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

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."

However, Gallant is keen to stress that No Return borrows "broadly" from the roguelike genre, instead of one or two specific games. "At the end of the day, we really wanted to take our own take on it," Gallant said, adding that Naughty Dog really wanted to put their "own take" on a roguelike game with No Return.

"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.

Unfortunately for players, No Return is bringing back the dreaded Rat King for another bout, which is sure to terrify players all over again. Elsewhere in the interview, Gallant tackled why Naughty Dog is remastering a three-year-old game, pointing to both the technical advancements and gameplay additions like No Return as a key factor.

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

Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a look ahead at all the other exclusives Sony's set to launch next year.