2020's The Last of Us Part 2 has a lot of content in the story, and it is much longer than its predecessor. Players will eventually finish it and be left with the post-game content to enjoy. A lot of players will immediately want to replay the game and experience the characters all over again.
It includes a New Game+ feature as well as many extra trophies to collect among lots of other tasks to complete. There are some very fun ways to add longevity to The Last of Us Part 2 and replay the game in many different ways that will make it much more interesting the second time around.
Updated December 30th, 2020 by Josh Davison: There isn't a postgame mode to The Last of Us Part II beyond the New Game+ option which takes you through the story again. The Last of Us Part II isn't an open-world game (besides Ellie's "Seattle Day One" mission), so you can't go back and just wander around the world and see the sights. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't anything to do in The Last of Us Part II after the credits roll. There are plenty of reasons to dive back into the story and a chapter select option to boot. The Last of Us Part II stuck with a lot of players for a long time after going through it, so let's dive back in and find another five things to do once you complete The Last of Us Part II.
15 Cry
Let's be honest, the first thing you want to do after finishing Last of Us Part II is ball your eyes out. Naughty Dog's team put together a very moving, brutal, and emotionally compelling story that will stick with you long after you put the controller down.
So, go ahead, let it all out. Have a good cry over the fates of Joel, Ellie, Abbie, Owen, Tommy, Dina, and all of the other characters that you've met along the way and, well, the countless lives ruined over the course of the game.
14 Replay Last Of Us Part I
Understandably, not everyone will have this option. However, those who do should take the opportunity to go back and take a look at The Last of Us again. Naughty Dog famously remastered it for the PlayStation 4, and it's worth going back and experiencing the story again.
Plus, you can pick up the little notes along the way that showed where it seems Joel and Ellie were doomed to go. Joel is a violent man and, though he might have tried to do right by Ellie, he inevitably passed on a lot of that violence to her.
13 Take Out Some Frustration
While a game like Doom might have a common claim to being an emotional release valve, The Last of Us Part II has an incredibly satisfying and tactile combat system that really makes you feel each gunshot, melee attack, or stealthy kill.
It's a brutally violent game with an at-first shocking amount of gore and misery. It humanizes your enemies in a way that few other games even try to do. That said, if you've had a bad day you should maybe feel free to take it out on a few infected, Wolves, or Seraphites.
12 Decide Who You Like More
Ellie and Abby share the mantle of the protagonist in this game, though Ellie is still more of the focal point of the narrative. While it may seem a little obvious who is the better person by the time everything is said and done, that isn't the same thing as who is the more engaging character—that latter title is far more subjective.
So, once you finish The Last of Us Part II, replay it a bit and figure out who you like more. Are you an ally of Abby? Or, are you enchanted by Ellie? The choice is yours, and there's no wrong answer.
11 Upgrade All Your Weapons
The Last of Us Part II gives Ellie and Abby a large arsenal of weapons to choose from, and each one has unique upgrades that do genuinely feel like improvements. From scopes to grips, and to barrel extensions, there is a lot for the player to do with their weapons throughout the game.
The stumbling block to this mission is the amount of scrap that the player can find. Even the most keen-eyed player won't be able to get all the upgrades in one playthrough, so this task will carry over to New Game+
10 Search For Hidden Notes
There are many different hidden notes scattered throughout the world of The Last of Us Part 2, and fans can read about interesting side stories if they manage to find all of them.
After beating the game, players can go back into their save files and rummage around areas that they may not have spent much time in before trying to find new notes. Considering that all of these notes offer a substantial amount of story and sometimes even information about the area, it is completely worth it for a hardcore The Last of Us fan.
9 Improve At Combat
Practicing combat is always fun, and it will be especially useful for the multiplayer that is releasing sometime in the next year. It's worth doing this to experience the terrifying post-apocalyptic atmosphere again as well.
Players can load one of their save files and practice fighting enemies without dying, which will improve their skill for their next playthrough and make it much easier to enjoy the story for a second time.
8 Replay The Game On A Higher Difficulty
Replaying the game on a higher difficulty adds a new and distinct challenge that will allow the player to potentially experience the game in a way that they weren't able to in the first playthrough.
Furthermore, playing on one of the hardest difficulties will add a true challenge, especially for players who initially played on one of the lowest difficulties. Higher difficulties will make the AI smarter; however, it will also challenge players by having fewer supplies within the world.
7 Play The Guitar
At the beginning of the game, Joel tells Ellie that he will teach her how to play the guitar, and he does so over the next few years. There are multiple guitar scenes within The Last of Us Part 2, and if players save their spot at one of these, then they can go back and experience Ellie playing the guitar all over again.
There is a guitar present in the theater that Ellie and Dina stay at, which will be the perfect place to reload a save file for players that want to listen to this again.
6 Try Out Different Combat Scenarios
One thing that this sequel implemented that the first game didn't have for the most part is different solutions to combat scenarios. It's fun to go back and try to play through combat situations in ways that weren't tried the first time.
This means players could experience the game in a completely different way in terms of combat because there were many opportunities to sneak past enemies, fight them, or choose to make zombies fight human enemies instead. There are also some NPC conversations that players may have missed by rushing into combat too early.
5 Earn All Of The Trophies
There are a plethora of trophies to earn within The Last of Us Part 2, and this is no surprise as it is one of the most anticipated PS4 games of 2020. These trophies include upgrading every weapon and finding every trading card, among other difficult challenges.
Players need to earn every trophy if they want to earn the platinum trophy for The Last of Us Part 2 and although this will be a difficult and time-consuming task, it is completely worth it for a fan that wants to prove how much they love The Last of Us Part 2.
4 Rewatch The Cutscenes
There were a lot of cutscenes during The Last of Us Part 2, and some of them were emotional, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. All of these cutscenes made up the story and so did the dialogue and quotes outside of the cutscenes.
They are worth re-watching by loading back into a previous save that was near one of the pivotal cutscenes in the game. Players may even learn something about the characters or story that they didn't notice while watching the cutscene for the first time.
3 Admire The Scenery And Take Screenshots
The Last of Us Part 2 is a major graphical upgrade from the original, and fans are in awe of the beautiful scenery, even if a lot of it is just a broken-down world.
Players should take their time during their first playthrough to take the world in, and it is worth going back to some of the most beautiful spots in the game after beating it for the first time. The scenery alone makes replaying The Last of Us Part 2 worth it, and taking screenshots will add even more longevity to a playthrough.
2 Try Self-Imposed Challenges
One way to add longevity and replayability to any game is to try self-imposed challenges, and in The Last of Us Part 2, some examples of this would be not allowing the player to heal during a combat sequence or attempting to kill every enemy using stealth.
Although these challenges can be tricky, they can also be extremely fun and allow players to experience the game in a more difficult manner.
1 Start A New Game+
Starting a New Game+ is different from replaying the game on a higher difficulty in that the player will get to keep all of their upgrades, and that will make replaying certain earlier sections within the game much more enjoyable.
Starting out overpowered can make a game fun, and for some players, it can also make it much more interesting, allowing them to earn as many upgrades as possible by replaying the game multiple times. For players who absolutely adored The Last of Us Part 2 and its gameplay, it is worth replaying it a few times using the New Game+ feature.