Speedrunning Strategies

Learn how to use Speedrun Mode in The Last of Us Part I. This guide covers enabling the timer, understanding recaps, and the differences in Part II Remastered.

Alright, so you're looking to shave some time off your playthrough of The Last of Us Part I? That's awesome! This game is a journey, and seeing how fast you can experience Joel and Ellie's story is a cool challenge. The game actually has a built-in feature for this called Speedrun Mode. It's pretty straightforward, but there are a few things to keep in mind. ### What is Speedrun Mode? Basically, it's an in-game timer that tracks how long it takes you to beat the game. It's designed to pause automatically during cutscenes and when the game transitions between areas, so you're only timing your actual gameplay. You can only enable this when you start a brand new game, so plan ahead! ### How to Use It When you select 'New Game' or 'New Game+' from the main menu, you'll see an option to enable Speedrun Mode. Just toggle it on before you start. You can pick any difficulty you like, even Custom. Just a heads-up: if you use Custom difficulty and set even one setting to 'Very Light' while others are 'Grounded,' your recap will show it as 'Very Light.' Also, once you start a run with Speedrun Mode on, you can't change the difficulty. And remember, you can't use this mode for chapters or encounters you select from the main menu after you've already started a playthrough. During your run, you'll see the timer in the top-right corner of your HUD. In The Last of Us Part II Remastered, you can actually set this to 'Minimal' in the options, so the timer only pops up during chapter transitions or when you pause. (Yeah, it's a Part II thing, don't ask me why!). ### Gameplay Modifiers and Records If you decide to mess with the 'Gameplay modifiers' (like infinite ammo or one-hit kills), the timer will get a 'MOD' symbol next to it, and your recap will show it too. This is important if you're aiming for official-style speedruns. There's also a little checkmark icon that appears on your Speedrun Recap. This means the run was completed on the current game patch without any weird restarts. To keep that checkmark, always quit back to the main menu before closing the game. If that checkmark is missing, your record time might not be as reliable. ### Speedrun Recap Once you finish your run, you can check out your times in Extras ⏵ Speedrun Recap. It'll show your chapter times and your total playtime, comparing it to your previous bests. These records are sorted by game section, difficulty, permadeath setting, and New Game+ mode. ### Part II Remastered Differences In _The Last of Us Part II Remastered_, things get a bit more detailed. You can choose to run specific sections: Whole Game, Ellie, or Abby. If you pick Ellie's story, you can even choose to continue straight into Abby's after you finish Ellie's part. This gives you more flexibility if you want to focus on specific character arcs or just nail the entire game. So, that's the gist of Speedrun Mode! It's a great way to challenge yourself and see how efficient you can be in the world of The Last of Us. Good luck out there!