Love it or hate it, The Last of Us Part 2 has been a big part of the games industry this year so it's hardly surprising to see Naughty Dog's latest release nominated for Game of the Year 2020 alongside the likes of Ghost of Tsushima, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Hades. We've also seen recently that The Last of Us Part 2 whilst running in backwards compatibility on the PS5, benefits from the haptic feedback feature on the DualSense controller although nothing official was stated on this by Naughty Dog. It now seems via Best Buy's store listing that the game features a next-gen upgrade which could hint that an upgrade for the PS5 is on its way.

The Best Buy store listing for the physical version for the PS4 copy of The Last of Us Part 2 apparently contains the wording "includes next-gen upgrade" across the cover. As I stated previously, Naughty Dog hasn't, as yet, announced this so it could very well be a mistake on Best Buy's part or it could be in reference to the enhanced version that supports haptic feedback on the PS5 but regardless, I would be very surprised if Naughty Dog didn't want to implement next-gen features for their most successful game at some stage in the near future to get the most out of their title as we saw with The Last of Us when it moved over from PS3 to the PS4.

At present, there's no word of a hint of an upgrade on The Last of Us 2's PS5 store listing page, and only states that "while this game is playable on the PS5, some features available on PS4 may be absent". Hopefully, we will get to hear some news on what's next for The Last of Us Part 2 on the next-gen sooner rather than later as I for one, would love to put myself through the pain and misery I went through on my trusty PS4 again.

In other The Last of Us Part 2 news, we heard from Naughty Dog's Kurt Margenau and Anthony Newman about how they came up with the creation of The Rat King that scared the bejesus out of many players. Margenau, co-game director for The Last of Us Part 2, stated that they took inspiration from Neil Blomkamp’s short film, Zygote, a 2017 Sci-Fi Horror short film where 2 survivors of a mining operation in the Arctic Circle fight for their lives against an alien creature and Playdead’s 2016 title Inside. Newman, on the other hand, made similarities between the huge Rat King and God of War's Magni and Modi “where you had these two complimentary enemies – one with a fast weapon and one with a big slow weapon”.

On a lighter note, why not check out a wholesome video of Cascina Caradonna, who is Dina’s face model from The Last of Us Part 2, reacting to seeing herself in the game or for more post-apocalyptic news, check out this The Last of Us Part 2 fan art poster showcasing Ellie’s evolution, Ashley Johnson mimicking Joel, or this amazing mural of Abby from The Last of Us Part 2 appropriately painted beside a gym. For Abby stans, you will probably enjoy the amazing Jocelyn Mettler, face model for Abby, as she cosplays as the character from The Last of Us Part II. For something a little different, check out this really awesome mashup of scenes from The Last of Us Part 2 in Studio Ghibli’s iconic artstyle.

For those who haven’t dove head-on into the franchise yet and would like to know more about this iconic game, our Features Editor put together a guide of everything you need to know about The Last of Us. The Last of Us Part 2 is available now exclusively on PS4 and the game was one of DualShockers’ favorites of 2020; make sure to check out the official DualShockers (generally spoiler-free) review. Also, feel free to grab the game physically on Amazon to help support the site.