Naughty Dog’s releases are not foolproof, nor are they exempt from criticism if a game is poorly optimized at launch. However, Naughty Dog’s pedigree has certainly earned it a higher degree of respect with regard to the quality it is commonly known for in its releases. That said, PC ports are not Naughty Dog’s forte at all, and it is unsurprising that The Last of Us’ remake was released under suboptimal conditions. Iron Galaxy did contribute to the remake’s development, but how terrible The Last of Us Part 1’s launch on PC has been cannot be excused either way.
Fortunately, these issues seem to be fixable after subsequent patches are eventually doled out, though it is unfortunate it was released in such a bad condition regardless. Steam’s refunds are a welcome recompense in the meantime, and it will hopefully not be long until The Last of Us Part 1 is as favorable on PC as Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered or Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. This instance obviously sours The Last of Us for the time being, but there is immense potential for the IP on PC that cannot be overstated, and it would be a shame if future installments avoid the platform.
The Last of Us’ PC Reception Can’t Be a Make-or-Break Scenario
One port launch being bad should not be enough to derail future Naughty Dog PC ports. PlayStation is the mainstay home for Naughty Dog games at launch, but having these games available on PC is a wonderful way for more fans who may not own a modern PlayStation console to have access to them. The Last of Us is the kind of franchise that will always be a massive selling figure for PlayStation with exclusives advertising the platform individually.
There is an argument that if PS4 or PS5 games are being ported over to PC they should run well and have ideal settings, for example, but they will always have a home on PS4 or PS5 that fans know will be far more dependable. If PC ports become a staple in Naughty Dog’s future as they should, The Last of Us Part 1 needs to be a distant outlier and not a sign of what fans should expect from future projects on the platform.
If Naughty Dog plans to develop The Last of Us Part 3 anytime soon, it will likely not launch on PS4, and while it could receive a PC port at some point, it would also be unlikely. However, Naughty Dog’s upcoming The Last of Us spin-off could reap great rewards from a PC version at launch.
The Last of Us’ Multiplayer Game Coming to PC Needs to Be Essential
The Last of Us’ multiplayer game still has alarmingly few details shared about it, with rumors now suggesting that it may still launch on PS4 while other big-budget games slowly transition to current-gen exclusivity. But if Naughty Dog’s recent PC port is a sign of anything for its direction in the future, it would make the most sense for its multiplayer game to arrive on PC to cast as wide of a net as possible for its playerbase.
The only concern here would be that the PC version might be riddled with the same glitches and performance issues at launch, especially if Naughty Dog does not oversee development for its PC port wholly. This would make choosing between a console or PC edition relatively straightforward, though online multiplayer games are commonly played on PC, and it would be a stark blemish on the spin-off if it had an equally disastrous PC port.
The Last of Us Part 1 is available now for PC and PS5.
