God of War was great when it came to PS4 in 2018 and like Kratos himself, it seems to have only gotten better with age. According to early reviews, the previous Game of the Year winner is even more stunning on PC, where it will land later this week on January 14th.
Sony Santa Monica’s shift from Greek to Norse mythology breathed new life into the aging PlayStation franchise, and high-end PC hardware is breathing new life in the three-year-old former PS4 exclusive. It currently has a 93 on Metacritic, which even has critics who are disappointed with the game itself impressed by the quality of the PC port co-developed by Jetpack Interactive.
GameSpot assemble a helpful direct comparison this shows how strong the shadows and contrasts are on the PC version, even compared to God of War runs on the PS5. While the game apparently “sings” on top-of-the-line PCs, they say Some fun gamesAndy Cortez, reviewers also report that it runs reasonably well even with the recommended and minimum required settings. The only major downside is that the game is still not optimized for PC controls, so it might be a jump if you don’t want to play it with a gamepad.
Here’s a quick summary of what some people are saying:
When comparing the maxed out PC version to the PS4 Pro code running on the PS5, the differences can range from subtle to noticeable. The biggest difference comes from a big improvement in shadow resolution and quality, whether that’s in the form of higher resolution shadow maps, more objects casting significant shadows, or a fuller, richer pass of ambient occlusion over more surfaces. Volumetric effects like dust clouds, concussive structures, and magic effects also benefit from higher settings on PC.
Like previous Sony port Horizon Zero Dawn, this is a game that already looked good on console, and the added power of even a modest PC rig can greatly improve both visual quality and frames per second.
With this PC release, Sony has not only delivered an excellent game for the masses of PC gamers; It’s also given God of War a second life as a visual feast. The original release looked great in 2018 on PlayStation 4 and 2021 on PlayStation 5. But in 2022, God of War looks absolutely stunning on PC.
The game also natively supports the PS5’s DualSense controller, bringing powerful force feedback with it. However, it would have been nice if it made a little better use of the new controller technology. The feeling of your ax floating through the air and returning to your hand is still unmatched.
Sony’s latest Angry Dad game is proof that the PC is the ultimate video game unifier and a great reminder of how the platform can bring out the best in games. I’ve blasted my way through Midgard at 30fps on a PS4 and 4K on PS5, but I don’t think I can go back to both after 24 hours of buttery smooth monster chopping at 90+ fps. This is a damn good port, at least on my high-end PC.
If you already own it on a PS4 or – heck – PS5, it’s probably not worth spending the extra money to buy it at full price. Maybe at a sale. That is, if you haven’t played God of War and don’t own it on PS4 or PS5, it’s definitely worth owning on PC even if you don’t have the latest or greatest specs.
In addition to unlimited framerates, the ability to play in both 4K and 60 FPS, and ultrawide support, God of War on PC also supports Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, which helps make it look so good. The only thing that hasn’t gotten an unabashed upgrade seems to be Kratos’ beard, what Ars Technica reports Nvidia DLSS struggles with upscaling. A small flaw compared to the problems some newer PS4 ports had.
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