PC Version of The Last of Us Part II: In-depth Analysis of Performance
In the world of video games, the release of The Last of Us Part II Remastered on PC has been met with much excitement. This highly-anticipated title offers a wide range of graphics options and customization, providing players with an immersive experience tailored to their preferences.
However, one notable absence in The Last of Us Part II Remastered is ray tracing. Contrary to some expectations, the lack of ray tracing appears to be a deliberate design choice rather than a technical limitation. Reviews and discussions about the game highlight its visual fidelity and polished performance, but there is no indication that ray tracing is implemented or supported in the remaster.
This decision seems to be a strategic move by Naughty Dog and the supporting studios. Comparisons with other games released around the same time, which have drawn criticism for mandatory ray tracing due to performance issues, suggest that the developers prioritized smooth performance and higher frame rates for a broader range of PC hardware over adding ray tracing features.
Despite the absence of ray tracing, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is a well-executed PC port. The addition of upscalers, frame generation, accessibility features, and meaningful graphical toggles ensures the game is customizable to user preference. Players can adjust visual settings from "very low" to "very high", with the highest setting featuring improved ambient lighting, higher-resolution textures, and extended draw distances.
Moreover, players have control over image settings, including FOV adjustments, disabling motion blur, lens dirt, chromatic aberration, and a cinematic black-bar toggle. Dynamic resolution scaling allows players to target a specific framerate, and shader compilation at startup is faster than in TLOU Part I's PC version, due to smart batching during cutscenes.
For those aiming for 4K, a graphics card like the RTX 4070 Super or RX 7900 XT is ideal, while for 1080p or 1440p, 8-10 GB of VRAM is sufficient. The RTX 5070 Ti offers a robust experience even at 4K, and the game has strong upscaling support, with DLSS, FSR, XeSS, and native AA options available.
Anisotropic filtering caps out at 8x, even on the "very high" setting. At 1080p, the RTX 4060 just manages 60 FPS at ultra settings. The game provides window modes such as "windowed", "exclusive fullscreen", and "fullscreen" (functionally borderless). DLSS goes up to Ultra Performance, and DLAA is available for those chasing image quality.
Mithun Mohandas, an Indian technology journalist with 14 years of experience covering consumer technology, has praised the game, calling it a benchmark-worthy release both narratively and technically. Whether you're revisiting Ellie's story or experiencing it for the first time, The Last of Us Part II Remastered offers an unforgettable journey in a visually stunning world.
Performance testing was conducted using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D-based test bench, paired with DDR5-6200 memory and a 2TB NVMe SSD. All cards tested had Resizable BAR enabled, and the latest public drivers from AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel were used.
In conclusion, while the absence of ray tracing in The Last of Us Part II Remastered on PC may be odd to some, it is clear that the developers have made a deliberate choice to prioritize performance and visual polish without the performance cost of ray tracing. This decision has resulted in a well-executed PC port that delivers an immersive gaming experience for players.
Gadget enthusiasts will appreciate the PC port of The Last of Us Part II Remastered, as it offers a wide range of customization options, including accessibility features and detailed graphical toggles. Despite not implementing ray tracing, the game boasts strong upscaling support and fast shader compilation.
In the world of video games and technology, The Last of Us Part II Remastered's absence of ray tracing is a deliberate design choice to ensure smooth performance and higher frame rates across various PC hardware, setting it apart from other games that have faced criticism for mandatory ray tracing features due to performance issues.
