Ghost of Tsushima PC Review: A samurai epic reborn on PC (2024)

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 13, 2024 16:40 IST

I have invested about 25 hours in the game and absolutely loved the experience. So, should you go ahead and spend Rs 2,499 for the game? Read on to find out.

Ghost of Tsushima PC review: Story

Set against the backdrop of the first Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274, Ghost of Tsushima follows the harrowing tale of Tsushima Island's fall to the powerful Mongol forces. After their victory on Tsushima, the Mongols extended their campaign to Iki Island, leaving nothing but devastation for the survivors. Just when all Samurais are believed to have been gone, we assume control of Jin Sakai.

Sakai survives a near-fatal encounter with the invaders thanks to the help of a cunning thief. Embracing the arts of stealth and assassination, he transforms into the Ghost of Tsushima, waging a war against the occupiers. Throughout the game, Sakai constantly battles between two choices—sticking to the Samurai code or bending the rules to save lives.

The game has an excellent storyline that feels like a film at times. The only “negative point” here is that the cutscenes cannot be skipped when you first play the game. This can be a bit of a problem at times since each time I started a new game, I had to watch all the cutscenes.

Moreover, Sakai’s story is told in a non-linear format. This is a double-edged sword as sometimes, it is nice to travel back in time and see the protagonist learn the ways of the samurai from his uncle. But at other times, it can also disconnect you from the present plot that was going on.

With that being said, a lot of thought has been put into this game. For instance, when a non-player character (NPC) is on the verge of death by your blade, an option of “end suffering” pops up.

Ghost of Tsushima PC review: Gameplay and combat

Overall, the gameplay of Ghost of Tsushima is impressive. You have four modes to choose from at the beginning - Standard, Subtitled, Samurai, and Kurosawa. In Standard mode, the game has English vocals. Subtitled mode, like Standard mode, features an English dub track, with the only difference being English subtitles.

In Samurai mode, there is a Japanese audio track with English subtitles. And in Kurosawa mode, there is a black and white filter added to the entire screen along with a film-grain effect to replicate the classic style of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

I first tried playing in Kurosawa mode out of sheer curiosity. But after an hour, I wanted to see the gorgeous locations in the game to the best of their ability. Hence, I switched to Samurai mode. This remained my setting for the entire game as there is something about the Japanese audio that helps you be a part of the Samurai world in a better way.

Also, you will only get the option to switch among the modes once. In the middle of the gameplay, if you want to switch, you'll have to tweak settings, and that can be complicated for a new player. I wish there was an option to toggle different modes within the gameplay.

The game progresses at a slow pace and then picks up in the middle. The main story keeps you hooked and there are a number of side quests that keep popping up. There are a lot of mythical elements in the game (wind guiding you to the direction of a quest, for instance). And these elements enhance its beauty. However, side quests could have been slightly better. They feel sort of repetitive after you have invested hours in the game.

Coming to the combat, it is fun and realistic but can be quite easy for a seasoned player. I usually play on consoles and am not very used to the mouse and keyboard setup. Yet, I was able to kill large amounts of enemies very easily at medium difficulty settings. Now, either I am too good of a player or the game is quite simple. And I strongly feel that the latter is the case (Confession time: I get totally beat up in games like Call of Duty or Counter-Strike when playing on PC).

Ghost of Tsushima PC review: PC performance and overall experience

The game is an aesthetic marvel, there is no doubt about that. There are several gorgeous locations that you can just glide through without even worrying about what is happening in quests.

On the PC, at very high graphic settings, DLSS off, and 1080p resolution, the game ran buttery smooth with a stable FPS of 140. It even touched 180 at times. When I turned DLSS on (which enables games to boost the frame rates), I got around 160-190 FPS. The frame rates didn’t drop even after extended gameplay sessions.

The game has ample options for PC players to customise the experience as per their preference. Right from the field of view to graphics and audio, everything can be customised.

As a photography fanatic, I have always loved experimenting with photo modes in games. And the photo mode of Ghost of Tsushima doesn’t disappoint either. I managed to capture some amazing in-game shots and have even set one of them as my phone’s wallpaper.

Ghost of Tsushima PC review: Should you buy it?

With highly customisable gameplay and graphic settings, a killer photo mode, and a balanced combat and story experience, Ghost of Tsushima can definitely be your next pick.

At Rs 2,499, it might seem a bit pricey as PC players need a PlayStation Network (PSN) account to run the Legends multiplayer mode. If you don’t have a PSN account, you can still enjoy the game but can only play the Single-player story mode.

So, if you are someone who enjoys story mode games and can’t wait to hop on a Samurai adventure, this is a must-play.