The Last of Us™ Part I

analyzed 2026-08-18 · sample of 464 English reviews across the whole review history

Players consistently praise the story, with 114 of 122 story mentions positive, often calling it a must-play and highlighting the character development of Joel and Ellie. Graphics and atmosphere also draw strong approval, with 64 of 73 graphics mentions positive and all 21 atmosphere mentions positive, with players noting the game looks "gorgeous" and that the "ambience of The Last of Us just seems so right in every department." Emotional impact, worldbuilding, music, and voice acting are also mentioned almost entirely in positive terms. The main criticism centers on the PC port's technical state. Performance and stability are the most frequently negative aspects, with 61 negative performance mentions and 46 negative stability mentions out of 136 and 80 total, respectively. Players report crashes, freezes, and describe it as "By far the worst port I have ever played." Bugs are also a recurring complaint, with 22 negative mentions out of 28. Some players note that patches have helped, with 9 of 10 update mentions positive. Opinion splits appear on price and length, with 7 negative price mentions against 9 positive, and 6 negative game-length mentions against 1 positive, with one player noting the game "felt a bit short for the price." A smaller split exists on controls, with 4 negative mentions against 3 positive, citing issues with camera smoothness and aiming.

numbers checked against this report's stored data · quotes copied verbatim from reviews · plain text is the language model's own wording

Aspects

share of sample, axis to 30% · ± is the sampling uncertainty around each share

  • positive
  • mixed / neutral
  • negative
  • performance

    49 positive · 61 negative · 22 mixed · 4 neutral

    • Set graphics settings down to "medium" and continues to hang after about 3 minutes of just walking around in the prologue.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832518
    • No, its not my pc, no its not a me not knowing what im doing, its a multi-million dollar company who didn't care enough to create a proper optimized port for their FANS.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832532
    • ok so the game hasn't had the best launch but i am enjoying the game even if im on low setting on a rtx 2060.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832558
  • story

    114 positive · 3 negative · 4 mixed · 1 neutral

    • good story and imagery, and so far game mechanics work fine.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832518
    • Its The Last of Us, no way to sum it up better than a must-play title for everyone.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833553
    • 1# story game with RDR2, in my opinion. Yall might just have ass PC's or somethin ngl.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833639
  • stability

    29 positive · 46 negative · 5 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Great game 10/10 i only crashed like 50 times
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832300
    • IT NON-STOP CRASHES FIX YOUR ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ GAME NEXT TIME PORT ON SOMETHING THAT ISN'T A POTATO
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832301
    • Start game, walk out of bedroom and game freezes, then exits with error.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832518
  • graphics

    64 positive · 5 negative · 3 mixed · 1 neutral

    • It looks incredible! Couldn't be happier to play this game finally on PC!
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832515
    • good story and imagery, and so far game mechanics work fine.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832518
    • Looks good, runs smooth (on the highest setting) and has only crashed once in three hours.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832739
  • gameplay

    51 positive · 7 negative · 1 mixed · 0 neutral

    • good story and imagery, and so far game mechanics work fine.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832518
    • games good but trash optimization and wack glitches
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835279
    • pretty fun, got all the achievements in 19 hrs.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835880
  • bugs

    5 positive · 22 negative · 0 mixed · 1 neutral

    • buggy ass port
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832657
    • No frame drops not a single crash i did however got few graphic glitches and once while under water got stuck under the floor other then that game was awesome finished main campaign and Left Behind.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833132
    • Still buggy, but the crashes have stopped for me and the bugs are less frequent.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135834825
  • characters

    22 positive · 0 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The character development of Joel and Ellie is superb, and I found myself deeply invested in their journey and their relationship.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137555867
    • I really enjoyed the story, Ellie and Joels relationship made me smile so much, I loved it.
      positive · May 31, 2023 · review 139339919
    • Nada más que decir más que JUEGAZO, con unos gráficos increíbles, una jugabilidad muy bien lograda, unos personajes totalmente queribles que te hacen encariñarte con cada uno, y una de las mejores historias de videojuegos hasta el momento, que incluso sabiendo como …
      positive · Aug 31, 2023 · review 145409884
  • combat

