Shenmue is one of the most engrossing and interesting games I've ever played. This negative review is specifically for the PC port; this is not how the game should be experienced. I'll explain why, but there is also an extensive video on the subject here: https://youtu.be/HilGBAq8jUY

The video's findings are correct: This port is a stuttery mess. Sloppy performance like this mars the game's unique and engrossing atmosphere, and the last thing you want with Shenmue is any barrier to vibe that Yu Suzuki intended.

Here's how I tested performance:

1. Multiple different hardware configurations were tested. 2 setups used NVIDIA GPUs, 1 used an AMD GPU, 2 used Ryzen CPUs, 1 used an Intel CPU.

2. Multiple displays were tested. 1 computer monitor, 2 televisions, all different brands using different cables, with various features both enabled and disabled (such as VRR).

3. Various software configurations were tested via programs like NVIDIA Control Panel, RivaTuner, and even fan patches.

4. Footage for review was recorded multiple ways: An Elgato HD60S, an AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K, and ShadowPlay were all used. An iPhone camera was also used to capture directly off of the screen.

I tested the daylights out of this to see if the problem was as bad as it seemed or if I was just being crazy. Every single test showed dropped frames, weird skips, and generally unstable performance. Not one combination of hardware and software could get this game to perform acceptably. The devs responsible here should be ashamed for providing such a crippled version of such an iconic title, and more egregiously, never taking the time to fix it after release.

After I'd driven myself up the wall trying to get this working properly, I bought a copy for my Xbox One. It's a night and day difference. You might not realize just how poorly this PC port runs until you play it on a console - which should never be the case. I even enjoyed replaying the part I'd already done on PC over again on the Xbox because the experience was just that much better.

Somebody who had watched me struggling with this for a couple of days walked in soon after I had moved to the Xbox. They sat down, watched for a minute, and excitedly commented on how it looked like I had finally fixed the problem.

Anyway, hopefully I can convince at least one person to play this elsewhere. If you don't have a console to play it on, wait until you do. It's been over 20 years since Shenmue dropped. Are you really going to do this unique experience a disservice by playing this bunk PC port? With shader compilation stutter plaguing an entire generation (or more) of PC ports, even the cheapest console to compliment your gaming PC would be a worthwhile investment.

For those of you who will inevitably hit the comments saying that this port is fine and you don't notice any problems: You're wrong, it's not fine, and you're hobbling your own experience, whether you're acutely aware of it or not.

Play this game. Just play it somewhere else.