The Last Of US Part I

The dream of playing demanding PC games on the go has driven impressive developments in mobile technology and emulation. Winlator, an emulator that allows Android devices to run Windows (x86_64) applications, stands at the forefront of this ambition. But can it handle one of the most graphically intensive and critically acclaimed titles recent years – The Last of Us Part I? Let’s dive in.

What is Winlator?

Winlator is an Android application leveraging technologies like Wine, Box86, and Box64. These tools work together to translate Windows application instructions and system calls into something Android can understand, effectively allowing users to install and run .exe files on their phones or tablets. It provides a Windows-like interface and allows for customizable settings (containers) to optimize performance for different applications and games.

While impressive, Winlator is still under development and performance heavily depends on:

Device Hardware: High-end Android devices, particularly those with powerful Snapdragon processors and Adreno GPUs (600/700 series recommended), offer the best chance of success.
Game Requirements: Older or less demanding PC games generally run better.
Emulator Settings: Tweaking settings like graphics drivers (Turnip for Adreno, VirGL for others), DX Wrappers (DXVK for DirectX 9-11, VKD3D for DirectX 12), processor affinity, and performance presets is often necessary.

The Challenge: The Last of Us Part I’s Demands

The Last of Us Part I, a full remake of the 2013 classic, is known for its stunning visuals and demanding hardware requirements on PC. Even achieving minimum performance requires significant computing power:

Minimum Specs (720p @ 30fps, Low Settings):
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X / Intel Core i7-4770K
- GPU: AMD Radeon 470 (4 GB) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB) / NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Ti (4 GB)
- RAM: 16 GB
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (Version 1909+)
- Storage: 100 GB SSD
Recommended Specs (1080p @ 60fps, High Settings): Require even more powerful hardware like an RTX 2070 Super/RTX 3060 or RX 5700 XT/RX 6600 XT, and an i7-8700/Ryzen 5 3600X.

These specifications far exceed the capabilities of current mobile hardware (ARM-based CPUs and mobile GPUs) even before considering the performance overhead introduced by emulation.

Performance Expectations vs. Reality on Winlator

While Winlator has shown surprising success running certain 3D PC titles like Fallout 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mass Effect 2, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and even Diablo 2, these are generally older games with significantly lower system requirements than The Last of Us Part I.

Running a modern, graphically intense game like TLOU Part I via emulation on Android presents major hurdles:

Hardware Gap: Mobile SoCs are not designed to match the raw power of desktop CPUs and dedicated GPUs required by the game.
Emulation Overhead: Translating x86_64 instructions to ARM and graphics API calls (DirectX to Vulkan via DXVK/VKD3D) consumes significant processing power, further reducing performance.
RAM Requirements: The game’s minimum 16GB RAM requirement is higher than what most Android devices possess, even before accounting for the OS and emulator’s own RAM usage.
Storage: The 100GB SSD requirement is substantial for mobile device storage.

Currently, there are no credible reports or evidence suggesting that The Last of Us Part I can run at a playable, or even functional, state on Winlator. Attempting to run it would likely result in failures to launch, immediate crashes, or slideshow-like frame rates (single digits) with severe graphical glitches, assuming it could even get past the initial loading screens.

Conclusion

Winlator is a fascinating project showcasing the potential of running Windows software on Android. It opens the door to playing many classic and less demanding PC games on mobile devices. However, running cutting-edge, high-fidelity titles like The Last of Us Part I is currently well beyond the practical limits of mobile hardware and emulation capabilities. While developers continue to improve Winlator, playing such demanding games on Android remains largely confined to native ports or cloud streaming services for the foreseeable future.