Rise of the Ronin
This slice of Japanese historical tourism delivers open-world scale and the sort of attention to detail usually reserved for Western blockbusters
S5 gamers are spoiled for choice when it comes to samurai action games… and Rise of the Ronin is the most expansive yet. Team Ninja has also put a more approachable spin on the excellent but tough-as-nails combat seen in its Nioh series, and abandoned mysticism in favour of a more grounded story.
Japan’s Bakumatsu period looks just as gorgeous as you’d expect from a current-gen exclusive, with traditional buildings sitting alongside Western-influenced architecture. The expansive map does fall on open-world tropes, like bandit-filled encampments to clear and period-appropriate fast travel options, but they’re all undeniably charming.
Your character is a blank slate at the outset, with a choice of weapon styles and a progression system that feels more structured than some. Taking out enemies stealthily usually results in a messy separation of body parts, or you can go in with literal guns blazing; fighting unarmed provides a non-lethal option. But anyway,
Phacking and slashing alone won’t get you far in this game. Deflecting attacks reduces your opponents’ stamina gauge, leaving them open for critical hits – but there’s also your own stamina to manage. We’re not talking Elden Ring levels of punishing play, though, and the difficulty can be lowered on the fly. Learning parry timings is still the key to victory, but the timing windows are a lot more generous.
The large cast of characters draws on real historical figures and some will even join you for certain battles. Story-specific missions annoyingly restrict the play area, however, and you can’t take online co-op partners out into the open world. You’re better off teaming up with AI characters.
This is Team Ninja’s most accessible game, which might disappoint hardcore fans – but they can always raise the difficulty. It’s a necessary compromise to please players looking to just soak up the authentic 19th-century Japanese vibes.
Alan Wen
“Samurai?” “Yes, and some are wheat – we stock all kinds of bread at this bakery.”