The Last of Us Part II Remastered

A week and a half before the second season of the HBO series begins, Sony Interactive Entertainment, aka PlayStation Publishing, is bringing one of its most celebrated games to PC: The Last of Us Part II Remastered. And this time, the port is in better shape.

In fact, the launch of The Last of Us Part I on PC in March 2023 was not the best. The port suffered from numerous technical and meme-worthy issues that such an excellent base game should not have. But with time and many patches, some of them quite extensive, the situation has improved considerably. That's why the focus is once again on the PC version of The Last of Us Part II Remastered, which was released on 3 April 2025. This time, however, Sony's PC porting specialists Nixxes Software were involved, along with Iron Galaxy Studios and the developers of the original game, Naughty Dog.

To get straight to the point, the port is much, much, much better this time around, but it is still not without its faults. Firstly, the sharper image on the PC is particularly noticeable, especially in close-ups of the fantastic-looking and equally outstandingly animated characters, but the detailed environments also create a unique atmosphere - considering what modern graphics features such as real-time global illumination and ray tracing (including reflections) could have done here. Nevertheless, the game looks great for the most part. Shader compilation now takes place partly in the main menu and partly in-game, but this is noticeable in the rare short stutters or frame spikes, especially when entering new areas. Otherwise, the quality of shadows and some surfaces has improved, but there are still some noticeable pop-ins. Incidentally, the game also runs reasonably well on the Steam Deck, albeit with low details and without dynamic resolution scaling.

The game supports 4K resolution, DirectStorage, Nvidia DLSS 3 Super Resolution and Frame Generation, AMD FSR 3.1 and AMD FSR 4 with upscaling and frame generation, VSync and framerate cap options, including an uncapped framerate option. It includes support for ultra-wide monitors, with gameplay supported in 21:9 ultra-wide, 32:9 super ultra-wide and 48:9 resolutions, with compatibility for triple monitor setups.

There are keyboard and mouse control customisation options such as remapping, primary and secondary bindings, a mode that allows keyboard and controller input. Part II Remastered has full gamepad support, while DualSense controllers are supported with full haptic feedback. 3D audio is also supported. However, there are reports of occasional crashes, graphical errors, a sharpening filter that cannot be completely disabled, and problems with mouse smoothness (workaround). Compared to the PC version of The Last of Us Part I, the current game is much, much better, but there are still a few things that Naughty Dog, Nixxes and Iron Galaxy can improve.

The PC version of The Last of Us Part II Remastered is based on the remaster of the PS4 base game (2020), which was released on PlayStation 5 in January 2024. The original game is and remains one of the most important games of all time, telling a story that is both highly emotional and deeply disturbing, emotional and spiral of violence, with mostly excellent dramaturgy and memorable characters, albeit at times lengthy. It is a unique gameplay experience that sometimes breaks the pain barrier. It has won more than 300 Game of the Year awards.

The remaster, which was released for PlayStation 5 in 2024, comes with technical enhancements such as 4K resolution, higher frame rate, better textures, more sophisticated lighting effects and faster loading times. New content includes the (short) Lost Levels, which showcase unfinished parts that didn't make it into the main game, free guitar playing with unlockable instruments, an (unlockable) speedrun mode and developer commentary. Also new is the roguelike survival mode 'No Return', which (without a story) is all about surviving the intense battles and boss fights, here the game once again shows that not only the story is compelling, but also the gameplay and gunplay. This mode received two additional characters (Bill and Marlene) and four maps (Overlook, Nest, Streets, School) with the release of the PC version.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered was released for PC on 3 April 2025 on Steam and the Epic Games Store for €49.99. This makes the second part ten euros more expensive than its predecessor, which was released in March 2023. The release of the PC version this time also coincides with the launch of the second season of the HBO series, which will be aired on 13 April (14 April on Sky). In terms of concurrent users on Steam, however, the second instalment is a little further behind the success of the first (Part 1: 36,496; Part 2: 30,690). This is not surprising, however, as it has been the case with all 'second parts' to date, including God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man and Horizon Forbidden West - only Helldivers is an exception.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered does not require a PlayStation Network account, but there is an optional bonus for those who do create an account or sign in: "access to 50 in-game points to activate bonus features, as well as a new skin for Ellie featuring Jordan A. Mun's jacket from our new game in development for PS5, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet."

Conclusion

The PC version of The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrives in a much better state than its predecessor. It still has a few quirks, but Sony Interactive Entertainment's masterpiece now shines on PC.

Features

• Much better port than its predecessor at launch
• Lots of customisation and PC-specific options
• Top-notch original game