The Last of Us: Part II has a new trailer and early 2020 release date

By Gabe Gurwin Published September 24, 2019

The Last of Us Part II – Release Date Reveal Trailer | PS4

Sony held its latest PlayStation State of Play video presentation Tuesday, and all eyes were on the stream for news about The Last of Us: Part II. Naughty Dog delivered with a new trailer showing off the variety of environments Ellie will go to, but more importantly, we finally got a release date for the game. And if that wasn’t enough, plenty of other promising games were shown during the event. Here are the biggest ones.

Contents

The Last of Us: Part II
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Arise: A Simple Story
Humanity

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The Last of Us: Part II

The Last of Us Part 2 Joel — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Capping off the presentation was The Last of Us: Part II, which was given a brief but informative new trailer. Beginning with Ellie and new character Dina discussing their kiss at a party the night before, it quickly turns violent as the two are thrown into a mess involving Clickers and fungal spores. Violence breaks out between infected and healthy humans alike, and an eerie gunshot rings out as Ellie cries in panic.

Other returning characters are also seen in the trailer, including Joel’s brother Tommy, and later, Joel himself. The years have not been kind to him, but he stresses that he would not let Ellie go on her mission alone.

The Last of Us: Part II is out for PS4 on February 21, 2020. The original remastered game on PS4 will be available via PlayStation Plus in October.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Official Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® – Story Trailer

October will also see the launch of the re-imagined Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Sony showed off a campaign trailer during the State of Play video. The trailer focused on an uneasy alliance between Captain John Price and resistance fighter Farah, as chemical weapons have been let loose in the latter’s home country.

The trailer still includes plenty of classic Modern Warfare moments, including a quiet sniping scene and one with green night vision, but this is an entirely new game that just happens to play with some of the same characters and themes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is out on October 25.

State of Play | 24th September 2019

Arise: A Simple Story

Image used with permission by copyright holder

An adventure game published by Techland, Arise caught us by surprise with its gorgeous world design and environments, as well as its somber tone. The trailer itself began with a man being given a pyre-style funeral, before shifting to a snow-filled region. The game looks to involve puzzles and an enemy type with glowing eyes, but it’s still unclear what the hero’s ultimate goal is.

Developer Piccolo Studio currently has Arise‘s release date as December 3, 2019 on its website. It’s unclear if that has changed since it was posted.

Humanity

Humanity – Announce Trailer | PS4, PS VR

A curious-looking project from Enhance and THA Ltd., Humanity opened the State of Play event. The game features huge crowds of identical people who can all move, jump, and climb in unison, as well as form chains together. Some are blue, while others are red, and the two sides battle each other with melee and ranged attacks. We don’t know why they are fighting, but we’ll surely learn more soon.

Humanity will release for PS4 in 2020.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

How to access Lost Levels in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

Lev draws a bow in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered officially brings the popular Naughty Dog game to PlayStation 5 with a number of enhancements, including visual upgrades, a new roguelike mode, and a variety of fresh features that returning players may be interested in checking out. Among these new features are Lost Levels, which showcase early versions of areas that were ultimately cut from the game. There are three of these unique levels you can explore, including Jackson Dance, Seattle Sewers, and The Hunt — and they're all accessible right away, meaning you won't need to beat the main game to explore them. When you're ready to dive into The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered's Lost Levels, we'll tell you where to find them below.
How to access Lost Levels

The Lost Levels can be selected by booting up the game and loading up the main menu. At the bottom of the list of options will be a section titled Making Of. Click this to reveal the Lost Levels on the following page. From here, you can choose between the following bonus levels:

Gaming

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered: No Return tips and tricks for beginners

Tommy in The Last of Us 2 Remastered

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered's campaign mostly just features visual upgrades over the PlayStation 4 original, but its new No Return mode provides players with a roguelike experience within the same world. This tense and challenging experience requires equal parts patience, strategy, and quick reflexes if you want to survive till the very end. In this guide, we'll share some things you'll want to keep in mind while tackling No Return.
Pick the right character for you
No Return features various characters from The Last of Us Part 2, each sporting unique initial loadouts, upgrade paths, and traits that can make a massive difference in your run. Picking one that suits the way you like to approach combat is extremely important, as certain characters will excel at some encounter types more than others.

For instance, Abby gets instant access to the Melee Upgrade Recipe and heals after killing an enemy with a melee attack, whereas Ellie gains extra supplements and gets immediate access to the Molotov Recipe for burning foes alive. Later, you can even unlock Yara, who will always bring along Lev as a sidekick to help you kill enemies in every encounter, though she sacrifices any other particularly unique extras as a result. As you can see, there's a character for every player, and a bit of trial and error should reveal which one works best for you.
Plan out your runs ahead of time

Gaming

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered turns the original game into a cruel punch line

Lev draws a bow in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered.

It was a sunny spring day in 2020, amid the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, when I beat The Last of Us Part 2. As its long credits rolled, I paced around my small apartment living room, unpacking what had transpired. I adored the sequel’s first two acts and its multifaceted discussion of cyclical violence, but I found myself critical of its California-set finale. It seemed to backtrack on all the nuance of Ellie and Abby’s struggle by introducing a definitively evil faction that I wouldn’t feel bad about shooting with a machine gun. It was a discordant note at the end of a symphony, but I was determined to dig below my surface reading and try to understand what Naughty Dog was going for. It had earned that.

That’s when I was hit by the one moment of the game I’ll never forget. As I was deep in reflection, the credits wrapped up, and a final bit of text splashed on the screen. As a reward for finishing the brutal story, I had unlocked New Game+ mode, which would encourage me to replay it again with all my upgraded guns. The benefit of the doubt I’d given Naughty Dog went out the window; did the studio even understand its own game?