The lines between console generations and hardware leaps have become so blurred in the last few years. It almost doesn’t make sense to me that The Last of Us Part II is already five years old, nor does the reminder that it was originally a PlayStation 4 game feel like any more of a truthful statement. A big part of that is a combination of just how incredibly good this game has always looked, combined with the increasingly shrinking amount of space new games have left to innovate or expand on graphical technology. It already felt like we hit the apex with the original PS4 release of this game, and seeing just how gorgeous it is on PC makes it even harder to believe it isn’t actually a cutting-edge, brand new game.
One of my favorite parts of modern PlayStation exclusives is the absolute overload of accessibility options and fine-tuning settings they pack into their releases. The recent PS5 re-release of The Last of Us II added an impressive number of these to the game, beyond what was already there on PS4, and they’re all included in this PC release as well. A lot of them are gameplay altering options that lessen or remove certain instances in combat, and options to retool a lot of button-holds and presses to taps or triggers. There’s a refreshing amount of UI options, as well, including welcome sizing options for the HUD and subtitles that would make playing the game on a large screen or from a far non-desktop distance a lot easier.
On top of these tools, there’s a massive array of new graphical and display settings available for the PC version of the game. All the frame generation and upscaling methods you’d hope for are included here – with AMD’s FSR 3.1 and 4, Nvidia’s DLSS 3 with Frame Gen, and Intel XeSS support. There’s also solid ultrawide screen support, with the option to even toggle cinematic pillarboxes on or off if you dare.
There’s all the graphical settings you would expect from a native PC release, with things like texture quality, LOD, volumetrics, shadows and more all scalable. I was also happy to see the amount of control The Last of Us II gives you over visual effect intensity on PC. You’ve got sliders for film grain, lens dirt, chromatic aberration, and camera shake, letting those who dislike certain effects tune them down or turn them off. Some of the finer options go a bit over my head, but what’s obvious is that the game looks great and runs great.
Without doing in-depth benchmarks across dozens of GPUs and configurations, my GeForce 3080 handled the game with ease. I get crisp visuals at 1440P and nearly maxed out settings alongside the game hovering around 120FPS in cutscenes and floating between 60-90FPS in gameplay.
The Last of Us Part II is also verified for the Steam Deck – and while it’s certainly a consistent experience on the hybrid Valve handheld, it’s also without a doubt a highly compromised experience. Visuals take a noticeable hit on this platform, even with heavy FSR upscaling applied. I wouldn’t see myself enjoying the narrative-heavy material of the game in this way.
I did, however, enjoy a couple hours of the roguelike No Return mode on my Steam Deck, since it’s so much more of a combat focused experience where visual fidelity and lighting effects don’t matter nearly as much to me. This mode has been expanded a little for the PC release, with the new content being patched into the PS5 release as well. There’s new characters brought forward from TLOU Part I with Bill and Marlene giving new playstyles, and there’s four new maps to help sprinkle a little more variety into your runs.
There’s nothing compromised about The Last of Us II on PC. Even the previously controversial PSN account requirements touted for Helldivers II and God of War: Ragnarok on PC are fully optional this time around for The Last of Us II. If you want to experience this chapter of Naughty Dog’s harrowing post-apocalyptic epic, you’re in for just as much of a rewarding journey on PC as you would be on PS5.
