Should you play The Last of Us Part 1 or The Last of Us remastered?

The Last of Us originally released exactly a decade ago, in 2013. While it hasn’t reached Skyrim levels of re-releases, TLOU has a couple of distinct upgraded versions that came out later, both of which aim to enhance the gaming experience. Which one of these versions should you play: The Last of Us Part 1 or The Last of Us remastered?

It’s always better to base your choices on sizable information, and that’s exactly what we’ll provide. It’s time for some comparisons.

What are the differences between The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us remastered?

Let’s begin with the release date. The Last of Us Part 1 was released in 2022, a whole eight years after The Last of Us remastered. Both versions served as an adaptation of the original PlayStation 3 game to a next-gen console. Remastered is the PS4 version and Part 1 is the primary PS5 version. We say “primary” because Sony’s latest console comes with backwards compatibility, which allows PlayStation 5 users to play both Part 1 and remastered.

The second difference is what the two versions actually are at their core. Remastered is exactly that, a graphical remaster of the original The Last of Us, with some better textures, prettier environments, and more detailed facial expressions, but nothing more than that. The Last of Us Part 1 is a remake, built from the ground up using The Last of Us Part 2’s engine, with the PlayStation 5’s advanced technology in mind. Gameplay has been modernized to match that of Part 2, character expressions and movements have been given the same treatment, AI has been improved, and the world as a whole is on a different visual level.

The final difference to speak of is the lack of multiplayer options in The Last of Us Part 1, which are present in Remastered. The multiplayer Factions mode was also a part of the original PlayStation 3 title, which oddly leaves the newest TLOU release as the only one without multiplayer. Although that’s only technically true at this point as the PS3 The Last of Us Factions servers were shut down in 2019. It is widely believed that a multiplayer-only The Last of Us game will be released sometime in the future, but we don’t know if it will be automatically available to The Last of Us Part 1 owners or if it will have any connection to it whatsoever.

Related: Is The Last of Us Part 3 coming?

What is not different is the story. You know, the main draw of The Last of Us. Whether you play Part 1 or remastered, you will go through the exact same story beat for beat. Both versions include the Left Behind DLC as well.

How much does The Last of Us Part 1 cost?

Did we say final difference? Oh, we meant gameplay difference. The most outstanding difference between The Last of Us Part 1 and The Last of Us remastered is the price. The Last of Us Part 1 is being sold for $70 on the PlayStation store and for $60 on Steam. The Last of Us remastered currently costs $20 on the PS store. Now that’s what we call a major difference.

Which one to buy: The Last of Us Part 1 or The Last of Us remastered?

If you have a choice, i.e. if you own a PlayStation 5, the course of action should be clear based on your preference. The Last of Us Part 1 is objectively the best version of TLOU and if you don’t care about the price difference or multiplayer, you should buy it. If you’re not a graphical purist, however, and you don’t mind the slightly clunkier combat of The Last of Us remastered, then you could save some cash and buy that instead. The story is the highlight of this series and you will get all of it with remastered.

PC players don’t have this dilemma on their hands. There is only The Last of Us Part 1 on that platform. This takes away the value option to play TLOU, but it does provide the ultimate way to experience this amazing game.