    18 positive · 4 negative · 2 mixed · 0 neutral

    • This game is really fun to explore and figure out ways to get passed hard moments, I love this game because it has stealth and climatic momments.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833085
    • I've had no "cheap" deaths because of jitters or clipping glitches, combat has felt smooth and playing on Hard I'm cruising through at a pretty good pace.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135834655
    • Amazing game play, great combat mechanics and a fantastic story.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137565781
  • atmosphere

    21 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Unbelievable graphics, astonishing soundstrack and atmosphere and a story so awesome, you won't find it somewhere else.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135838213
    • From the very beginning, I was captivated by the incredible graphics, intense atmosphere, and engaging characters that made me feel as if I was truly living in the post-apocalyptic world.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137555867
    • 10/10 game, definitely would recommend it if you like story driven games with a surreal atmosphere and some interesting gimmicks.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137562988
  • emotional impact

    20 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • I recommend if you are looking for an emotionally driven game.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135836595
    • I cry every time I play this game.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135836914
    • I had goosebumps on so many times and I felt the deepest emotions and I know this, if you wait for the cast screen to finish for hoping that at least a glimpse will show up, that shows that the game you playing is something else.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135838028
see more
  • price value

    9 positive · 7 negative · 1 mixed · 1 neutral

    • Okay great, this port actually is great now, yeah loading and shader builds are the same taking a while, but it's basically worth it tbh
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835505
    • Its hit or miss it but since I haven't had a crash I can confidently say this game is another Sony drop thats worth the money imo.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835751
    • It's so good 9/10 buy it worth every penny
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137550198
  • world

    18 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Experiences may very until its patched but if you get lucky like I did you'll enjoy this amazing story and beautiful envirnment.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135835751
    • Story, voiceacting and worldbuilding is top notch.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135838414
    • The story is really good mix that with all the little details and this make the environement and the experience so good.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137567706
  • platform access

    5 positive · 10 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • buggy ass port
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135832657
    • This PC port, however, was not well done.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833320
    • this is a game that was played on ps3 with much less issue than this excuse of a port.
      negative · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135834015
  • music

    14 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Unbelievable graphics, astonishing soundstrack and atmosphere and a story so awesome, you won't find it somewhere else.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135838213
    • The voice acting and music are top-notch, perfectly capturing the mood and emotion of each scene.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137555867
    • I am so glad it got the graphical upgrades it has received on PS5 and PC, and the story and gameplay and music and sounds and acting and everything else you want to be good in a single player game is still extremely well done here.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137566894
  • difficulty

    8 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 1 neutral

    • This game is really fun to explore and figure out ways to get passed hard moments, I love this game because it has stealth and climatic momments.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833085
    • And the gameplay is really good, you need too manage all your ammo and everything in order to win some fight against humans or infecteds (dont worry its not that hard).
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137567706
    • Beautiful Story line, Great dialogue and the combat is pretty fun and challenging at times.
      positive · May 31, 2023 · review 139336893
  • sound design

    9 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • I am so glad it got the graphical upgrades it has received on PS5 and PC, and the story and gameplay and music and sounds and acting and everything else you want to be good in a single player game is still extremely well done here.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137566894
    • The sound design is perfect, all the musics are good and really stick with the gameplay and the environement.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137567706
    • And with latest patch I guess the sound issue was also resolved.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137574740
  • updates

    9 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Two great patches, 4 hours of play no crashes.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135833088
    • Patch helped with game a bit, but VRAM usage is pretty high.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135836914
    • Since the initial launch, there has been big improvement after the patches they've rolled out so far, so I assume the crashes will reduce even more with future patches.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137556628
  • game length

