The Last of Us Part II will be getting both permadeath and the return of a notorious Grounded Mode which pushed players to their ultimate survival instincts in the first game.
Its upcoming Grounded update also lets players return to the story with Permadeath, which only gives players one life across its 30-hour campaign. Those who also survive this special mode will also get a trophy for bragging rights, while the same can be obtained for beating The Last of Us Part II on grounded difficulty. But for completionists, the modes also won’t be needed to reach Platinum and can still be done according to the in-game requirements at launch.
As with the first game, players can expect enemies to be buffed during stealth and combat. Players can easily be detected from heightened security, while checkpoints during fights are also removed – requiring them to replay entire sections. Supplies have also been a rare commodity, while it’s even harder to find a handful of health kits across the game. For zombies, their attacks could also bring players down after one-to-two hits in close quarters.
But as the game’s enemies and zombies turn up the heat, players can also use a variety of modifiers including Infinite Ammo, Infinite Crafting and Infinite Melee Durability to get back at them. Like Uncharted 4, these modifiers can also be turned on in the game’s Pause menu. The game’s world can also be tweaked around with a Mirror World that flips the game horizontally. Much like the Master Quest in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Ellie can now go through the entire game going left instead of right. Another modifier also shakes things up by flipping the world each time after dying.
Other gameplay tweaks can turn Ellie into something scarier than the zombies, as a Touch of Death modifier can kill enemies from players doing absolutely nothing. Naughty Dog has also added Bullet Speed Mode, so players can slow down time while aiming their weapons in true action hero fashion. We also expect to see some hilarious walkthroughs with an 8-bit and 4-bit audio filter, while a helium modifier lightens the game’s gritty dialogue (just as nature unintended).
Players looking to coast through The Last of Us Part II‘s stealth segments can also turn on Infinite Listen Mode Range or Infinite Listen Mode Durability to easily spot enemies anywhere. It’s still unknown if using these modifiers on the Grounded or Permadeath difficulties would keep players from earning their special trophies on PlayStation.
The Last of Us Part II‘s Grounded Update also adds some visual options, such as a film grain slider and disabling Listen Mode alltogether. Players can also adjust their aiming indicators for throwing items and even the Aiming Ramp Power. Naughty Dog has also added accessibility improvements, including changes for the Ground Zero fight and functionality for the rope.
Players can download the 1.03 update for The Last of Us Part II when it rolls out on Thursday, August 13, 2020.