Benson Russell, a former combat designer at Naughty Dog, has expressed frustration over how his work was handled in The Last of Us Part I remake, saying the studio chose to “erase” his original work. While the remake itself was widely praised, Russell takes issue with the way the original combat design was rebuilt.
Russell was responsible for key parts of the original game’s combat design, including enemy placement and scripting. According to him, the remake did not build on that work, but instead replaced it entirely. In an interview with Kiwi Talkz, he said, “It’s literally taking my scripts, pushing delete and putting all new scripts in.” He explained that building those systems required a huge amount of effort, from setting up spawns to writing the logic that made encounters work properly.
The changes are partly explained by the technical shift behind the remake. Naughty Dog rebuilt the game using The Last of Us Part II engine, which required recreating models, animations, and combat systems from scratch. His frustration also comes from how the remake is presented. Calling it the “definitive version” creates what he described as a “sour spot,” where the original work feels pushed aside instead of being respected, and where it is positioned as the version players should experience if they are playing The Last of Us for the first time.
He contrasted this with the Resident Evil remakes, noting that they are often seen as separate experiences rather than replacements for the originals. He concluded by saying that people often tell him that “your work is what led up to us,” but he strongly rejects that idea. “F*** that. No, no, no. I don’t care if you were inspired by the original combat I did. You deleted my work. You deleted it. You took it out.”
In other Naughty Dog news, the director of The Last of Us Online revealed that the game was 80% complete and that he only learned about the cancellation 24 hours before it was officially announced.
