It feels as if a long time has passed since Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 launched exclusively on PS4 with one of the most in-depth accessibility menus we’ve ever seen in a AAA game. However, it’s not over as Grounded, a titled update, is due to be landing later this week. When it lands, you can expect to see a range of changes and improvements to accessibility, as well as new additions.
Let’s start off with the accessibility improvements. After asking Sony specifically what accessibility improvements are being made, we were sent a huge list. Specifically, players will find the Ground Zero boss fight easier when playing on Very Light difficulty. Navigation Assistance will also now provide safer navigation goals during the said boss fight.
In addition to those, issues with pings in Enhanced Listen Mode have been adjusted, Traversal Assistance will now see you jumping at the peak of a swing, and you will be able to skip text-to-speech reading journal pages by swiping up on the touchpad. There’s a bunch of other improvements which are listed below.
- Fixed small issues with goal positions in Navigation Assistance across the entire game.
- Made the boss fight in Ground Zero significantly easier on “Very Light” difficulty.
- Navigation Assistance will provide safer navigation goals during the boss fight in Ground Zero.
- Traversal Assistance will no longer enable auto-sprint during the boss fight in Ground Zero.
- Reworked how Traversal Audio Cues work for puzzles that involve swinging on ropes.
- With Traversal Assistance enabled, you will now automatically jump at the peak of a rope swing when appropriate.
- Fixed an issue where Enhanced Listen Mode pings were not pitched up/down correctly for enemies above or below you.
- Adjusted how certain pickups are detected with Enhanced Listen Mode, to make certain collectibles/side areas easier to find. Applies to chapters:
- Patrol
- Capitol Hill
- Downtown
- The Seraphites
- Road to the Aquarium
- The Flooded City
- When Collectible Tracking is enabled in the HUD menu, collectibles which were already obtained in a previous playthrough will not ping in Enhanced Listen Mode nor emit audio cues with Traversal Audio Cues.
- Enhanced Listen Mode will no longer ping melee weapons that are worse than your current weapon.
- Notes are now considered “special” for Enhanced Listen Mode pings; inspects and melee weapons are no longer considered “special”.
- When Text-to-Speech is reading a journal page, swipe up on the touchpad to skip to the next entry.
- Fixed interactive conversation highlights persisting too long in High Contrast Display.
- Auto Pick Up picks up melee weapons automatically if the player doesn’t have one.
- Fixed additional button remap conflicts.
- Fixed several cases of always on threat indicators not being always on.
- Fixed several Text-To-Speech bugs including not reading time played on saves and improper arrow count.
- Added a new option for Motion Sensor Function aiming.
- Added a new option to adjust the Film Grain effect.
The other options and improvements are
- Film Grain Adjustment Option
- Disable Listen Mode Option
- Motion Sensor Function Aiming Option
- Arc Throw HUD Display Option
- Aiming Acceleration Scale Option
- Aiming Ramp Power Scale Option
Alongside those, there are some new graphics, audio, and gameplay modifiers that are introduced with the Grounded update. Some of these allow changes to be made to slow motion, infinite crafting, infinite ammo, and more. You can see the full list of graphics, audio, and gameplay modifiers below.
- Mirror World
- Mirror on Death
- Slow Motion
- Bullet Speed Mode
- Infinite Ammo
- Infinite Crafting
- Infinite Melee Durability
- Infinite Listen Mode Durability
- Infinite Listen Mode Range
- One Shot
- Touch of Death
- 8-bit Audio
- 4-bit Audio
- Helium Audio
- Xenon AudioNew Options and Improvements
- Film Grain Adjustment Option
- Disable Listen Mode Option
- Motion Sensor Function Aiming Option
- Arc Throw HUD Display Option
- Aiming Acceleration Scale Option
- Aiming Ramp Power Scale Option
The Grounded update will be introducing two new difficulty modes. One will be a Grounded difficulty that will be similar to the original game’s Grounded mode, while the other will be permadeath. Both making the game somewhat more challenging for those who want a tougher experience.
There are two new trophies that are being added to The Last of Us Part 2 through the Grounded update. One will grant a trophy for those completing the game in Permadeath difficulty, the other will grant a trophy for beating the game on Grounded difficulty. However, due to the increased difficulty, it’s stated that neither of these two trophies will be required in order to earn a Platinum.
You can pick The Last of Us Part 2 up on PS4 and the update is due to land on August 13.
