"Shōgun" of the next century: Rise of the Ronin review

One day, Team Ninja decided to create a cocktail of Assassin's Creed, Nioh, and Ghost of Tsushima, and the studio received Rise of the Ronin, an open-world adventure role-playing game about 19th-century Japan, where we, in the role of an unnamed ronin, must influence the situation in the country. Having received the game for review, the gg editorial team decided to understand the specifics of this combination. The plot of the game turned out to be good, but not exciting. This is a story about political games, where we find ourselves in the epicentre of all events. The events of Rise of The Ronin are reminiscent of Clavell's book Shogun, but the game takes place 150 years later. Against the backdrop of the popular Netflix series Shogun , this analogy arises naturally.

The authors managed to create the gameplay and atmosphere at a decent level. It was interesting to explore the open world, perform activities, albeit usually typical ones, and fight with different weapons and skills. And it all takes place during the Bakumatsu period, which marked the end of the shogunate, the beginning of a new era, and the confrontation between East and West. So sometimes you just pause all your samurai and political duties to learn more about the customs and flavour of the island that was once closed to the world. The only serious drawback of Rise of the Ronin is its visuals, which are reminiscent of the early years of the PlayStation 4 era.

Synopsis.

After three centuries of Tokugawa shogunate rule, Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in late nineteenth-century Japan, and the protagonist finds himself in the middle of local internecine conflicts, where he must choose sides.

3 reasons to buy Rise of the Ronin:

• You love everything Japanese
• You like the souls-like combat system
• You are looking for an open-world game where you can get lost for 30+ hours

1 reason not to buy Rise of the Ronin:

• You're not ready to play a game with graphics that aren't up to par

Fast forward:

• What we learned after the Rise of the Ronin review
• Plot: the fate of Japan is in your hands
• Gameplay: fight, explore, level up
• The technical side of 19th century Japan
• How we will remember Rise of the Ronin
• Five things you need to know about Rise of the Ronin

What we learnt after the Rise of the Ronin review

Rise of the Ronin is best suited for those who

• haven't played dozens of open-world games like Assassins' Creed;
• has played little or no souls-like games, but is interested in how it all works;
• doesn't care about graphics in games at all.

Rise of the Ronin is a good game. I spent 30 hours in it, but I understand that it is unlikely to impress those who have been actively playing for many years. The Team Ninja project is more likely to appeal to those who have not played many games in their lives and now want to try something with a lot of activities and a small challenge in battles. Rise of the Ronin will definitely find its audience, most of which fits my description. This audience is just not as large as in most other Sony games.

The plot: the fate of Japan is in your hands

Japan at the end of the 19th century is going through hard times. The Bakumatsu period sees the end of the shogunate, the arrival of the "black ships" of American Commodore Matthew Perry, and chaos, turmoil, disease, and political unrest all around. And it is in this period that our nameless protagonist finds himself, who, after the failure of one of his assignments, launches himself into the epicentre of all the events in Japan at that time, as if from a ship's cannon.

For those who want to know more

The Bakumatsu era in Japan (1853-1867) marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and preceded the Meiji Restoration, which radically transformed the country. This period began with the arrival of the American Commodore Matthew Perry, who demanded that Japan open its ports to trade, effectively ending the policy of isolation (sakoku). The reaction to external pressure and internal conflicts led to profound social and political changes. Growing dissatisfaction with the shogunate and the desire for modernisation led to the Meiji Restoration, which restored imperial power and initiated the process of industrialisation and modernisation of Japan. The Bakumatsu era was a critical moment in Japan's transition from feudal isolation to the status of a modern state.

Throughout the story, we will meet many characters, some of whom you even become attached to, and at the same time, you will have to choose your side: the opposition or the shogunate. Although no one forbids you to interact with both sides throughout the story, at some point you will have to make a final choice.

In general, elections during the course of a country's history do have a minimal, but still significant, impact on further developments. For example, if you pardon the boss during one of the missions, you can meet him again later and recruit him to your team, so you need to make some of your choices carefully and understand that your actions may come back to haunt you in the future.

Still, I can't call the plot component of Rise of The Ronin outstanding. For such a long story, I would have liked to see more drama and tense moments. I especially wanted to see more drama around the protagonist and his "opponent", who have to meet in fierce battles from time to time.

The story of Rise of The Ronin is definitely not bad. Story missions can be completed in co-op for up to 4 people. The story has humour, interesting characters, a description of historical events of those times, sometimes some events are breathtaking, but again, I wanted to see more of this on the screen. So if you don't care about the plot in open-world games, you won't have any questions about the story. But if the plot, like for me, is almost the most important component in most games, then at the end credits you will say "it was okay, but not wow".

Gameplay: fight, explore, level up

After the introduction, the game begins to open up, as we are greeted by an open world with plenty to do, although these activities are already quite typical for the industry. Freeing camps from enemies, discovering new regions, completing secondary or random quests, finding various items such as hidden chests of loot, collecting collectibles, jumping off the roofs of buildings with the cat hook, or simply getting on a horse and travelling around Japan, or jumping off a cliff and flying a homemade hang glider.

