Ghost of Tsushima PC review: The definitive samurai game, the definitive PC port

Ghost of Tsushima's PC port is probably the best showing of Nixxes Software's talent at translating PlayStation titles to the PC platform. While this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone following Nixxes' past PC efforts very closely, it's still quite impressive considering the state of PC gaming and PC ports as a whole in the last couple of years.

In April 2024, Nixxes delivered Horizon Forbidden West on PC, which I called the "benchmark for modern PC ports," and while that still holds true, I now think Ghost of Tsushima deserves that title as well. Very few PC releases impressed me in the last few years, and almost half of them are from Nixxes alone.

Ghost of Tsushima has been one of my favorite PS4 titles, right alongside Bloodborne. And getting to go through the game a second time, but at a much higher framerate and resolution, is always a win in my books. While the game has some minor technical issues, they don't detract from the overall experience.

Ghost of Tsushima PC: Another incredible Nixxes port of an equally incredible PlayStation title

Visuals, audio, and presentation

One thing I've always loved about the PlayStation exclusives is their presentation. Whether the near photorealistic visuals of the Naughty Dog titles or the more stylized art style of games from studios like Santa Monica and Insomniac Games, I've always liked PlayStation's focus on graphical fidelity in their first-party console titles.

The mesmerizing visuals and art style (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

On that note, I think Ghost of Tsushima is the most visually stunning game of the PS4 generation, period! As such, I was genuinely excited to play it on my PC, where I could make it run and look better than ever. I should note that besides the PC port, I've only played Ghost of Tsushima on PS4.

I did want to try out the PS5 version but never could make the time to do so. And honestly, I'm glad I skipped the PS5 version since it allowed me to enjoy the PC port even more. If you take a closer look at certain textures and character models you will find some oddities, i.e., missing textures, low polygon count, etc.

The game is still a PS4 title at its core, so I won't fault it for those minor graphical inconsistencies. However, for the most part, the visuals hold up really well, even against some of the most stunning current-generation titles. In terms of raw graphical fidelity, I do think the Horizon Forbidden West PC port is still leagues ahead.

But if you're looking at Ghost of Tsushima from the perspective of its art style and esthetics, it's a pretty great-looking title—one you'd want to spend hours just exploring or taking screenshots. I should also mention the audio, which is just phenomenal here. The PC port does have a few audio-related issues, but those are negligible.

PC port report

Much like Nixxes' previous ports, Ghost of Tsushima on PC runs as good as it looks. What really impressed me about the game is its sheer scalability. I tested the game on two GPUs, an RTX 4070, which essentially crushed the game at 1440p, and an RX 6600, which also did surprisingly well, at 1080p, but without upscaling.

There are plenty of options to tweak to get the perfect balance of quality and performance (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

I got access to the game's launch version during the review period, which does have a few annoying bugs and performance issues. But for the most part, it's a solid, well-built, superbly optimized PC port. The only two issues I had with the game were microstutters and a controller bug.

Microstutters will probably get patched out soon since it's due to a memory leak, which can easily be fixed. Essentially, the longer you play the game, the more stuttery it gets. I found the microstutters getting more intrusive after playing for more than five straight hours.

Another issue was a controller bug, where whenever I initiated a "standoff," the game refused to take any inputs from my controller until I either restarted the checkpoint or died. This issue does fix itself over time, but it was a bit annoying. Another small issue I had with the game was crackling audio in certain cutscenes.

Apart from these issues, I haven't had any major problems playing Ghost of Tsushima. And since the game only came out a few days ago, I'm more than positive all these issues will get addressed soon enough via updates. The game never crashed on my PC either, which is a genuine rarity for today's PC games.

Story and characters

Ghost of Tsushima, much like most other first-party PlayStation flagship exclusives, is heavily focused on its narrative, aiming to deliver an authentic-feeling samurai story. And for the most part, the game succeeds in doing so. I would say, had I not watched the Shogun TV series, this would've been the best samurai story for me.

Jin Sakai faces the dilemma of choosing between his clan's honor and the safety of those he calls family (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

While the story is entirely fictional, just using the backdrop of Feudal Japan during the first Mongol invasion, it's still very much grounded in reality. The story sees you take control of Jin Sakai as he and his samurai brethren try to defend the island of Tsushima against the Mongols.

Throughout the story, we see Jin evolve from an honor-seeking samurai with the only goal of seeking revenge against the Mongols and saving his uncle from them to a "Ghost" embracing the ways of deception and trickery to use against his enemies and save not only his kin but also the people of Tsushima.

