The Last of Us Part 1 doesn’t have prone ability as it would have "broken" gameplay

The Last of Us: Part 1 PS5 screenshots
(Image credit: PlayStation Studios)

The Last of Us Part 1 is being called "the definitive version" of Joel and Ellie’s first adventure, though some fans are disappointed with the lack of gameplay improvements and have questioned why the ability to go prone isn't included, which is forms part of The Last of Us 2. 

This has led one Naughty Dog developer to share an insight into why the fan-requested feature hasn’t made it into the remake. Environment artist at Naughty Dog, Jonathan Benainous, has replied to a The Last of Us fan on Twitter who questioned whether the game’s price was fair due to them expecting "TLOU2 levels of gameplay."

Benainous replies to this with: "People complain about gameplay by watching a video, but nobody actually had their hand on the controller. Having played both, there is no comparison between PS3 & PS5." The rest of the developer’s tweet addresses a common fan complaint following a series of leaks last week: "And the prone would have broken the gameplay and the combat space as it wasn't built this way originally."

If you weren’t aware, several elements of The Last of Us Part 1 were leaked last week - before being officially unveiled by PlayStation - which included footage of gameplay, display options, the controller setup screen, and more. Some fans aired a range of grievances with some of the features that appeared in the leak, but one of the main complaints was the obvious lack of a prone ability featured in The Last of Us 2.

This isn’t the first time that fans have questioned whether purchasing The Last of Us Part 1 is worth it, with some fans even going as far as calling it "a slap in the face" due to its steep price point. It’s important to remember, though, that this remake has been completely rebuilt from the ground up for the PS5 and will feature many upgrades to its visuals and gameplay. 

The Last of Us Part 1 is due to release on PS5 on September 9, 2022, with a PC version also launching "very soon" afterwards. 

Want to know what else you should be excited for? Take a look at our upcoming PS5 games list. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.