Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy PC Performance Review

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy PC Performance Review

Introduction 

The Crash Bandicoot series harkens from an era in gaming where 3D platformers didn’t exist, with the emergence of 3D-capable graphics hardware opening up the opportunity for game developers to innovate and re-create the genre. 

1996 was an eventful year for the 3D platforming genre, with both Crash Bandicoot and Mario 64 taking different approaches to the same problem. How do you translate a 2D game genre into three dimensions? During their development, neither game had anything to base themselves off, allowing two vastly different takes on the 3D platformer to take hold. 

Crash Bandicoot is based on what was initially known as the codenamed “Sonic’s Ass” system, placing the camera behind the player to offer a camera view that is behind the main character, hence the “Sonic’s ass” name, and rotate the playing field so that players ran forward towards obstacles while also offering sideways movement. 

At launch, the original Crash Bandicoot was well known for its high-quality graphics and its familiar, yet unique gameplay, though some criticised the game’s similarities to 2D platformers, calling the work too derivative.  Regardless of your opinion, it is undeniable that the Crash Bandicoot series was one of the most popular game series on Sony’s first generation console, spawning two sequels before Sony released a next-generation console. 

This nostalgia is ultimately what has brought about the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a remake of the original Naughty Dog Crash Bandicoot Trilogy with enhanced visuals and a wide range of other changes. 

While the N. Sane Trilogy was initially released as a PS4 exclusive, the game has now been released on PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, allowing the game to be played on every current generation console and at 60FPS on PC.  

Both the original PS1 Trilogy and its PS4 remaster are 30FPS titles, making PC the only place where steady 60FPS gameplay is possible. Will this leave us with high hardware requirements? Let’s find out!
 

Drivers

On the Nvidia side, we will make use of the company’s latest Geforce 398.36 WHQL drivers while AMD/Radeon we use their latest Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.6.1 Beta drivers, neither of which offer game-specific performance enhancements for the game.Â