Summary

• No Return, the new roguelike survival mode in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, goes against the core themes of the main story.
• TLOU 2 posits that its characters' endless cycles of revenge-driven violence are detrimental to all involved, but No Return is a virtually endless game mode focusing solely on violence.
• While it may feel awkward or unfitting, No Return is a purely gameplay-focused mode meant to provide players with extra time and a chance to master the game's combat in ways the main story does not demand.

With the recent announcement of a PS5 remaster for The Last of Us Part 2 comes the inclusion of two new game modes - a Speedrun Mode, which simply puts a timer on completing the main story, and No Return, a new roguelike survival mode where players fight through randomized encounters. However, while No Return is set to leverage The Last of Us Part 2's refined third-person shooter and stealth gameplay, the mode is conceptually at odds with the core themes of the main story. Although it's far from being a major issue, there is a definite dissonance between No Return and The Last of Us Part 2's main campaign.

In keeping with the original The Last of Us, which received a remaster on the PS4 just a year after its release, and a remake, The Last of Us Part 1, on PS5 and PC more recently, TLOU Part 2 is receiving a remastered version set for release on January 19, 2024 - less than four years after its original release in June 2020. While the new release is billed as a remaster, however, it's more similar to a current-gen upgrade, with preexisting owners of The Last of Us Part 2 having the option to upgrade for $10, and only relatively minor visual improvements.

No Return Contradict's TLOU 2's Main Theme

The most interesting addition in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, though, is undoubtedly the new No Return game mode, which takes the form of a roguelike survival game, allowing players to take on runs where they have to manage supplies and fight random enemy encounters. Notably, the mode will also have a relatively large roster of playable characters, including characters like Dina and Tommy who haven't been playable previously. However, the potentially endless cycle of violence presented by No Return seemingly goes directly against the core themes of the main game's story, making it a potentially strange experience.

Aside from Ellie and Abby, No Return will also allow players to play as Tommy, Dina, Jesse, Lev, and Mel, with further characters potentially available to be unlocked or added in post-launch updates.

The core theme that the story of TLOU 2 is built around is the harm done by perpetuating a cycle of revenge and violence - the game drives home, at several key points in the story, how life-ruining and destructive the different characters' needs for revenge are to themselves and those around them. Joel's massacre of the Fireflies in the first game drives Abby to take revenge, killing Joel at the start of TLOU 2, which in turn sets off Ellie to seek revenge, creating a destructive cycle which ends in almost every character in the story suffering.

This point is especially driven home by TLOU 2's ending, where Ellie, having abandoned the family she could've had with Dina in the pursuit of revenge, returns to find herself alone and, now missing a finger as the result of her last fight with Abby, unable to even play her guitar, the last memento left to her by Joel. Now, the exact effectiveness of TLOU 2's messaging is up for debate, with some players taking issue with how the game presents some of its themes, but the theme of cycles of violence is relatively unsubtle, and undeniably a core part of the game's story.

So, while No Return offers a presumably story-less, more arcade-y way to experience TLOU 2's action gameplay, roguelikes as a genre are inherently about an endless cycle of violence - players take on a run, get as far as they can, and then die, only to repeat the same thing again and again. Although it's likely to make for compelling gameplay, the mode does conceptually rub against the core themes of the main story in a way that may feel awkward or unfitting upon the release of the remastered version.

Why No Return Is Still A Good Addition To TLOU 2 Remastered

However, while No Return might not be perfectly in line with the themes of The Last of Us Part 2's main story, the mode's inclusion will still serve as a way to experience its gameplay in a different context. For players who've completed the game, it might feel a little dissonant to mow down groups of enemies as Ellie after experiencing the somber ending, but the roguelike mode will still separate the game's polished combat systems from the main campaign, allowing its mechanics to be enjoyed without having to go through the same levels and story every time.

And, even if the roguelike mode technically does contradict the main themes of the story, it's clearly meant as a pure gameplay mode with little in the way of story significance - an alternate mode that players can sink more time into than they likely would in the static single-player campaign. With new characters offering different playstyles, it could be compared to The Mercenaries in Resident Evil 4 - an arcade-like mode with no bearing on the story, which allows for players to control characters that they wouldn't normally get a chance to play as, for a different experience from the main game.

Essentially, while the main campaign of The Last of Us Part 2 is focused on its narrative, putting much of its resources towards telling a compelling story with clear themes, No Return is more just for fun - an extra mode to entice players to put in some extra time and really master the game's combat in ways that the main story might not demand. It is, after all, a big ask to completely start over the story for players who want to just get into more shootouts, but much less demanding to start a run of a bonus roguelike mode.

So, while the new No Return mode coming with The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered goes against the themes of the game's main story, in ways that might at first seem strange to fans of the game, the mode also serves as a way to experience its refined stealth and action gameplay with less baggage. For those who've already experienced the story of The Last of Us Part 2, but want more of the game's combat or stealth specifically, No Return will be a worthwhile addition in the remastered release of the game.