The Last of Us Part 2 is still bold, bleak, and the best stealth game on PS5

Considering I've been to jollier funerals, it's a little odd to call The Last of Us Part 2 a victory lap. But for PlayStation 4, that's exactly what it was. The PS4 had smashed it, with constant great first-party games like Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Bloodborne, along with excellent third party support. The Last of Us Part 2 was clearly intended as one last hurrah before the PS5 arrived later that same year.

So why is its remaster one of the defining games of PS5? Well, that PS4 victory lap never really ended. We've had slightly conservative sequels to Horizon, Spider-Man, God of War, and Ghost of Tsushima. Some good, some great, but none of them as brave a roll of the dice as The Last of Us 2.

Head to the next paragraph if you don't want spoilers – seriously, off you go – but this game kills its co-lead in the opening hours. It's easy to forget just how ridiculously audacious that move was. Imagine if Donkey Kong Bananza explained you had to play as DK because Diddy Kong had succumbed to bronchitis. I hope whoever opens the feedback mail at Naughty Dog got a steep raise that month.

After that merry opening, the stage is set for a violent stealth adventure that makes the first game look about as grisly as an episode of Bluey. A grimdark indictment of human nature where horses get shot in the head, supporting characters get picked off more ruthlessly than in a Game of Thrones finale, and someone can't even enjoy a spot of Hotline Miami on PS Vita without getting their throat slit. It's a lot.

Naughty Dog… You OK, hun?

At least The Last of Us Part 2 doesn't shy away from the horrors of what you're doing. I've racked up psychotic kill counts in hundreds of games, but this is one of the few where every character has a name. Plenty mocked the feature where surviving NPCs will sometimes yell one of your victims' names out when you kill them. I think it's brilliant. An upsettingly effective way of reminding you that, oh yeah, that was a person you just slaughtered. Naughty Dog are still one of the few AAA studios interested in humanizing the 'enemy' at all.

But the game isn't just good for giving you more reasons to hate yourself for perpetuating cycles of violence. This revenge quest simply feels great to play as a game. It's the best stealth adventure since Metal Gear Solid 5. Except all your lovely toys from Metal Gear haven't bothered showing up, forcing you to think on your feet in a game where simply trying to wait the enemy out is suicide. They're far too smart for such tired stealth tricks. Instead of sticking to rigid patrol routes like clockwork automatrons, the people you're up against actually communicate with each other, make smart decisions, flank you, and – oh boy – occasionally drop to their knees and beg for mercy. Sorry, bud. Not in this game.

Slowly creeping up on someone who could suddenly turn around at any moment never stops getting the pulse racing, especially with several of their friends in the wings ready to shout "Kevin!" if they witness you shanking poor Kev. It never lets you get comfortable, constantly escalating and adding nasty new complications, or a swarm of clickers just for kicks.

I'll never forget the moment where my opponents stopped loudly shouting their plans and started communicating through whistling. A sinister secret code that you can't crack, so you don't know if that whistle means 'no sign of her, let's all go home and play Uncharted instead' or 'there she is – kill, kill, kill!'

The Last of Us Part 2 throws massive set pieces at you relentlessly, moments that would be the climax to other games. A horseback chase through what's essentially a war zone might be Naughty Dog's greatest set piece ever. But my favorite thing about the game is actually something that's missing.

There's none of the tiresome yellow paint plastered everywhere to hold your hand and tell you exactly where to go. Instead the artists subtly guide you, encouraging exploration and paying attention, making for much more organic-feeling traversal. And because you have to constantly engage with it properly to progress, it sucks you in brilliantly. They've somehow made a game that's more downbeat than a kitten morgue near-impossible to put down.

Bloody, beautiful

This remaster is undoubtedly the way to play The Last of Us Part 2. A mere PS4 upscale? Please, most PS5 games wish they looked half as good as this. But it's the haptic feedback where the update truly sings. No one gets more out of Sony's machines than Naughty Dog, who gleefully ask the Astro Bot devs to hold their beer so they can get every bell and whistle out of the DualSense.

The resistance in the left trigger when you aim a gun just feels right. As does the way the rumbling adjusts whether on horseback, fleeing on foot, or walking into another one of those bloody explosive traps. And the bit where you have to shake the controller to get your torch working again is… OK, that bit's still stupid. But otherwise, this is easily one of the best games for showing off what PS5's all-timer of a pad can truly do.

There's a generous amount of extra features, too. Three 'lost levels' that were cut from the campaign give a fascinating look at the still far too murky world of game development. Hang on, they cut a party scene where Ellie could get her face painted? Christ, Naughty Dog, can't you cut her even the tiniest of breaks?

There's also a new mode, No Return, which asks the question 'what if our very serious examination of the futility of violence… was a fun roguelike!'. Decent if you just want to enjoy the excellent stealth systems, even if it does successfully kill off all the nuances of the main story. Yes, yes, violence is horrible, but if you use a molotov in this level to kill someone, we'll give you a bonus reward! I doubt we'll see that idea adapted in the TV show, but if you're reading this, Craig Mazin, I'd love to be proven wrong.

The Last of Us Part 2 is far from perfect. While it's great to see a queer relationship in such a big budget mainstream game, I still think Dina and Ellie's relationship has no spark whatsoever. They have about as much romantic chemistry as Joel does with a certain golf club. It's far too long and indulgent in places, and the overwhelmingly dour tone sometimes had me taking breaks to play something more upbeat, like Spec Ops: The Line.

But this is still the best stealth game on PS5 and almost nobody in the AAA space is taking swings as bold as what you'll find here. If this is what Naughty Dog can achieve with a mere remaster, then their upcoming first bespoke PS5 game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, might beam us to actual space.

Check out our best PS5 games ranking for what to play next!