    1 positive · 6 negative · 0 mixed · 2 neutral

    • A short game but worth it ultimately.
      negative · Sep 30, 2024 · review 176102015
    • A great game but too short
      negative · Sep 30, 2024 · review 176103553
    • I think the only gripes I have with the game is that its a quite short experience, and I didn't find myself engaged with any other characters other than Joel and Ellie.
      negative · Dec 31, 2024 · review 184359427
  • voice acting

    9 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Story, voiceacting and worldbuilding is top notch.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135838414
    • The voice acting and music are top-notch, perfectly capturing the mood and emotion of each scene.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137555867
    • I am so glad it got the graphical upgrades it has received on PS5 and PC, and the story and gameplay and music and sounds and acting and everything else you want to be good in a single player game is still extremely well done here.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137566894
  • controls

    3 positive · 4 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Besides performance - the mouse and keyboard works fantastically well in this title - much better than Uncharted 4 (even to this day with patches).
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137566894
    • The mouse and keyboard controls are also considered a strong addition.
      positive · Jul 31, 2025 · review 201149734
    • Hands down one of the best I've played, and, if you own a controller you MUST play it with a controller, it makes your life a lot easier.
      positive · Dec 31, 2025 · review 214773365
  • writing

    6 positive · 1 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Beautiful Story line, Great dialogue and the combat is pretty fun and challenging at times.
      positive · May 31, 2023 · review 139336893
    • … de videojuegos hasta el momento, que incluso sabiendo como transcurre y cómo termina te dan ganas de jugarlo devuelta, donde hasta los diálogos opcionales son interesantes.
      positive · Aug 31, 2023 · review 145409884
    • For me, the story is the star of the show; the writers did a beautiful job.
      positive · Dec 31, 2024 · review 184373098
  • animation

    4 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • I loved the game it is amazing from the graphics to the animation and story telling.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137585166
    • Graphics, animations, the story, characters. All of it was great. Got quite emotional at some moments and especially in the Left Behind DLC.
      positive · May 31, 2023 · review 139339919
    • Amazing game, amazing voice acting, motion cap, story, everything.
      positive · Feb 28, 2025 · review 189003593
  • developer conduct

    3 positive · 3 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • Update: The ND Customer support team is super solid.
      positive · Mar 31, 2023 · review 135836380
    • Thank you creators for making the game, both of them, and withstanding criticism on second game, we hated you for making us love it :) We do though love you a lot and are patiently waiting for more miracles to come.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137564104
    • really dedicated team with pure passion was put into making this master piece.
      positive · Oct 31, 2025 · review 208075601
  • replayability

    6 positive · 0 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The game also offers excellent replay value, as there are multiple difficulty levels, collectibles, and challenges to keep you engaged long after the story has ended.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137555867
    • I beat it at least a dozen times and it's still fun
      positive · May 31, 2023 · review 139332789
    • … con cada uno, y una de las mejores historias de videojuegos hasta el momento, que incluso sabiendo como transcurre y cómo termina te dan ganas de jugarlo devuelta, donde hasta los diálogos opcionales son interesantes.
      positive · Aug 31, 2023 · review 145409884
  • level design

    3 positive · 2 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • The amount of detail work that was put into the game's maps and scenery is clearly a labor of love.
      positive · Apr 30, 2023 · review 137583869
    • The game is gorgeous and very well designed overall.
      positive · Sep 30, 2024 · review 176113128
    • … the games were 20% more story and 20% less fighting because it gets repetitive after a while, even if they did a fantastic job creating scenarios where you are always admiring the level design and not getting a bit bored because of the rhythm, which is, kill humans level, kill the monster, …
      positive · Sep 30, 2024 · review 176118543
  • pacing

