(This post does not contain any spoilers whatsoever for “The Last of Us Part 2.” We’re just talking about safes, and not the story.)
“The Last of Us Part 2,” the sequel to Naughty Dog’s beloved PlayStation 3 game, is oh so very long. It’s roughly twice the length of the first game, which itself was probably a bit longer than a narrative-focused video game ideally should be. So, naturally, as you get further and further in, you might just kinda be over some of the busywork, like scouring every place you go for collectibles and crafting resources. Or of trying to find the combination to one of the many safes you’ll find on your journey.
Well, fear not, because we can help you with at least that last thing. Safes very often contain the most important loot in “The Last of Us Part 2,” like new guns or skill books, so it’s pretty important to open every safe you find. But the good news is that you don’t actually need to look around for the combination if you don’t feel like opening every drawer or searching every dark corner.
There’s a surprisingly quick and easy way to unlock any safe you come across. You don’t need to find the combination or anything like that. You just need to be able to hear the game pretty well.
The trick here is basically the same thing that safecrackers do in movies, where they put their ear against the safe while they turn the knob. Except you don’t have to go that far in “The Last of Us Part 2.” Here’s the key thing: every time you change the number on the combination, the safe will click. When you get to the correct number, it will make a distinct and louder click.
That might sound tedious, but it’s a different enough sound that you can scroll through the numbers very quickly and still hear it without much problem. You shouldn’t go too fast, but you should be able to turn the knob quickly enough that you can open any safe in under a minute this way. Which is almost certainly quicker than looking around for the combination.
If you’re hearing impaired, or just have to play with the sound down for some reason, this method likely will not work for you.
Fortunately, hunting down safe combinations is not usually that much of an inconvenience. But still, sometimes you just don’t wanna do any more scavenging. And in those situations, you should give this a shot if you’re able. Trust me, being able to save a few minutes whenever you can is absolutely worth it in a game as long as “The Last of Us Part 2” is.