The Ronin Review

Platform: PlayStation 5

Initial release date: March 22, 2024

Mode: Multiplayer video game

License: proprietary license

Composer: Inon Zur

Genres: Action role-playing game, Fighting game, Adventure game

Developer: Team Ninja

It’s the middle of the 1800s, the latter years of the Edo era. The Shogunate’s power is beginning to decline. Japanese culture is gradually absorbing Western ideas. Faction aiming to change the existing quo and mold Japan in their image emerges as a result of national turmoil and fear of the unknown. As you navigate shifting political landscapes, strained interpersonal ties, and the effects of a burgeoning globe, Rise of the Ronin puts you at the center of this historical epicenter. Rise of the Ronin, Team Ninja’s biggest project to date, features deep systems and a massive amount of gameplay to match the setting’s intricacy and immensity. To be honest, it’s difficult not to be overpowered by it all.

Before I could really begin to comprehend Rise of the Ronin, I was well into the game’s first chapter, which is the first of three. Rise of the Ronin is an open world action role-playing game in third person that packs a lot into its overall package. As a result, it has a lot to explain in the beginning and frequently finds it difficult to do so in a clear or polished manner. A lot of exposition dumps and lessons are included in the game’s first few hours, which are badly paced and introduce new people, relationships, places, weapons, controls, and a menu full of lists and checkboxes virtually all at once. The sheer volume of knowledge can be overwhelming, and many people are inclined to give up before they even begin.

The narrative is as cinematically theatrical as it gets. Though the tone can change abruptly, political intrigue and real-world history are frequently handled skillfully. I had trouble understanding these sudden changes because I would be fighting inebriated samurai one moment and then be expected to focus on a complex, serious cutscene in the next. Although the humor and fraternity that were woven within the intense historical details were initially startling, I eventually came to enjoy them. Despite being a work of fiction, the game makes use of a number of historical real-life characters, frequently in the form of extravagant caricatures when greater nuance may be called for. Eventually, as the game goes on and you discover more about the people, these tonal fluctuations do level out. The so-called supporting cast members, on the other hand, really steal the show, with their backstories expanding considerably during the main narrative and, most importantly, the numerous side missions. Because of this, our playable hero frequently seems like a passenger for the most of the game’s duration. Our largely mute protagonist is driven along by a crucial plot point. Regretfully, it’s the least captivating part of the narrative in the game.

Chess is similar to a sword fight. Prior to acting, you must consider your options.

Your character is twined with another warrior as a member of the Veiled Edge clan. I won’t give away the early part of the game, but there is a split, and you have to choose which of the two to stick with. You’ll encounter your “blade twin” on several occasions during the game’s forty-plus hours. With no declared allegiances, the player is free to choose between siding with the rebellious opposition or the Shogunate, which makes it an odd enough MacGuffin to guide the character’s primary decision-making. The player is required to make a number of options that vary in significance but have an impact on the story’s overall timeframe. Since I had trouble following the plot at first, I was careless while making decisions of this nature. But after a few hours, as things started to make sense, I saw that I was worrying a lot more about which road to choose. The game does, quite cleverly, include a function that allows players to replay missions and observe how the routes might have changed if a different choice had been made. The replays are displayed in a convenient timeline that keeps track of important events.

Anyway, let’s go back to this review’s primary timeline. I started my ronin’s quest after making my character using a very involved customization procedure. But even with all the resources at my disposal, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I was terribly unprepared. Fortunately, Rise of the Ronin isn’t very harsh, and I learnt by doing: engaging with the environment, doing tasks, and fighting off against small groups of opponents to become familiar with the battle system.

Rise of the Ronin excels in sword fights, when engaging the enemy in a blade-to-blade exchange requires skill and endurance. When it works well, battles with the opposition can be enjoyable and fulfilling without the persistent fear of death that plagues its colleagues who were influenced by Souls. As the game progresses, you’ll unlock a number of weapons and battle styles. The latter must be quickly swapped up based on your opponents’ skill sets. Regretfully, this means there are a lot of uncomfortable button combinations to learn. Changing up looks, adding accessories, and perfecting combinations never seem to go as smoothly as they should, and the necessary muscle memory never seems to stick. In the heat of battle, it felt nearly difficult to use your martial talents, special attacks that dealt more damage, or supplies (especially if you had numerous pages).

