Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut [PC] | REVIEW

Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut was already one of the best titles that hit the PlayStation platform, and now, with its recent PC release, it’s even better to play than before.

Check out some screenshots down below:

I adored Ghost of Tsushima when it launched on the PlayStation 4, with my original review stating that:

“Ghost of Tsushima is a wonderful swansong for the PlayStation 4, with its deep combat, stunning world, and enjoyable story making for a truly gripping experience.”

It got even better with the release of the Director’s Cut on the PlayStation 5, which didn’t only make it prettier to look at but also embraced features such as immersive DualSense controller haptic feedback, offered shorter loading times, brought with it some worthwhile quality of life improvements (including a lock-on function for combat), included all post-release content (including the premium Iki Island DLC expansion as well as the excellent Legends co-op multiplayer mode), and also brought in director’s commentary that gave a deeper insight into the development of the game. It really is the definitive way to experience Ghost of Tsushima, which was already a superb open-world experience in its own right.

You get all of that with the PC release too. However, I’m not going to go into the ins-and-outs of the gameplay experience of Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut in this review (you can find out more about that in my original review through this link). Instead, I’ll be focusing on how it feels to play on PC. Want a quick spoiler? It’s bloody brilliant.

“It looks unbelievable, and whilst Ghost of Tsushima is nearly four-years old now, it really is breathtaking on PC.”

One of the most obvious improvements comes with the visual presentation, with a high-end PC able to play the game with an unlocked frame rate that makes the slick swordplay smoother than ever. Whilst players could enjoy the action at a smooth 60fps on the PlayStation 5, PC gamers get it even better and at a 4K resolution… if their PC can handle it, that is. That being said, despite how gorgeous and detailed the game world is, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut isn’t so power-heavy that you’ll need a high-end rig to play it. There are plenty of options for lower-end PCs too, with flexibility found in the graphical settings to fine-tune it to suit your needs. This is complemented by the likes of NVIDIA DLSS 3, AMD FSR 3, and Intel XeSS, which help boost performance across the board for all PC users. It manages to look fantastic on the lower settings too, so you really won’t be missing out if that’s all your PC can handle.

When you do run it on a souped-up PC that can handle the high level of detail, the higher frame rates, and all of graphical bells and whistles though? It looks unbelievable, and whilst Ghost of Tsushima is nearly four-years old now, it really is breathtaking on PC.

I think the most impressive thing about the PC performance is just how well Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut runs on the Steam Deck. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to be playing it on high settings with a 60fps frame rate, but playing on medium settings with a few tweaks to the graphical settings allowed me to play with a 40fps frame rate that rarely stuttered. Honestly, it’s unbelievable that it plays so well and looks so good on the platform, but it’s a credit to the team at Nixxes that consistently deliver magic with their PC ports. It is worth noting that you won’t be able to play the multiplayer Legends mode on Steam Deck due to its requirement of Windows though, which is a bit of a shame.

Check out some screenshots down below:

I’ve just been left really impressed with the port of the game, with Nixxes giving Ghost of Tsushima the love and care that it deserved. I haven’t come across a single technical issue when playing either, with everything proving smooth from start to end – I know there’ve been hiccups in some PlayStation releases on PC (I’m looking at you, The Last of Us: Part One), but this has been an absolute joy. Oh, and if you have a DualSense controller, you can use the haptic feedback features when playing on PC too. It might feel like a small bonus, but with the haptic feedback of the game cleverly implemented, it ensures PC gamers can feel even more immersed in the experience.

Developer: Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes
Publisher: PlayStation Publishing
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2215430/Ghost_of_Tsushima_DIRECTORS_CUT/