The Last of Us Part I PC Review

The Final of Us Half I on PC

The one factor scarier than a Clicker lunging at you from out of nowhere is a Clicker lunging at you from out of nowhere, adopted by a tough crash sending you again to desktop, I suppose. The Final of Us Half I has lastly gotten its long-awaited PC port, following a profitable first season of the HBO TV adaptation. And in case you’ve been following the information even just a little bit, you’ll rapidly be taught that the sport’s PC port has been less than stellar, to say the least.

After getting two stable days’ value of playtime in with The Final of Us Half I on PC, I can safely report that whereas a few of the complaints and unfavorable evaluations appear to have been overblown, that is actually not an amazing port, and would possibly very properly be the weakest PC port of a PlayStation exclusive game we’ve seen up to now. By and huge, Naughty Canine’s beloved post-apocalyptic zombie journey appears nice on PC –and it appears particularly stunning on my ultrawide monitor– however there are clear areas for enchancment the place optimization is anxious.

The sport ran superb for essentially the most half, although there have been noticeable framerate drops and hiccups particularly throughout motion sequences. Over the course of my playthrough, I additionally skilled a handful of crashes, although nothing as extreme as onerous crashes each 20 minutes as some consumer stories have advised.

That being mentioned, it’s value noting that The Final of Us Half I does appear to endure from some egregiously lengthy loading occasions on PC as properly. Whereas the preliminary load occasions on PS3 and PS4 had additionally been pretty prolonged, they have been significantly noticeable on PC, particularly since I had the sport put in on an SSD and usually anticipated it to load only a tad quicker. Each loading display screen appeared to take up a substantial period of time, whether or not you have been booting the sport up for the primary time, or ready to load a earlier checkpoint after dying.

I additionally had bother getting the shaders to correctly construct and cargo; the sport begins the constructing course of everytime you boot it up, but it surely actually takes endlessly that you simply’d most likely find yourself sitting round for half an hour earlier than you get to really play something. You can begin up the sport whereas the shaders are nonetheless loading, however do be warned that that is possible one of many primary causes for the reported crashes.

So, all in all, not an amazing first outing for The Final of Us on PC. On a graphical degree, I appreciated all of the little visible choices and settings I may tweak on the fly, and as somebody who’s grown a deep appreciation for video games with ultrawide help, I couldn’t assist however be taken in by The Final of Us’ swish nature-y settings once more. The lighting results are gorgeous, the character fashions and animations are crisp, and it’s only a improbable trying sport general.

With this being a port of the PS5 re-release from final August, there are fairly a couple of new bells and whistles to stay up for as properly. Speedrun and permadeath modes are welcome for gamers who need to problem themselves, to not point out the improved AI conduct, which helps the sport really feel extra immersive. As somebody who used to at all times snicker every time Ellie would straight up sprint in entrance of her foes and watch them be fully oblivious to her actions, it was good re-experiencing the sport with considerably of a rise in diploma of realism.

10 years on, and The Final of Us nonetheless feels as timeless as ever. It’s, indubitably, the crown jewel of Naughty Canine’s catalog, however for now, I’d maintain off for a bit in case you’re interested by selecting it up on PC. Implausible sport, however perhaps look ahead to a patch or two to clean issues over first.

Reviewer: Zhiqing Wan | Copy offered by Writer.

Execs

• Nonetheless a stable narrative journey.
• Holds up very well graphically.
• Just a few new tweaks and additions to spice issues up in case you’ve performed it earlier than.

Cons

• Fairly dangerous framerate hitches.
• Occasional onerous crashes could be very irritating.

Launch Date
March 28, 2023

Developer
Naughty Canine, Iron Galaxy

Writer
Sony

Consoles
PC