    2 positive · 3 negative · 0 mixed · 0 neutral

    • However, the pacing can feel slow at times, and the AI occasionally breaks immersion with unrealistic behavior.
      negative · Sep 30, 2024 · review 176117271
    • … are always admiring the level design and not getting a bit bored because of the rhythm, which is, kill humans level, kill the monster, re-stock, kill humans, re-stock, kill the monster and so on.
      negative · Sep 30, 2024 · review 176118543
    • Likewise, it wants to tell its story so badly that 90% of the game your stuck in endless exposition, pressing buttons on command when required.
      negative · Jan 31, 2025 · review 186845903

Review timeline

monthly peak 11,158 reviews · all languages

review volume 5,000 10,000 0 positive review share 100% 50% 0% 2024 2025 2026 Mar 2023 · 11,158 reviews (4,429 up · 6,729 down) · 40% positive Apr 2023 · 7,463 reviews (4,747 up · 2,716 down) · 64% positive May 2023 · 1,375 reviews (1,019 up · 356 down) · 74% positive Jun 2023 · 915 reviews (758 up · 157 down) · 83% positive Jul 2023 · 858 reviews (751 up · 107 down) · 88% positive Aug 2023 · 636 reviews (566 up · 70 down) · 89% positive Sep 2023 · 852 reviews (751 up · 101 down) · 88% positive Oct 2023 · 657 reviews (568 up · 89 down) · 86% positive Nov 2023 · 2,120 reviews (1,987 up · 133 down) · 94% positive Dec 2023 · 1,426 reviews (1,271 up · 155 down) · 89% positive Jan 2024 · 1,216 reviews (1,112 up · 104 down) · 91% positive Feb 2024 · 935 reviews (845 up · 90 down) · 90% positive Mar 2024 · 875 reviews (781 up · 94 down) · 89% positive Apr 2024 · 538 reviews (496 up · 42 down) · 92% positive May 2024 · 511 reviews (437 up · 74 down) · 86% positive Jun 2024 · 498 reviews (405 up · 93 down) · 81% positive Jul 2024 · 1,008 reviews (903 up · 105 down) · 90% positive Aug 2024 · 560 reviews (521 up · 39 down) · 93% positive Sep 2024 · 1,501 reviews (1,338 up · 163 down) · 89% positive Oct 2024 · 891 reviews (811 up · 80 down) · 91% positive Nov 2024 · 1,518 reviews (1,392 up · 126 down) · 92% positive Dec 2024 · 2,458 reviews (2,264 up · 194 down) · 92% positive Jan 2025 · 2,078 reviews (1,957 up · 121 down) · 94% positive Feb 2025 · 895 reviews (845 up · 50 down) · 94% positive Mar 2025 · 1,896 reviews (1,765 up · 131 down) · 93% positive Apr 2025 · 1,749 reviews (1,674 up · 75 down) · 96% positive May 2025 · 1,747 reviews (1,635 up · 112 down) · 94% positive Jun 2025 · 2,566 reviews (2,395 up · 171 down) · 93% positive Jul 2025 · 2,034 reviews (1,894 up · 140 down) · 93% positive Aug 2025 · 1,116 reviews (1,033 up · 83 down) · 93% positive Sep 2025 · 1,129 reviews (1,055 up · 74 down) · 93% positive Oct 2025 · 1,087 reviews (1,034 up · 53 down) · 95% positive Nov 2025 · 1,042 reviews (976 up · 66 down) · 94% positive Dec 2025 · 1,679 reviews (1,598 up · 81 down) · 95% positive Jan 2026 · 1,558 reviews (1,490 up · 68 down) · 96% positive Feb 2026 · 1,641 reviews (1,561 up · 80 down) · 95% positive Mar 2026 · 1,548 reviews (1,478 up · 70 down) · 95% positive Apr 2026 · 995 reviews (940 up · 55 down) · 94% positive May 2026 · 764 reviews (724 up · 40 down) · 95% positive Jun 2026 · 831 reviews (789 up · 42 down) · 95% positive Jul 2026 · 1,821 reviews (1,742 up · 79 down) · 96% positive Aug 2026 · 505 reviews (481 up · 24 down) · 95% positive

