A brutal Roman holiday — Hands-on with Ryse: Son of Rome for PC

When in Rome, expect brutality. Originally announced as an Xbox One launch exclusive, Ryse: Son of Rome will finally be coming to PC players on October 10. Crytek is handling the PC port, and it looks fantastic.

Ryse is certainly a game that benefits from the extensive graphics options on PC. Features like supersampling, texture resolution settings, and anti-aliasing options make this game look even more beautiful than it already did on Microsoft’s flagship console. The story of Ryse takes you from the forests of Europe to the city of Rome itself, and it’s difficult to stop yourself from sightseeing in the middle of a tense battle. There is even an option for the high-end gamers to run at 4k resolution, which requires a hefty PC but outputs some incredible visuals.

The combat is as tight and responsive as you would want from an action game. Executions are swift and brutal, and different enemy types keep adding variety and tactics to the slaughter. Button mashers will be punished on the higher difficulties, where a single falter means a barbaric demise. Keyboard controls can be a little odd, requiring your hand to uncomfortably stretch across the keys in a split second, so it would be worth your time to pick up a gamepad. Like most brawlers, Ryse feels much more at home on a controller.

It wouldn’t be a game about Roman legionnaires if you couldn’t command a phalanx of well-trained soldiers, and Ryse brings that in spades. The moments where you take command of your troops and march against the enemy are impressive, and taking command of ballistae or chucking javelins is a nice break from the sword n’ shield smack-down.  This game is a gruesome experience (in a good way), and those looking for a new, brutal action game would be hard-pressed to pass up on Ryse.

Ryse: Son of Rome will release October 10 on Steam for PC. The game will include all four DLC packs that have been previously released. Below are the minimum and recommended specs.

Minimum Requirements:

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220T, AMD Phenom II X4 945

GPU: Geforce GTX 560, Radeon HD 7770

RAM: 4 GB

OS: Win Vista 64-bit

Direct X: DX 11

HDD: 26 GB

Recommended Requirements:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K, AMD FX-6350

GPU: Geforce GTX 660 Ti, Radeon HD 7850

RAM: 8 GB

OS: Win 7 64-bit

Direct X: DX 11

HDD: 26 GB

Recommended Requirements for 4k Resolution

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700k, AMD FX-8350

GPU: Geforce GTX 780 or 780Ti, Radeon 290x

RAM: 8 GB

OS: Win 7 64-bit

Direct X: DX 11

HDD: 26 GB