In a similar vein, I never really felt at ease using the parrying technique in the game. A well-timed parry is one of Rise of the Ronin’s most crucial weapons, along with the normal block. Parrying, also known as Counterspark and mapped to triangle in the default control scheme, is an attack rather than a defensive maneuver in and of itself. We’ll address the usage of proper nouns later. This implies that the enemy can still be damaged by a badly timed button hit, but it also puts you in danger. Because of this, fighting becomes more of a dance-like beat, and the game encourages you to attack even when you’re afraid of getting hit.

play sound of swords slamming

Your Ki meter is depleted by strikes, parries, blocks, and the unique Martial attacks; this needs to be controlled if you want to win a fight, particularly later in the game. Some of Rise of the Ronin’s toughest opponents can only be defeated with effective parrying (and Ki management), and I would estimate that my hit rate was roughly 50% when it came to blocking an enemy’s strike before launching my own. When executed well, a perfectly timed series of parries can feel amazing and produce a fulfilling finish. But most of the time, I’d hit one or two flawlessly before unavoidably misjudging the moment and allowing the opposition to launch a crushing strike.

Late-game boss battles can easily turn into attrition-based battles, since many of them require repeated tries. I won’t be embarrassed to admit that I did, in fact, frequently abandon the challenge. But I soon found that the “Dawn” (easy) difficulty lacked the necessary challenge to keep me interested in the main gameplay cycle, aside from these encounters. The enemy AI isn’t particularly intelligent even on the normal difficulties, and the reduced difficulty level made even more fun of that. While it may be satisfying, going undercover is often immersion breaking when I can kill one adversary in plain sight of another, just to have my crime disregarded and the potential witness suffer the same fate not long after.

There is a ton of opportunity for experimenting when exploring Rise of the Ronin’s open environment outside of the major objectives. Similar to all things Team Ninja, the game has an amazing arsenal of weaponry, ranging from common katanas to enormous greatswords and unusual weapons like the oxtail blade. Guns are also introduced by the Western influence that is crucial to the game’s plot, giving Rise of the Ronin even another chance to set itself apart from other games of a similar nature. It’s definitely an interesting feature, whether you use a rifle to take out adversaries at a distance or a revolver to deliver a crushing final blow. Nevertheless, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the guns were a relic. It feels as though they were merely added to what is already a sophisticated and complex fighting system because they are largely disconnected from core combat.

A lot of the things in Rise of the Ronin feel like they were done “just because,” which may just be my own skepticism showing. Though it is by no means an afterthought, even the open world itself seems to exist more for its own sake than to properly serve the game and its narrative. Beyond completing the main goals and side quests, Rise of the Ronin offers an extensive open world filled with activities such as destroying enemy strongholds, finding shrines, petting cats, and much more. I say litter because it doesn’t seem to matter after the first few. It’s hectic work, box-checking, and the open globe. Gliders are a great way to travel across the world, and there’s something quite rewarding about being able to effortlessly transition from the skies onto your horse with the touch of a button. All I could ask is that there should be more engaging activities available. Particularly when it seems like a penalty for not fully investigating to not have all of your fast-travel points unlocked. Naturally, the diversity of content should be viewed as a net benefit. I know that for some people, it will sound like music. I couldn’t help but get tired of compulsively crossing off things on the map, and this feeling gets worse later in the game when you start doing the same things over and over again.

“Hey, I can see my house from here!”

Even if all I truly wanted to do was advance the plot, I can’t deny that I became entangled in the enormous web of content, in spite of my critiques. Gaining more skill points—two types of skill points—to add to different skill trees is the reward for completing all of this. These skill trees’ impacts, aside from the introduction of new mechanisms, were rarely very noticeable. Additionally, loot is awarded absurdly quickly for both mission completion and open-world play. I can count on one hand how many times I bought merchandise from a vendor by the end of the game. My best equipment was given to me, and it improved faster than I could have kept up, especially in the early going in the game.

