The Last of Us Part 2: How to Replay Chapters and Encounters

The Last of Us Part II has a lot for players to look at when they’re fighting their way through [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

The Last of Us Part II has a lot for players to look at when they're fighting their way through different levels, but that also means there's a lot to miss during your journeys. Small caches of resources, key objects that'll help you fight off the infected and human enemies, unique collectibles different every time you pick them up, and remnants of the past to help flesh out the world of The Last of Us Part II. For those who miss any of these finds or if you just want to revisit a level and see if you can handle it better the second time, The Last of Us Part II thankfully has a feature that allows players to replay chapters and even specific encounters.

Players have two options in The Last of Us Part II for replaying past missions. Those options are found in the main menu under where you'd start a new game or continue your existing one, and they're called "Chapters" and "Encounters."

Under the Chapters option, you'll find a breakdown of the main levels the game takes you through. We won't post a picture here so as not to spoil anything since our screen has all the chapters listed on it, but rest assured that it's easy to tell what's what from that menu.

As soon as you complete part of the game in the main story, you can return to the menu and pick up from that chapter. Choosing a chapter shows a number of different checkpoints throughout that level that players can start from. Perhaps one of the best features of all from this chapter selection menu is that it shows an exact breakdown of what you've gotten from those levels and what you're missing. It counts things like workbenches used to upgrade weapons, artifacts to add to your collection, and safes to crack to see what's within.

If you think you missed something or know you do after revisiting the screen, head back into a chapter to find what you missed. You'll be allowed to keep playing through the chapter from where you start afterwards, so whatever you find in that chapter replay is yours to keep so long as you keep playing in that save slot.

Replaying Encounters works a bit differently though. These are key instances within the levels that will stand out from others like your first encounters with unique enemies, mini-bosses, and more. You'll finish an encounter when you've cleared out all the enemies or done whatever it is you were supposed to do during that part of the game. Replaying encounters puts players' gear options to a state that they would've been when visiting that encounter initially, so if you collect weapons later in the game, you don't get to bring them back. Finishing an encounter will prompt players with options to either return to the menu or go onto the next encounter.

Replaying parts will add to your overall playtime, but if you're just trying to get through the story without replaying things, we've got an idea of how long it'll take you.

The Last of Us Part II officially launches for the PlayStation 4 on June 19th, and you can find our full review of the game here.

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