Rise Of The Ronin Review

GamesRadar

Rise of the Ronin is a solid action RPG experience that could, and probably should, have been stronger. It's fun but too familiar in the grand pantheon of similar offerings – not least from developer Team Ninja's back catalog itself.

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00:00Rise of the Ronin is a solid action RPG that could and probably should have been stronger.

00:05It's fun, but too familiar in the grand pantheon of similar game offerings, not least from

00:09developer Team Ninja's back catalogue itself.

00:16Rise of the Ronin is deceptively deep.

00:19You can absolutely play and enjoy this multi-systemed open world action RPG without having sampled

00:24any of Team Ninja's back catalogue beforehand.

00:27But if you have taken the likes of Nioh, Wulong Fallen Dynasty, or, going back a little further,

00:32Ninja Gaiden for a spin in the past, there's a good chance you'll settle into the structured

00:36rhythm the developers delivered so well in previous outings.

00:39There was part of me that felt continually and pleasantly surprised by Rise of the Ronin's

00:44ability to systematically tease more and more of what makes it tick over time.

00:49To be clear, it is indeed a big ARPG, with tight combat mechanics, a vast suite of customisation

00:55options both pre- and mid-game, and an array of interesting NPCs and expansive quests.

01:00It's not the biggest open world playground on the market by any stretch, nor is it the

01:05prettiest, but it does have a wonderful knack for letting you peek behind the curtain and

01:09making you think you've forced the game's hand in doing so.

01:12You haven't.

01:13Rise of the Ronin is always in control, and it perpetuates the illusion of choice from

01:18the outset, but its pacing and framing in order to allow this is up there with some of the

01:22best I've seen in action roleplaying space in recent times.

01:26Set in 1863, Rise of the Ronin kicks off with the Black Ships of the West having docked

01:31on Japanese shores ahead of their forceful bid to re-establish eastern trade routes.

01:36You fill the nimble shoes of a warrior ronin, roving around a real-world inspired slant on

01:41mid-19th century Yokohama, in a mission-packed open-world sprawl that echoes everything from Assassin's

01:47Creed to Ghost of Tsushima, and indeed Team Ninja's own Neo.

01:50The map itself is the first notable Rise of the Ronin feature that offers more than meets

01:54the eye.

01:55Rise of the Ronin encourages you to use your imagination on your travels, be that on foot,

01:59climbing walls, throwing yourself into the air with a grappling hook, or sawing through

02:03it on your glider.

02:04The game wants you to fumble in the dark before hitting those lightbulb moments that illuminate

02:08the way.

02:09Quite often, there is a way onto that far-flung ledge.

02:12You just need to find out how to do it.

02:14Rise of the Ronin strives to balance its modestly sized open-world by filling it full of side

02:19ventures and single-serving tasks that feed directly into levelling up your character.

02:23Even if you start off pursuing one pre-set class from the outset, for example the breaker

02:28build is a stealth meets dexterity outfitting, skill points can still be spread to other areas

02:32of expertise as you settle into your own fighting style.

02:35Better still, you can switch between Rise of the Ronin's core three styles, Jin, Chi,

02:39Chi and Ten, mid-battle with the touch of a button, allowing you to play to your strengths

02:44and more importantly, your enemy's weaknesses.

02:47In Rise of the Ronin, simply bashing buttons like a toddler with your sword raised will get

02:51you nowhere.

02:52Instead, balancing speed and power is crucial to success.

02:56Tempting as it is to go in all guns blazing, biding your time in battle is always the best

03:00method, as you work out your enemy's movement patterns and decide when it's best to move and

03:04strike or duck and defend yourself.

03:06Keeping an eye on your ki level is also vital mid-fight, ki is stamina by another name so

03:11you'll make sure you have enough to exploit gaps in attack patterns when they appear,

03:15to move quickly when your opponent drops their guard and to break their stance and execute

03:19a brutal stomach-turning, blood-spilling cinematic takedown at every opportunity.

03:24Through this, Counterspark will become your best friend, Rise of the Ronin's answer to

03:27parrying.

03:28Hitting triangle at the exact right time allows you to drain your opponent's ki at a faster

03:33rate while slowing the depletion of your own, and giving you the upper hand in the battle.

03:37As you find your feet with timing in combat, ranged weapons are a good go-to.

03:42From pistols to muskets, bows, shurikens and more, putting distance between yourself and

03:46your aggressor before nailing a headshot is damn satisfying, to the point where I found

03:50myself almost exclusively flying through low-stakes skirmishes, splitting skulls with my rifle.

03:56You can even use your grappling hook to haul foes from height, or pull them closer to cosplay

04:00as Scorpion.

04:01Stealth is also another viable option in Rise of the Ronin.

04:04You see, enemy AI appears to be torn between realistic long-distance vision, which is cool

04:09but totally unfriendly in a video game, and some pretty non-existent hearing.

04:14Meaning you can shoot baddies at point-blank range in the head with a very loud rifle, only

04:18to have their mate ten yards away continue to look in the opposite direction as if they

04:22haven't heard a thing.

04:23I found this to be really frustrating, as it directly impacts exploration.

04:27If you stumble into an enemy-filled zone and you want to investigate, there's virtually

04:31no risk versus reward mechanics in place to encourage sneaking in favour of just tearing

04:36the place down.

04:38One of Rise of the Ronin's defining features is its human bonds, whereby deepening your

04:41relationship with NPCs can bring valuable items, teach new combat styles and grant you

04:46special abilities in battle when paired with specific people.

04:50Spending more time with bonded NPCs naturally increases that bond, while giving them gifts can

04:54help speed that process up.

04:56For me, the best thing about all of this is being able to control your NPCs in battle,

05:00granting you access to new and undiscovered fighting styles that can complement or even

05:04determine your own.

05:06Multiplayer likewise accentuates this.

05:08Rise of the Ronin can be played with up to three players, be that other friends, AI allies

05:12or a combination of the two.

05:13And while I've so far only been able to play with computer-controlled backup in pre-release,

05:17I presume online servers will fill out the player base following the game's release.

05:21Rise of the Ronin is a good action role player, but it's impossible not to draw comparisons

05:26to similar ventures that have held the genre up over the last several years.

05:30Stealth is better in Elden Ring.

05:31Combat is more intuitive in Nioh 2.

05:33Visually Ghost of Tsushima is head and shoulders prettier.

05:37Even Rise of the Ronin's Karma and Vendetta systems, Karma is essentially XP and Vendetta

05:41is triggered when an enemy kills you, after which killing them in return restores your karma

05:45XP.

05:46These things have featured in various forms over the years in other games, all of which

05:50leaves me with the feeling that Rise of the Ronin could and probably should have been stronger

05:55across the board.

05:56It looks nice, but not always great, with occasional texture pop in spoiling longer distance views.

06:01Its combat is fun, its world is worth exploring and the game itself does a fine job of showing

06:05you just and only just what it needs to do at any given moment.

06:09The problem is, it brings very little that's new to the table, which isn't necessarily a

06:13bad thing of course, but it definitely doesn't match a game that clearly had ambitions to

06:17be something much much greater.

06:19We give it a score of 3.5 stars out of 5.

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