The Last of Us 2 Remastered director says No Return was inspired by "a renaissance of roguelikes"

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But it's drawing from the genre as a whole, not individual games

Last of Us 2
(Image credit: Sony)

The Last of Us 2 Remastered's new roguelike mode is inspired by a "renaissance of roguelikes."

That's according to remaster director Matthew Gallant, speaking to GamesRadar+ recently as part our The Last of Us 2 Remastered preview. "When we were looking at what to include in a The Last of Us Part 2 remaster, we drew a lot of inspiration from what I think has been a renaissance of roguelikes," Gallant began, when asked about the new mode's origins.

For Gallant, there's a lot of games out there doing "terrific" things with the structure, "and trying all sorts of interesting ideas." You only need look at the last few years to see the blockbuster success of Hades, and the resurrection of one of the best roguelikes ever made for a hungry audience in Risk of Rain Returns. 

"It seemed like a really fertile ground for different exploration," the project director continued. "So we wanted to take our own take on the genre, we felt that it resonated very well with our combat mechanics and our systems. And we just felt very inspired by it."

"From my perspective, it's the combination of the permadeath, that gives every playthrough stakes [...] and then also the randomization aspect is very interesting. Because if you can throw the player into situations where maybe they haven't seen this particular combination before, that's where you get the brunt of thinking on your feet," Gallant concluded.

The Last of Us 2 Remastered launches on January 19, 2024, exclusively for PS5. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.