Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut PC review

It’s always a little tricky to review the port of a game that was practically a 10/10 for me at launch. It’s doubly tricky when the game in question was also my personal GOTY the year it came out. Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut on PC is the same incredible experience, plus the more challenging Iki Island DLC, but the port comes with both positive and negative elements (though much fewer of the latter).

As samurai Jin Sakai, your journey through Tsushima is fraught with peril. The province of Tsushima is besieged by the Hun, the Samurai are all but scattered. It is not a time for honour or fair-fighting, and much is made of Jin’s slow adoption of more underhanded, Guerilla-esque tactics. Aided by the rogue, Yuna, Jin learns to sneak and backstab, foregoing the honourable teachings of his master to win at any cost.

One of the best examples of a Ubisoft-template open world, Ghost of Tsushima on PS5 was absolutely stunning when it launched in 2020, and while its incredible visuals have been bettered since, it’s still a sublime example of a coherent, vibrant game world that moves and changes as you gallop through it.

If you didn’t play it on PS5 and the PC version is your first experience with it, then rest assured that you’re about to play the definitive edition. The PC version comes bundled not only with the Iki Island DLC, but a number of quality of life improvements that vastly boost the overall feel of the game. For a start, there’s a lock-on option for the combat. I quickly got used to not having this feature on PS5, but being able to target a specific enemy and switch from one to another quickly makes the otherwise superb combat feel even better.

It’s a parry-centric system that also uses specific stances to counter different enemy types, which soon becomes a fluid, technique-heavy affair as you unlock more and more moves and combos. This is helped greatly by the unlocked framerate on PC, which makes everything feel just that little bit smoother. My PC is starting to show its age a little nowadays, but I was able to maintain a steady 60fps without having to batter the resolution down.

With support for most cutting edge graphics software like Nvidia DLSS3 and Intel XeSS, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut makes the most of what it has, even if it’s not cutting edge itself anymore. One thing I was a little surprised by was the lack of ray tracing, which would have enhanced the visuals greatly. It’s not a deal-breaker for some, but if you’re running this game on a powerful rig you might disappointed that it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of other PC titles (although even Horizon Forbidden West jumped over to PC without it). It’s worth noting here, though, that it also plays unbelievably well on Steam Deck, which feels something like witchcraft given how pretty it still looks at all times.

But while the graphics are undoubtedly important, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut puts everything into its gameplay and story. Sucker Punch weave a truly masterful tale of revenge and honour, where tradition is forever at war with innovation, focused on Jin’s very human side and his often frustrating inability to see beyond his unbending sense of honour and desire to rescue his former master – even at the cost of relationships he forges along the way.

The game world is a checklist, sure, riddled with collectibles and secrets, side missions, NPCs, hidden vendors and challenging activities, but everything rewards you with something, even if it’s just a new cosmetic. The combat is thrilling and beautiful, the world a genuine joy to inhabit. And if you want an added touch of authenticity you can even play the whole game in “Kurasawa Mode”, which adds a grainy, black and white filter, and in this version allows you to activate Japanese lip-synching. It truly takes cutscenes to another level, even if it’s not something everyone will appreciate.

Given its origins as a PS5 exclusive, the game also supports haptic feedback if your controller has the feature. While haptics have largely become little more than a gimmick since the PS5’s launch, with very few games making them a primary feature, they’re well-implemented in Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, deepening your immersion, particularly in swordfights and whenh Jin leans down to brush his hand through the long grass as he gallops towards his next objective.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut on PC is a superb port of one of the PS5’s best exclusives. An emotionally-charged story, varied, well-crafted gameplay, and one of the most stunningly-presented open worlds in recent memory feels smoother, faster, and more alive on PC, and if you weren’t able to play on PS5 for whatever reason then this port is an absolute must-have.