The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s lost levels won’t have any “shocking revelation” for the story but will give “a full idea of what could have been”

Ellie exploring Jackson in one of the Lost Levels in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is set to grace PlayStation 5 consoles next month, and fans can also look forward to experiencing three ‘lost levels’ - playable sequences cut from the original game. Speaking about these levels, director Matthew Gallant teased that they’ll help give “a full idea of what could have been.”

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Gallant referred to the lost levels as part of a “smorgasbord” of features - alongside visual improvements and the integration of the DualSense controller’s haptics - that fans may be drawn into experiencing in the remaster. For those unfamiliar, the three lost levels, named Sewers, Jackson Party, and Boar Hunt, are unfinished, pre-alpha sequences that are supplemented with developer commentary in order to explain the development process and thoughts behind their initial creation. 

"There's no shocking revelation for anything, but if you really want a full idea of what could have been [...] there's a tonne of what I love about the lost levels, not only are you getting to play them in a pre-alpha state that most players have never played - and I think that might actually be quite revelatory for players to know," Gallant told GamesRadar+.

Lost levels aside, new and returning The Last of Us Part 2 players can also look forward to the addition of the roguelike survival mode, No Return. It’s now been confirmed that there’ll be 10 playable characters in the new format, including Ellie, Abby, Joel, Tommy, and Dina. On top of that, Part 2’s spookiest and squelchiest boss, the Rat King, will make an appearance in the mode, so prepare yourself for that. 

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered will release on PS5 on January 19 - be sure to check out our pre-order guide to find out where you can buy the standard and special editions.

Looking for more games to play before The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered releases? You can read our list of the best PS5 games for some recommendations, as well as the best horror games if you fancy something scary.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer, TechRadar Gaming

Catherine is a News Writer for TechRadar Gaming. Armed with a journalism degree from The University of Sheffield, she was sucked into the games media industry after spending far too much time on her university newspaper writing about Pokémon and cool indie games, and realising that was a very cool job, actually. She previously spent 19 months working at GAMINGbible as a full-time journalist. She loves all things Nintendo, and will never stop talking about Xenoblade Chronicles.