The Last of Us Part 1's long-awaited PC port isn't going down well on Steam
UPDATE: Naughty Dog responds.
UPDATE 29/03/23: Naughty Dog has released a statement on Twitter responding to issues with the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1, confirming patches are in the works.
"The Last of Us Part I PC players: we've heard your concerns, and our team is actively investigating multiple issues you've reported," reads the statement.
"We will continue to update you, but our team is prioritizing updates and will address issues in upcoming patches."
ORIGINAL STORY 28/03/23: The wait is finally over for PC players eager to get stuck into Naughty Dog's acclaimed The Last of Us Part 1, but things haven't got off to a great start for Sony's latest PC port, which currently has a "mostly negative" rating on Steam.
The Last of Us Part 1 - Naughty Dog's new-gen spruce-up of the acclaimed 2013 stealth survival horror - initially launched for PlayStation 5 last September, and its long-promised PC port finally arrived earlier today following a 25-day delay designed to ensure, as Naughty Dog put it last month, its "PC debut is in the best shape possible."
Unfortunately, early word from PC players on Steam is that The Last of Us Part 1's "best shape" is nowhere near good enough, with Steam reviews (reflected in similar reports on The Last of Us subreddit) pointing to a host of technical issues, including inconsistent frame rates, regular crashes, stuttering, long load times, and poor optimisation - even on high-end hardware.
It's not quite all gloom and doom, however. At the time of writing, The Last of Us Part 1's PC port has amassed 3,505 reviews on Steam, with 2,355 of those rating the game as Not Recommended - resulting in that overall Mostly Negative rating - meaning at least some people seem happy enough with their purchase to give it the old big blue thumbs up.
There's been no official response to player complaints around The Last of Us Part 1's PC release from Sony, Naughty Dog, or porting studio Iron Galaxy as yet, but the latter did at least move quickly to address issues with its "accomplished but unambitious" PC port of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves (as Digital Foundry put it) when it launched last October.
And speaking of Digital Foundry, hopefully the team can shed more light on the state of The Last of Us Part 1's PC release soon.