I promised to discuss Rise of the Ronin’s overabundance of proper nouns, and now I will: Every single thing in the game, including weapons, consumables, and goods, has a name that makes it more difficult to understand. One reputation system connected to every character and group is the “Bond” system. Easy enough, huh? But for some reason, especially in the beginning, I found everything a little more difficult to understand because of the way Rise of the Ronin presented and then completely destroyed me with all of these concepts. Of course, there is also the enormous cast of characters to keep in mind. Like other components of the game, they too took some getting used to, but finally I was able to understand the goals of the game and its mechanisms. Unfortunately, this overshadows the more intriguing and subtle parts of the story and environment, and for a significant portion of the gameplay, it made me lose interest in what was actually happening. The player is thrown all of this at them at an absurd rate.

Maybe I would have noticed Rise of the Ronin’s more distinctive aspects sooner if it hadn’t felt the need to take up so much of my time with seemingly pointless information. Even if main missions get monotonous at times, they also showcase some amazing fighting situations and, of course, advance the story. Although you will be alone in the open world, you can go on key missions with up to two companions you’ve met during the game, each of whom has unique abilities. While it’s fun to use these buddies to slay or stealth through waves of common opponents, your AI allies really shine when taking on the monster of each level. These more cunning adversaries not only allow you to group together to defeat them, but they can also act as a distraction while you gather yourself and prepare your next move. Additionally, you can assume direct control of them to launch attacks on adversaries and offer assistance when needed, which can keep even the most difficult conflicts from being too tiresome.

“Punk, do you feel fortunate?”

The “Bond” missions in Rise of the Ronin, where you work to aid them and develop connections with these AI friends, are without a doubt the best portion of the game. It goes without saying that completing these objectives in tandem with other warriors worldwide facilitates other parts of the game. Even yet, the narrative hooks in these shorter missions make them worthwhile to complete. Every one of these plot aspects and individuals influenced my choices in the game and contributed to Rise of the Ronin’s overall story. The fact that this element isn’t hinted at a bit more is regrettable, as Rise of the Ronin’s plot might come across as a little flimsy in the absence of these side tales. Though lacking the depth and subtlety to match its attempt at cinematic storytelling, it’s nonetheless interesting.

The reason I say “attempt” rather than “failure” is that although there are some excellent parts of the presentation, there are also some places that need improvement. The English voice acting is erratic, ranging from excellent to appalling, which makes it difficult to predict how important story points will be resolved. Fortunately, it hits more often than it misses, particularly at the deeper points. In addition, the game’s graphics frequently seem antiquated, particularly when navigating the vast environment. Villages and cities fail to make an impression, whereas larger open spaces frequently have pops of color from trees and flowers. There were moments when switching from a pre-rendered cutscene to gameplay was really abrupt. Even though anything can frequently appear to be a generation behind, I wouldn’t find it easy to overlook texture-pop in problems when playing in performance mode. Of course, graphics aren’t everything. And while though it might not be fair, considering the locations of the two games and the fact that they are both PlayStation exclusives, I can’t help but compare them to Ghost of Tsushima.

Rise of the Ronin is expected to be a highly polarizing game, pitting a cult classic against PlayStation Studios’ more legitimate blockbuster hits. Lovers of the game will immerse themselves in its world and systems, taking advantage of everything it has to offer and waxing poetic about how the rest of us just don’t grasp it. But most people—including me in this section—won’t ever be able to get past the more annoying parts of the game. Its overly complex control system, its frequently demanding world-building and narrative strategies, and its copious amount of information.

Rise of the Ronin is a dualistic game, much to the tale of the Twin Blades. When it works well, it’s a complex, rewarding, and frequently absurd video game. Regretfully, it also places excessive demands on the player and occasionally breaks its end of the agreement. Although the tasks are repetitive far too frequently, the battle is entertaining. Despite its vastness, there isn’t much interest in the open world. If you put in the effort, the story has the potential to be compelling. Without a doubt, its advantages outweigh its disadvantages, and I’m thinking of returning to play more eventually. But for the time being, I’ll let others decide Japan’s fate.

Review Overview

Gameplay – 75%

Story – 80%

Aesthetics – 85%

Content – 75%

Accessibility – 70%

Value – 80%

Overall Rating – 77%

Good