‘Ghost Of Tsushima’ Is Already Flooded With Negative Reviews On Steam [Updated]

Updated 05/17/24 and 5/19/24 — See updates under.

Not way back, I wrote about how Sony was squandering participant goodwill with the Helldivers 2 debacle. The sport writer introduced it could require Helldivers 2 gamers on PC to link their PSN accounts to Steam to be able to maintain taking part in the sport. The solely downside?

Loads of PC players both didn’t wish to create a PSN account since they don’t personal a PlayStation, or just couldn’t as a result of they lived in one in all 177 totally different nations the place that’s merely not potential. Sony ended up backtracking on the choice after sufficient unhealthy press—and a whole lot of hundreds of adverse Steam consumer critiques—compelled their hand.

But the injury is finished, and the great will has already been misplaced. One of the most effective PlayStation 4 video games ever made, Ghost Of Tsushima, lands on Steam right now and already the negative user reviews are in. From what I’ve perused to this point, not one of the adverse critiques have something to do with the gameplay or the sport’s efficiency on Steam.

Instead, the adverse critiques all deal with the PSN requirement. In the case of Ghost Of Tsushima, this was significantly better marketed. Helldivers 2 waived the requirement for a number of months earlier than Sony made the announcement, which is essentially why it was met with such monumental backlash. Ghost Of Tsushima makes it clear from the outset. It additionally makes it clear that the requirement is just for the multiplayer co-op portion of the sport and the PlayStation overlay, which suggests you possibly can play your entire single-player marketing campaign—the huge bulk of the sport—with out a PSN account linked to your Steam account.

My hunch right here is that had there by no means been a Helldivers 2 PSN controversy, and all of the unhealthy press that engendered, Ghost Of Tsushima’s PSN requirement would have flown principally underneath the radar. Sony made this mattress for themselves and now each one in all their Steam releases that has multiplayer elements will probably be hit with a number of adverse critiques that focus solely on that.

It’s unlucky timing. The sport drops on Steam at the very same time Ubisoft revealed the primary Japanese Assassin’s Creed sport, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. That sport is already embroiled in controversy over one of its main protagonists, Yasuke, and Sony may have simply capitalized on that by making a giant deal out of the Ghost Of Tsushima Steam launch. Instead, each video games are slowed down of their very personal controversies. And this is why we can’t have nice things.

Side-note: I don’t see any official critiques up for the sport out on any gaming web sites or YouTube, which makes me marvel if assessment codes had been even despatched out in any respect. That’s considerably worrisome. I’ll should take it for a spin and see what’s what.

Update 5/17

Ghost Of Tsushima’s critiques on Steam have improved markedly since I first posted this simply after the sport had launched. At that point, a a lot larger proportion of critiques had been adverse. Since then, the sport has acquired overwhelmingly optimistic critiques which have introduced the sport’s rating as much as “Very Positive” which is, er, very optimistic!

The sport is improbable, however I believe it’s nonetheless price mentioning that far and away the commonest adverse consumer assessment on Steam is targeted on the PSN requirement reasonably than something to do with gameplay or PC efficiency. There are adverse critiques about efficiency as nicely, together with crashes, freezing, the sport merely not working and so forth. Other critiques point out the way it’s blocked in nations with out PSN.

Regardless, my level nonetheless stands: Even superb video games that please the vast majority of PC players are going to take flak whenever you require one thing like PSN to play them. Nobody likes how it’s important to run Ubisoft’s launcher whenever you purchase the sport on Steam, both. Activision was sensible after they launched Call Of Duty on Steam and didn’t require folks to even have Battle.web to run the sport (although I’m much less keen on that sport’s launcher).

Ultimately, although, I’m glad that Ghost Of Tsushima is getting love from the PC gaming neighborhood. It actually is an excellent sport and deserves the reward and as many gamers as potential.

In different information, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the primary sport in that franchise to discover feudal Japan. It seems actually good, although I’m all the time a bit cautious of Ubisoft video games lately.

Update 5/19/24

This final replace is meant to assist gamers who could also be experiencing performance-related points with the sport (i.e. freezing, crashes, unhealthy framerates and so on.)

The greatest repair I’ve seen for this to this point comes from Steam consumer TheViltsuZ. It requires turning off the PlayStation Overlay, which might solely be achieved for those who don’t play the co-op multiplayer portion of the sport.

TheViltsuZ writes:

If you do not care in regards to the multiplayer aspect of issues or the Playstation overlay you possibly can delete or rename the PSPC_SDK folder in %programdata%Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc to get a 30-70% efficiency enhance.

I’m on 1660 Super and earlier than deleting the folder the sport ran at round 40fps on excessive settings. After deleting it the sport now runs at round 65fps. This is earlier than even turning FSR3 on.

We should elevate consciousness of this. The port just isn’t good. Or a minimum of the Playstation overlay just isn’t a superb factor.

Two issues:

• I’d say that final declare is off-base. The port—by the specialists at Nixxes—is sort of good and for many gamers runs very nicely. There are many studies of crashes and different issues, however that is mainly the norm for PC releases. So many elements play a task in sport efficiency on PC, from the age of {hardware} to third-party software program and extra. This is unavoidable and one of many main complications for builders on PC. On closed platforms like Xbox and PlayStation, this isn’t a difficulty. I believe it’s secure to say that by and huge this is a wonderful port however that doesn’t imply you gained’t have points with it.
• This is a reasonably easy repair for anybody who’s having points. Just kind %programdata%Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc into your Windows file explorer and discover the PSPC_SDK folder, which you’ll be able to rename or delete. This will disable the PlayStation Overlay and will offer you a wholesome framerate enhance. You may flip down shadows, which may simply web you one other 10fps with out impacting visuals too drastically.

As I discussed in my first replace, the sport’s assessment rating is significantly better than it was proper after launch. It’s additionally a smash success, with over 72,000 concurrent gamers on Steam on the 18th, nearing God Of War’s file because the most-played PlayStation PC port. Not too shabby!