It is launch day for The Last of Us Part II Remastered, so why not compare the launch trailer for the PS5 port to the original? There be spoilers ahead, but I suspect if you are reading this, you already know what happens.

The first launch trailer came out June 10, 2020, which was just over a week before the release. The video is a whopping 50 seconds, but only 25 of those are the actual trailer. The rest of the time is relegated to promotional links and videos.

Those 25 seconds are tense. It entirely focuses on Ellie and her pursuit of vengeance, but the audience (theoretically) does not know why. The trailer leans into the initial reveal of the game back in 2016 with Ellie stating she is going to find and kill every last one of them.

There is no context for half of the game, because no one knew there was a half to know about.1 I love this inherent lack of context and understanding. It makes for a richer game experience. But we throw all of that out the window three and a half years later.

The Remastered launch trailer is almost two minutes long. It kicks off with one of those action-y "the trailer starts NOW" montages that I hate oh so much. You don't need to convince me to watch the trailer and stay engaged with action clips I am going to see in the trailer: a trailer, mind you, that I clicked on! I digress...

While I am bummed the dope dinosaur moment is the first real thing we see, the transition in the water to Abby is killer. It immediately conveys the dual protagonist game. I am also bummed that the Zebra scene is dropped in the trailer. It doesn't take long for folks to figure out Joel's fate. I'm curious how this will be handled in promotional material for season two of the HBO show.

Overall, this launch trailer is action packed and balances Ellie and Abby's halves well. There's no sign of the Lost Levels or No Return. This is all story, which I respect.

One other tidbit is the alignment of the "Part II" in the logo. The original PS4 release stylizes the logo with the "Part II" right-aligned. Since the official title of the PS5 version includes "Remastered," we see the "Part II" aligned to the left-hand side. A subtle, but necessary change in design. The original looks far cleaner.

These differences in presentation are not surprising. I'm reminded of a quote from another top-tier game and a banger of a trailer in Red Dead Redemption II.

You have to love yourself a fire. It's one of the blessings. Sure, we can have fire...And we can have the knowledge of fire...But with that comes the knowledge of everything.

Dutch's delivery is filled with conviction. The Wild West is coming to an end; it is being eradicated. That knowledge paired with desperation makes the man. And it is the same with us and The Last of Us Part II.

We have the game and the knowledge of its twists, turns, and themes. But with that, comes the knowledge of everything. This new trailer is the knowledge of everything about the game.

And we've lost something along the way.

The intended experience has been eradicated, but we still have to love ourself a fire.

Footnotes

  1. Yes, I know about the leaks—I wrote about them—but marketing would never acknowledge them. ↩