Rise of the Ronin review

Across the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden franchises, Team NINJA crafted some of the most sinuously fluid combat around. In ensuing efforts like Nioh and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty the action remained taut, the battle arenas grew larger, but progression through the game largely remained linear. Yet, with Rise of the Ronin (previously released on PlayStation 5), the Kudankita-based studio provides players with a open world for waging warfare.

Save for a bit of mission repetition, it’s a thoroughly engaging 25–30-hour experience well-suited for anyone who welcomes responsive, razor-sharp combat in spacious, consistently stunning recreations of 19^th Century Yokohama, Kyoto, and Edo.

Sonnō Jōi!

Rise of the Ronin’s storyline is set against the Bakumatsu period, as American Commodore Matthew C. Perry attempted to force open a staunchly isolationist Japan. Internally, the nation was divided between two main factions. With the power of the Shogunate waning, the technological advancements of the invaders could be repurposed to prohibit annexation.

But others remained fiercely loyal to the ruling Tokugawa clan and “sonnō jōi” (meaning ‘revere the emperor, expel the barbarians’) became a popular rallying cry. As far as context goes, the ideological and cultural tensions are remarkably rich and it’s surprising that other developers haven’t explored the setting, where traces of Western influence mingle with traditional aesthetics. Occasionally, Ronin even touches on weighty issues like colonization, nationalism, xenophobia, and how technological advancement is measured.

And while there’s a heathy quantity of discussion fodder, don’t expect a proper history lesson. Ronin likes to scatter plenty of spirited liberties amidst its real-world, in-game encyclopedic collection of landmarks. Your first mission has you sneaking aboard Perry’s harbored ‘Black Ship’ with the intent of killing him. When confronted, the portly old Commodore turns into a surprisingly seasoned swordman, providing the game’s first boss battle and likely, a few giggles. If you’re a fan of world history, expect most of the game’s NPC and recruitable allies to reference somewhat obscure historical figures, like a genderbent, whipblade-wielding Alexandre Moreau de Jonnès.

The Razor-Sharp Twin Blades

Instead of adventuring with a preset character, Ronin kicks off by sending players into the game’s creation suite, where you’ll craft a pair of twins, determining their appearance and proficiency. Backstory helps bring the siblings to life, detailing a youth spent with the Kurosu clan, a staunchly anti-shogunate force located in a remote mountain village.

After their settlement was ransacked by the Shogunate’s spies, the orphans took refuge and trained under the watch of a senior known as the Bladesmith. Agreeably, this succinct prologue transitions into a combat tutorial led by the Bladesmith, followed by weapon selection, allowing players to start swinging swords without making them sit through a lengthy lore dump.

Dashing Isn’t Just a Defensive Move, It’s a Goal

Smartly, that approach is used for the majority of the game’s playtime. Those drawn to character min-maxing or crafting can invest time scrutinizing and equipping nine different kinds of melee and ranged weapons that provide modest stat upgrades. Or perhaps you’d just rather brandish Ryoma Sakamoto’s signature Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, which is ornamented with a bold dragon-themed scabbard. But that’s not to say, every polearm or odachi has a real-world equivalent. Unceasingly, Rise of Ronin drops loads of generic loot on you. Woefully, Team NINJA forgot that item management isn’t nearly as fun as enemy dismemberment.

However, building your own armor set to help negate incoming damage is undoubtedly enticing. Pleasingly, you don’t have to look like a hodge-podge of clashing aesthetics once you open your own headquarters in Yokohama. While unifying the look of your armor doesn’t provide any kind of passive buff, why wouldn’t you want to look at a stylish swordmaster?

Bringing Guns to a Swordfight

Expectedly, Ronin’s combat exhibits the kind of fastidious responsiveness that Team NINJA is known for. One of the foundations for success is mastery of the Counterspark, where a precisely timed deflection can confound a rival. Like many of its contemporaries, stamina (referred to as “Ki”) is a critical element, and draining your opponent’s lifeforce can open them up to an annihilative finisher.

For better or worse, antagonists operate by the same rules and protecting your Ki from being depleted by an unrelenting boss (or hulking Bruisers) can be genuinely unnerving. Expect to integrate methodical Blade Flashes, where you clean the blood from your weapon to replenish Ki. Best of all, there’s between eight and four different styles associated with each weapon type, and even a nod to one of Ryu Hayabusa’s signature assaults. Beyond using a grappling hook for navigation, in combat the tool can drag enemies or fling objects like exploding barrels, making it an essential addition to your arsenal.

Although the game’s stealth system leans toward lenience, Tenchu-style assassinations are another highlight. These can help thin out clusters of foes, allowing players to focus their aggression on key adversaries. Undoubtedly, the incorporation of recruitable AI-driven allies helps offset fighting fatigue. The system permits players to switch between party members, utilizing different weaponry. If you’d rather fight with co-operative, online partners, Ronin sporadically accommodates. Sure, tackling one of the designated Ronin Missions with up to two friends can be rousing, but as soon as the goal is met, there’s an unceremonious drop-off as everyone is sent back to their individual games. Despite humans outshining AI when it comes to fighting bosses, I’d expect the servers to be desolate in a few months.

Seeking Open World Enthusiasts

Undoubtedly, one of Rise of the Ronin’s most contentious issues are the game’s open world activities, what have you liberating bandit-seized villages, entering gliding and shooting competitions, and even a bit of horse archery. Yet, despite the diversity of Ronin and Bond Missions, there’s the shakable curse of repetition as you chase down markers on each city map. As given that sandbox play forms the bulk of Ronin, players need to appreciate that before picking up a sword, spear, bow or rifle.

If players can bear the repetition that habitually accompanies open-world autonomy, Rise of the Ronin can be a lot of fun. When it comes to fighting and environmental design, the game competes admirably against its peers. And occasionally, when dialog and moral decisions have a palpable effect on the plotline, the scrappy swordfighter bests them.

Rise of the Ronin was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.