Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut comes to PC in May
With new graphics features and controller options
Fans of curly wind FX and striking from a sheathed stance rejoice - open world samurai action game Ghost of Tsushima is coming to PC on May 16th via Steam and Epic Games Store. This is the Director's Cut edition of the game, which includes the Iki Island story expansion and the co-op multiplayer Legends mode. It's being developed by PC port specialists Nixxes, the studio behind the PC version of Horizon Forbidden West - Complete Edition, and features customisable mouse and keyboard controls plus unlocked frame rates and assorted graphical whizbangs. I've got a trailer for you below.
The original Ghost of Tsushima released for PS4 back in 2020. Set during the Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274, it's the story of ousted clan lord Jin Sakai, who must rove a lush island's worth of Far Cry-esque outposts and fortresses, challenging the invaders to duels or shooting/knifing them from the shadows while levelling himself up, acquiring phat gear and completing side activities such as hunting for flowers and stringing together haiku.
I reviewed the PS4 version and found it to be 1) a very pretty, somewhat cloying, straightforwardly Orientalised portrayal of feudal Japan, with a "Kurosawa mode" designed to make it look like a classic samurai film, and 2) an accomplished but slightly perfunctory reiteration of open world conventions, with some nifty flourishes that don't quite go far enough.
The game's more striking features include the ability to open a fight with a bout of slow-motion quickdraw, which gets a bit of adrenaline going even when you're just mopping up stray bandits. Ghost also does fun things with the wind - it's a swirling, stylised presence that guides you to your objectives, sending ripples over fields as you ride through them. It makes the usual head-to-the-waypoint business feel a bit less like, well, heading to a waypoint. Overall, I think it's a solid game, though its antique swordplay can't hold a candle to FromSoft's Sekiro, and I do prefer the smalltown soap opera vibe of the Way Of The Samurai series.
As detailed on the PlayStation blog, the PC port includes ultrawide monitor support - it's fully optimised for 21:9, 32:9 and 48:9 resolutions that use triple-monitor setups. It also supports NVIDIA DLSS 3 and AMD FSR 3 with upscaling and frame generation options, together with Intel XeSS upscaling and, given an appropriately beefy machine, NVIDIA DLAA or FSR 3 Native AA. I write all these things in a spirit of suspense, for I know that RPS hardware editor James Archer is watching from afar, and will doubtless have more informed opinions.
The game also supports Steam Input remapping and controller customisation, and you can plug in a PlayStation DualSense in order to take advantage of its haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Feel the tension of a drawn bowstring! Savour the reverberation of blade striking blade! Realise that you've actually just been leaning on your arm in a weird way and have cut off the blood supply to your fingers!
Again, it's out 16th May. Thank you Uncle Sony. Please hurry up and do a Bloodborne PC port already.