Much like Shogun, the story here will constantly leave you questioning the ways of a samurai and how the pursuit of honor, can sometimes result in the death of countless innocents. Throughout the story, you will meet numerous characters, each with their own motivations and goals.

I really liked how the game gives every side character their own mission, fleshing out their motives, and the relationship they form with Jin. My favorite is the tale involving Sensei Ishikawa, which I won't spoil but highly recommend not skipping. Ghost of Tsushima's story is a slow burn, akin to Red Dead Redemption 2.

Gameplay and combat

While the story is obviously something that helps enhance a game's engagement factor, for me, the gameplay has always been the best aspect of Ghost of Tsushima. The moment-to-moment gameplay loop here is fairly straightforward, involving combat, exploration, light platforming, and even build min-maxing, akin to most traditional RPGs.

The moment-to-moment gameplay loop is incredibly addictive, especially the boss fights (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

However, Ghost of Tsushima diverges from most RPGs in a key aspect of its gameplay, that being the focus on organic exploration, instead of following quest markers, one after another. The combat also follows this "hands-free" approach, which feels much like Sekiro but without the lock-on camera.

The combat system of Ghost of Tsushima is pretty simple, you have a combination of light and heavy attacks alongside a few active skills. There are also stances, which add a layer of puzzle-like depth to the combat system, where you have to choose the right stance against the right enemy type to be effective.

However, you can easily go by just using the "Stone" Stance, as long as you use all the tools available to you. The combat in Ghost of Tsushima can often feel like a dance, where you're parrying attacks, countering with a heavy attack, and then finishing your combo with a Heavenly Strike skill, making you look cool and deadly.

I should also mention the boss fights, which are hands down my favorite aspect of the game. I started my playthrough on Lethal since I was already familiar with the controls and the game. And despite having played the game twice on PS4, I can't get enough of the boss fights, especially the ones against the Ronins.

Few Shortcomings

While I like Ghost of Tsushima a lot, especially on PC with the uncapped framerate and flawless visuals, I don't think it's a perfect game. My biggest complaint with the game has always been its open-world structure, which, while pleasing to the eyes, is incredibly shallow, and becomes quite boring to explore after the first dozen hours or so.

Despite my complaints regarding the checklist open-world structure, I do like the mild RPG mechanics here (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

God forbid if you're planning to get the Platinum. This is the same complaint I have with almost every other PlayStation open-world game, apart from maybe Horizon Forbidden West, but that's only because hunting robot dinosaurs never gets old. I think I would've preferred if Ghost of Tsushima was linear or semi-open-world, akin to God of War.

There are other issues too, like the side quests, apart from the Mythical Tales and character-focused questlines (i.e., ones involving Yuna, Ishikawa, Kenji, and Masako) are incredibly forgettable and often devolve into the same set of tasks - go to a location, kill Mongols or Bandits, and return to the quest-giver.

I also have a few complaints regarding the game's difficulty balancing, which can often feel very jarring. The game starts on quite an easy note, even on Lethal. By the middle point of the story, it gets incredibly difficult with some enemies capable of killing you in a few attacks. And then, by the time you reach the end, it again becomes super easy.

However, I should mention that all of these things are nothing but nitpicking, which I think I wouldn't otherwise do if I didn't like it as much as I do. Ghost of Tsushima is an incredible game, one you'd want to take your time with. It's much like Red Dead Redemption 2 or God of War—starts slow but leaves a lasting impression.

In conclusion

Ghost of Tsushima was already an excellent showcase of the capabilities of PlayStation's consoles, and it looks and performs even better now that it's on PC. Nixxes Software did a fantastic job translating the game to a new platform without any major technical hiccups or issues, which is genuinely rare for a AAA PC release.

You can pet a Fox in Ghost of Tsushima (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

While there are a few minor technical issues with the game, for the most part, the PC port of Sucker Punch's samurai game is arguably the best showing of Nixxes' work in bringing PlayStation titles to PC. As for Ghost of Tsushima itself, it's a game that perfectly blends a samurai fantasy with a traditional RPG gameplay loop.

Although I do have a few criticisms of the non-linear structure as well as the difficulty scaling, there's no denying that Ghost of Tsushima is one of the best open-world games out there. From its incredibly well-written story to the robust combat system, the game is a masterpiece and shouldn't be missed.