The Last of Us Part II Remastered PC Port: Not a Flawless Debut
The PC debut of The Last of Us Part II Remastered is now available. However, initial impressions indicate it might not be the perfect experience fans anticipated. Tech experts at Digital Foundry have analyzed the game. Their early findings present a less-than-ideal picture, though perhaps not as severe as some problematic PC ports.
CPU Bottlenecking and Performance Instability: A Central Problem
Digital Foundry's analysis points to CPU optimization as a major bottleneck. Even PCs meeting "recommended" specifications, such as those with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600, encounter performance drops and instability. Upgrading to a Ryzen 7 5700X3D does not completely resolve the issue. Frame-time spikes and stuttering are observed, even on high-end CPUs like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Freezes lasting up to a second occur at times. The analysis suggests inefficient use of CPU processing power, indicating an underlying optimization problem.
Visual Stuttering, Pop-In, and DLSS Drawbacks
The PC port exhibits problems beyond CPU performance. Players report stuttering when loading new zones due to background shader compilation. This is a persistent issue in some PC games. Graphical glitches manifest as slow loading shadows and objects, resulting in noticeable pop-in. Digital Foundry also notes that DLSS implementation is less effective than in other titles. Specifically, fine details like grass can appear softer than desired when using Nvidia's upscaling method.
Steam Deck Struggles to Maintain Frame Rate
Despite being advertised as Steam Deck compatible, The Last of Us Part II Remastered struggles to consistently reach 30 frames per second on Valve's handheld. The frame rate frequently dips below this target. This suggests the game is too demanding for smooth gameplay on Steam Deck, even with reduced settings.
Another Problem Port? Patches and Potential Solutions
Digital Foundry's initial assessment suggests The Last of Us Part II Remastered PC port is not a complete failure, but it is less than optimal. It continues a concerning trend of underperforming PC ports. They recommend lowering graphics settings, enabling V-Sync, and capping frame rates to lessen these issues. Whether patches can significantly improve the situation remains uncertain. Currently, this port appears to be another example of a rushed or poorly optimized PC release.