monthly share rated positive · 50% reference · months with <5 reviews faded

the timeline as a table
Reviews per month, all languages; months with no reviews are left out.
month reviews up down positive note
Mar 2023 11,158 4,429 6,729 40%
Apr 2023 7,463 4,747 2,716 64%
May 2023 1,375 1,019 356 74%
Jun 2023 915 758 157 83%
Jul 2023 858 751 107 88%
Aug 2023 636 566 70 89%
Sep 2023 852 751 101 88%
Oct 2023 657 568 89 86%
Nov 2023 2,120 1,987 133 94%
Dec 2023 1,426 1,271 155 89%
Jan 2024 1,216 1,112 104 91%
Feb 2024 935 845 90 90%
Mar 2024 875 781 94 89%
Apr 2024 538 496 42 92%
May 2024 511 437 74 86%
Jun 2024 498 405 93 81%
Jul 2024 1,008 903 105 90%
Aug 2024 560 521 39 93%
Sep 2024 1,501 1,338 163 89%
Oct 2024 891 811 80 91%
Nov 2024 1,518 1,392 126 92%
Dec 2024 2,458 2,264 194 92%
Jan 2025 2,078 1,957 121 94%
Feb 2025 895 845 50 94%
Mar 2025 1,896 1,765 131 93%
Apr 2025 1,749 1,674 75 96%
May 2025 1,747 1,635 112 94%
Jun 2025 2,566 2,395 171 93%
Jul 2025 2,034 1,894 140 93%
Aug 2025 1,116 1,033 83 93%
Sep 2025 1,129 1,055 74 93%
Oct 2025 1,087 1,034 53 95%
Nov 2025 1,042 976 66 94%
Dec 2025 1,679 1,598 81 95%
Jan 2026 1,558 1,490 68 96%
Feb 2026 1,641 1,561 80 95%
Mar 2026 1,548 1,478 70 95%
Apr 2026 995 940 55 94%
May 2026 764 724 40 95%
Jun 2026 831 789 42 95%
Jul 2026 1,821 1,742 79 96%
Aug 2026 505 481 24 95%

How this report was made

Population
all Steam reviews of the game (every language, purchase type, and verdict), walked newest-first per window; only English-language reviews are analyzed
Sample
464 English reviews, time-proportional draw over 42 windows (newest-first within each), taken from an all-language walk and kept English-only — where English is a minority the sample runs smaller than the draw, and every margin of error is computed at 464
Aspect yield
294 of 464 analyzed reviews carry at least one aspect (63.4%); every share on this page divides by all 464
Interval regime
calm: standard margins of error for a share of a sample (Wilson interval), no widening needed
Fetch paths
42 time windows fetched directly (windowed)
Language mix
1,000 fetched: english 467 · brazilian 81 · russian 75 · 21 more
Steam-marked windows
none flagged by Steam (Valve's off-topic flagging began March 2019)
Marked share
0.0% of sample inside marked windows, under the 2% floor
Narrative
passed the grounding gate first try
Evidence floor
aspects and emergent themes appear only with 5+ supporting reviews; smaller counts sit at the classifier's false-positive floor
Instrument readings
measured once on the study corpus for this model and prompt: frozen calibration, not properties of this run
· aspect tagging vs. human labels
0.766 [0.713–0.811] (F1 against a human-labeled test set; 1.0 is best)
· quotes filed under the wrong aspect
11.6% [6.6–19.6] of quotes, measured by hand on a sample; lower is better
· independent model vs. production labels
0.791 [0.772–0.810] (F1 of the production labeler against an independent judge model)
Versions
deepseek-v4-flash · prompt classify-v1 · ontology v2
Run
serve-20260818T191907Z-47be4528 · code ccaa6a4

full methodology in the milestone write-ups