And reading all this, you probably have one question in your head: "Does it sound like Assasin's Creed?". Yes, it does. But there are not too many activities to get confused (with the exception of collectibles), and most of them can be completed in a matter of minutes. Add to this the small game world and the quick movement and closing activities in the game is not that boring.

And this story reminds me of the review of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden review. In both games, you won't find something ultra mega interesting in the game world, but at the same time, you won't get bored with exploring it due to the compactness and lack of oversaturation with various junk. However, given the fact that the plot doesn't fall out of the sky, it would have been better if this was a corridor game with a more developed plot.

Great combat system

You will have to fight a lot in the game. We will usually be opposed by people of different types: with swords, guns, or big guys who will send you to the nearest save point in a couple of blows. The combat system is not simple, but it is clear. It will be difficult to "shut up" an enemy, even an ordinary one. And against big enemies or bosses, it means death in a few seconds.

So what to do? Master the mechanics of parrying attacks. You need to wait for the enemy's attack and repel it at the last moment. Just keep in mind that the enemy can use a combination of attacks with different intensities, so you need to constantly analyse and memorise each attack on the battlefield. The more you repel and attack the enemy, the faster their "fear" scale fills up. As soon as it reaches the maximum, you can deal a strong blow that will take away either part of your health or all of it.

The greatest thrill is fending off attacks against a difficult boss, when you hear your blades clash every second in an intense battle, but you are stronger, and your crushing blow brings you out on top.

Now you have a second question: "What do you use to beat them all with?". Katanas, spears, big swords, revolvers, shotguns, and a bow is ideal for stealth. There is always plenty to choose from. You can carry two types of edged weapons and two types of firearms at the same time. For balance, it is best to take one light weapon, like a katana, and one heavy weapon, like a spear. Also, during the course of the game, each weapon unlocks its own fighting styles, which are needed for different types of enemies. If you've played Ghost of Tsushima, you'll already be familiar with this system.

Another big plus is that you find so many items in the game that sometimes you don't know what to choose. And let's not forget about the armour, which you also collect so much during the course of the game that you can hold a separate fashion show.

But there's one thing that's important to note here: if you've played a lot of souls-like games, the combat system of Rise of the Ronin may not evoke any feelings at all. I was hardly ever friends with such games, and it was something new and interesting for me. Moreover, the game has 3 difficulty levels, so almost everyone can master it.

How can I become a better warrior?

The game has several skill branches. If you get a new level, you get points, and you spend them on a new skill. Also, some skills require special points that correspond to a particular branch, but they are given for different activities and are easy to collect. At the end of the game, I had almost all the skills open. So, just like in the situation of getting weapons or armour, the game does not stifle you, and we only support this.

There are also items that improve you for a short time. For example, you can make your katana fire, poison, or electrified, which is especially useful against bosses, as it results in additional damage and passive effects that will also deduct health from the enemy.

So the game's gameplay is the strongest element. An interesting combat system where you have to think all the time, a lot of weapons, armour, items to upgrade, a skill branch, and an open world that doesn't choke you with hundreds of activities. However, as mentioned above, this will appeal to the audience that has not played many games. For those who have experience of dozens or even hundreds of games behind them, Rise of the Ronin will not remain in their memory for long.

The technical side of 19th century Japan

On PlayStation 5, the game runs well, but it's not always possible to keep 60 fps, and sometimes there are drops to 50-45 frames, especially in open areas. There were also occasional visual bugs, but there were never any critical ones, and at the same time, the game did not crash for the entire 30 hours.

Visuals lost in time

Visually, the game is not impressive. Of course, Team Ninja has never focused on graphics, but Rise of the Ronin looks like a game from 2013, not 2024. There are not so many detailed objects in the game, facial animations are not at the highest level, there is also a problem with the drawing range, and textures can appear right before your eyes. I don't consider myself to be one of those players who need exceptional ultra-realistic graphics. It's fine for me to play games from the 2000s now, but you still expect more from a project from a non-indie studio in 2024. So Team Ninja needs to learn all the lessons and make the next game even better, because the games of this studio are good, but it's time for it to reach a new level.

The soundtrack immerses you in the Japan of that time

There are no questions about the soundtrack. All the compositions are in line with Japanese aesthetics, the ambient is also pleasant and helps to immerse you in the atmosphere, and the actors did a good job of voicing their characters. So the authors can only be praised for this.

How we will remember Rise of the Ronin

Rise of the Ronin will be remembered as a game that can interest newcomers to the industry, but has little to offer to those who have been playing games for a long time. Team Ninja managed to write a good story, make interesting gameplay, and convey the atmosphere of Japan at that time, but it was the visuals that let it down the most. If you are just exploring the world of gaming, I would advise you to pay attention to the project. Everyone else has probably already completed Ghost of Tsushima, so I can only wish Team Ninja good luck, and I sincerely want to believe that we'll talk next time: "The studio has reached a new level".

Five things you need to know about Rise of the Ronin

• Rise of the Ronin is an open-world adventure game by Team Ninja
• The game covers the Bakumatsu period, which marked the end of the shogunate in Japan
• Player's decisions affect further events in history
• The weakest element of the game is the visuals, which resemble 2013
• The best thing about the game is the gameplay. Fighting and exploring the world did not get boring even at 30 hours

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