrative, Naughty Dog still encourages new players to experience the game as it 'was originally developed' during their first run, explaining that its 'structure is very intentional and core to how our studio wanted Part II's themes and narrative beats to impact players'. That's not all, as to incentivise players to engage in this new mode, beating the game with the Chronological option enabled will unlock two new skins that should be familiar to fans of Naughty Dog, a Nathan Drake outfit for Joel and a Samuel Drake outfit for Tommy, inspired by the studio's other massively popular IP, Uncharted . Once unlocked, these two outfits will be usable in the game's No Return roguelike survival mode. The new update for The Last of Us Part II Remastered is now available for the PS5 (Patch 2.1.0) and PC (Patch 1.5), bringing the new Chronological mode alongside 'a host of additional bug fixes and performance improvements'. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Naughty Dog The Last of Us Part II The Last of Us Part II Remastered
WIRED
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
You Can Now Play ‘The Last of Us Part II' in Chronological Order
Jul 8, 2025 3:00 PM A free update allows players to ditch the game's nonlinear narrative for something more direct. The chronological gameplay exposes hidden nuances about the characters' intersecting storylines. Still from Last of Us II Remastered. Courtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment The video Game publisher Naughty Dog released a free update to The Last of Us Part II today that adds a new chronological story mode. The mode effectively replaces the game's nonlinear structure that bounced players between two separate characters. Otherwise, the update keeps the gameplay the same. Game owners will get the new mode automatically as part of the latest patch download. In the original version of The Last of Us Part II , players switch between dual protagonists Ellie and Abby, whose stories are told through a mix of flashbacks and present-day events. The shifting narrative structure supports the game's story of revenge and regret, as Abby grows from a villain to a sympathetic character whose motivations are rooted in loss. 'While this structure is very intentional and core to how our studio wanted Part II 's themes and narrative beats to impact players, we always wondered what it would be like to experience this story chronologically,' writes Jonathon Dornbush, the editorial content manager at Naughty Dog, on the game's website. As part of this new mode, Dornbush says that players will gain deeper insight into the game's story, like the parallels between Ellie and Abby's journeys. 'You'll see just how close they come into running into each other, how their actions impact each other,' he writes. The chronological mode is aimed at players who've already played through the original version of the game. Naughty Dog says that new players should still try it 'as was originally developed.' Players who complete the game chronological order will get two new skins for No Return mode that give The Last of Us ' brothers Joel and Tommy outfits worn by Nathan and Sam Drake from the Uncharted series. Online, fans have been largely positive about the update. 'Honestly these sort of things are really neat,' wrote Reddit user thautmatric. 'It doesn't replace the original experience and it gives the audience another way to engage with material of the text—potentially highlighting aspects and motivations the original creatives didn't even realize at the time.' 'The part that I disliked the most about The Last of Us 2 was the story pacing, how it's stitched together, so this might be something I enjoy a lot,' wrote user MissingInputJ. Parallel Paths The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us wrapped its second season in May. The show has been largely faithful to the series' narrative; the first season focused solely on The Last of Us , while season two tackled some of the events that happen in Part II . Season 3 of the show will focus on the character of Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever. Neil Druckmann, who cocreated the Last of Us video game franchise and co-ran the show with Craig Mazin, announced that he would be exiting the show after its second season in order to focus on Naughty Dog. It's rare, though not unheard of, for games with non-linear stories to eventually offer a chronological version. In 2015, Quantic Dream released a remaster of Beyond: Two Souls that included a mode that gave players the option to play the game in order; the original story moved through different ages of its heroine's life with every sequence. For players who want to experience a game's story without time jumps, the choice to move chronologically offers a more straightforward experience.
