HiGame

Back in November, Rise of the Tomb Raider launched on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 to massive critical acclaim. As a sequel to 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot, it was seen as an improvement in nearly every way possible. However, the limitations of Microsoft’s consoles tripped up the game in the performance department. Thankfully, the PC port launches today, and it looks incredible.

The folks over at Digital Foundry took an in-depth look at the PC release, and they were thoroughly impressed by the attention to detail that Nixxes Software put into this port. After the nightmare of Arkham Knight and the apparent abandonment of the PC version of Mortal Kombat X, it’s just nice to see such a top-notch port hitting the PC.

Interestingly, one of the most noteworthy improvements here isn’t the increased graphical fidelity — it’s the latency. In the Xbox One version, there is significant input latency that wasn’t found on the 360 port (also handled by Nixxes Software).

After putting the PC port through its paces, Digital Foundry found that the input latency was reduced even further in this version of the game. It doesn’t make much of a difference when you’re just walking about the open world, but when it comes time to aim your gun quickly, the latency can definitely cause some frustration in the Xbox One version.

While the PC port is capable of outperforming the Xbox One original, don’t expect a budget gaming PC to hit 60fps on high settings. The game’s minimum requirements list a Core i3-2100, 6GB of RAM, and a 2GB GTX 650, but the fidelity will suffer substantially if that’s all you’ve got. If you want to run the high settings, you’re going to need a graphics card with at least 3GB of memory. Very high? Invest in a 4GB card. Square-Enix recommends using a GTX 970, but Digital Foundry says a GTX 960 will be able to deliver a 1080p30 experience superior to the Xbox One version.

Of course, hitting 1080p60 requires a bit more horsepower. A GTX 970 can deliver 60fps, but it drops some frames in the village area. If that bothers you, turning off tessellation will solve the problem. Even if you don’t have top of the line hardware, you can make some sacrifices in the name of frame rate. Like any good PC game, this port allows you to switch most effects on and off at will, so you can decide exactly which features you can live without.

Earlier this week, the single-player DLC Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch landed on both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 to mostly positive responses. While some people were disappointed in the length of this $10 release, any excuse to jump back into Rise of the Tomb Raider is a good one. And since the DLC is launching day-one for the PC crowd, they can get the full gameplay experience from the get-go.

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