The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC Review: The definitive experience with a few bumps

As I sat down to launch The Last of Us Part 2 on my PC, I was reminded of my experience with TLoU Part 1 PC port a couple of years ago. Thankfully, the experience this time around, right from the get-go and shader compilation, was infinitely better.

That doesn't mean there weren't any bumps (read: stutters and glitches) down the road. But, all in all, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is the perfect way for PC players to enjoy the masterpiece right from launch, although a couple more patches will likely smooth any crease further.

My review will largely discuss the game's performance on PC at launch and the No Return mode. While I will touch on the premise and the plot, there's nothing more to say about the story that hasn't been said already five years ago.

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The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered: How does the PC port fare?

The Good, the Bad, but no Ugly

The world of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC (Image via Naughty Dogs)

If anyone played TLoU Part 1 PC port at launch, they will remember how much most hardware struggled to run the game. There were several crashes, shaders took infinity to compile, and the experience was largely negative for everyone. With The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC port, things are much more in order.

I could launch a New Game and get into Joel cleaning the guitar and recapping the ending of the first game quite quickly (without any pesky PSN requirement, I must add). The cutscenes look gorgeous and generally without any issue or artifact in sight (I did notice sometimes there being a gap between fingers and the held item). Unlike the first game's port, there weren't rampant crashes consistently interrupting the enjoyment here either.

The devs had promised that the TLoU Part 2 Remastered edition would bring graphical improvements, and they weren't lying. If you can push your hardware to run the graphics at the highest quality, you are in for a treat - especially if you can make use of the Widescreen/Ultrawide support.

But herein, I found certain hiccups. Running on RTX 3060 and meeting the other recommended settings, the game set the Medium graphics quality for me automatically. And even on that, I could see stutters and texture bugs from time to time, especially in urban landscapes. More things going on in the frame usually meant I would face these things, and they would take away from the immersion, I admit.

Nevertheless, I expect these things to be addressed and fixed as we get more patches. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC port is significantly better than what the first part provided at launch, and is the definitive edition to experience Ellie and Abby's saga.

No Return

A dynamic roguelike mode (Image via Naughty Dogs)

The game heavily advises to pick up this roguelike survival mode once you have completed the story mode. Some of the mechanics will be clearer if you have finished the campaign at least once.

The premise of this mode is simple - you pick a character, start a run, choose between the given options, complete that stage, and move to the next one. Death is permanent here, meaning you can't fail at all through a single run.

The fun lies in the variety of characters you can pick (you start off with Ellie and Abby, but can continue unlocking others) and their individual unique traits and preferences, the different types of challenges, and how you choose to use your upgrades during a run. The dynamic nature of the mode means you will always have to be on your feet as you engage with adversaries and choose how to go about it.

The No Return mode is a welcome distraction from the story campaign - the gameplay elements in a roguelike setup are separated from the story and its heavy themes. With the latest launch, Bill and Marlene have been added to the roster.

The story, the gameplay, and the whole shebang

The storytelling is on point (Image via Naughty Dogs)

The Last of Us Part 2 picks up four years after the first game ends - Joel has saved Ellie, and both are currently residing in Jackson with Tommy (Joel's brother) and others. Without going into spoilers (I know, I know - the game is five years old, and everyone likely knows what happens), the story picks up soon after.

TLoU Part 2 focuses on the themes of grief and revenge, and the cyclical relationship between them that elicits violence. While most of the major characters' motivations can be a desire for revenge and retribution, the narrative muddies the line between who is right and who is wrong. Compared to the first game, I did find TLoU Part 2's story lacking, if only slightly.

While the story and its narrative elements can leave some divided (and it did when the game first launched), where The Last of Us Part 2 shines is with the audioscape, characters, and performance.

TLoU Part 2's characters (specifically Ellie and Abby) add to the immersion of the violent and emotional story that unravels in the post-apocalyptic world, and the performances further solidify it.

The gameplay blends stealth and action quite perfectly, in my opinion, with your chosen difficulty level allowing you to go about it however you want to. While you may want to shoot the first chance you get, the scarcity of bullets will push you towards being stealthy and engaging in melee combat. The latter, of course, comes with its own risks, but also bloody ends for your enemies.

What ties it together for me is the audio design of The Last of Us Part 2. Your gameplay, combat, exploration, and the environment you find yourself in - all of that is informed and the experience elevated with how the developers have created the game's audioscape.

In conclusion

Pet the good doggo (Image via Naughty Dogs)

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC port should be the next game you pick up if you enjoyed the first. Apart from everything that the sequel already does great, the port also elevates the graphics of the in-game world. While there are certain hiccups and roadbumps that I did discuss earlier, I believe this is a good PC port, especially when considering TLoU Part 1's launch debacle.

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The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered PC Review (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming)

• Reviewed on: PC (Code provided by PlayStation)
• Developer: Naughty Dog
• Publisher: PlayStation PC
• Release Date: April 3, 2025