Sony and Naughty Dog are gearing up for the third release for The Last of Us, though this time around it's coming out under a slightly different name: The Last of Us: Part 1. And it's coming soon. Very soon. If you're a fan of Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic tale of tragedy, sacrifice, and human scumbaggery, you'll no doubt want as many details as possible. Such as the game's release date. Also, what time will The Last of Us: Part 1 release on the PlayStation Store? What's the price? How much hard drive space are you going to have to sacrifice for Joel and Ellie? All very valid questions and you'll find the answers here.

The Last of Us: Part 1 Release Date

If the numerous announcements and trailers haven't drilled it home yet, The Last of Us: Part 1 will release on September 2nd, 2022. Grab your diary and make a note. And if you're planning on pulling a sickie from work or school, start laying the groundwork now with the off-hand headache/backache/toe ache comments. Preparation is key.

What time does The Last of Us: Part 1 unlock?

Next up, what time can you play? What time does the digital version unlock? If you've pre-ordered a physical copy of the game, you'll be able to start playing as soon as you've ripped the cellophane wrap off the game's box and installed the game on your console. If you're lucky, you might even get it delivered a day or two early in the post.

If you've decided to go all-digital for your games, you'll have to wait for Sony to unlock the game from its end. You can already get the game downloaded onto your console ahead of time, but you won't be able to play until the game officially unlocks.

These are the unlock times for The Last of Us: Part 1, as per the official PlayStation Store:

  • United Kingdom: 12 AM BST (midnight)
  • Mainland Europe: 1 AM CEST
  • North America: 11 PM CDT

How much hard drive space will it take?

Another essential bit of info to know is how much hard drive space The Last of Us: Part 1 will need on PS5. Considering the stock SSD inside the PS5 can get filled up very quickly with just a few bloated games, it might be an idea to free up some space. The Last of Us: Part 1 will take up 68GB of space on PS5, though that's not accounting for any potential future updates that Naughty Dog may release. If there are updates, they're unlikely to be obscene in size if they're just the normal run of bug fixes and tweaks.

If you've pre-ordered the digital edition of The Last of Us: Part 1, you can go ahead and get the game downloaded already as the pre-load is live. You can't play, but you can watch the countdown clock tick towards its impending release.

Are there any pre-order bonuses? Extra content?

Unfortunately, pre-loading is the only benefit you'll get to pre-ordering the game. If you want some extra in-game bonuses, you'll need to buy the more expensive Digital Deluxe Edition. Here's what you get in the Digital Deluxe Edition:

  • Two skill upgrades (early unlock)
  • Pistol/rifle upgrade (early unlock)
  • Explosive arrows (early unlock)
  • Dither Punk Filter (early unlock)
  • Speedrun Mode (early unlock)
  • Six weapon skins (early unlock)

How much will it cost?

Pricing. The big question when The Last of Us: Part 1 was announced was "what will it cost?" Unfortunately, there's no upgrade path from the previous versions of the game, which makes sense as it's not a port, it's a remake. It's essentially a new game made on a newer iteration of Naughty Dog's game engine. So, what will it cost? Brace yourself...

The regular edition of the game will cost £69.99/$69.99/79.99€. The Digital Deluxe Edition will cost £79.99/$79.99/89.99€. These are the prices listed on the official PlayStation Store pages, though if you shop around for the physical release, you're bound to find some retailers with slightly lower prices or promotional offers.

When will reviews be available?

Considering the cost, you may be waiting on a few reviews before splashing the cash, so when does the embargo for The Last of Us: Part 1 reviews lift? You'll be able to read and watch impressions and reviews (including ours) from August 31st. The timing for the embargo is as follows:

  • United Kingdom: 4 PM BST
  • Mainland Europe: 5 PM CEST
  • North America: 10 AM CDT

The Last of Us: Part 1 is a complete rebuild of Naughty Dog's epic, and while it's a faithful remake with plenty of improvements to the gameplay and graphics, it's not quite the complete package. Sadly, the surprisingly good Factions multiplayer mode is not making the jump to PS5. However, you can still get your fix with the PS4 re-release, The Last of Us Remastered. The multiplayer is still running on PS4 (playable on PS5 via backward compatibility) and it still has a decent player base.

What you will get is the Left Behind DLC, which is a short but sweet chapter laying out some backstory for Ellie in a touching tale set before the events of the main game.

And that's just about everything you need to know about The Last of Us: Part 1. All that's left to do now is wait. See you on the other side, survivor.