New Horizons for Samurai: Rise of the Ronin Struggles to Balance Ambition and Execution

In the realm of video gaming, it appears to be Samurai season. The rich history of medieval Japan has been a frequent source of inspiration; titles like Okami, Onimusha, Tenchu, and Total War have previously ventured into this territory with both artistry and intensity. However, a few recent hits have reignited passion for sword wielders and ninjas. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice set a modern action game ethos against Japan’s chaotic history, while Ghost of Tsushima elevated the open-world, action-adventure genre for stories centered around Samurai.

Rise of the Ronin, the latest action-RPG from Team Ninja released on March 22, finds itself in the middle of these two titles. Taking place in the latter years of the Edo period, the game utilizes intricate role-playing mechanics and demanding parry-based combat reminiscent of Sekiro, while offering a vast open world adorned with activities and diversions akin to Ghost of Tsushima — which, in turn, drew from the familiar open-world frameworks established by Assassin’s Creed. Nevertheless, in its hybrid approach, Rise of the Ronin sacrifices the intensity and clarity of Team Ninja’s renowned combat mechanics from previous titles and fails to introduce new innovations to the open world concept.

This doesn’t imply that Rise of the Ronin lacks originality in the genre. Its combat strikes a commendable balance between accessibility and challenge, providing a wide range of unique melee and ranged weapon options and combat stances. The ally system incentivizes engagement with side quests to enhance your relationship with companions. Furthermore, the historically accurate setting offers a more authentic portrayal of the era compared to other games set in medieval Japan. However, despite its valiant effort to maintain the fine line between unforgiving combat and the ambitions of modern open-world games, Rise of the Ronin frequently succumbs to monotony.

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The narrative unfolds during the tumultuous decline of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the mid-19th century, a period marked by significant upheaval in Japan, heralding a political and cultural transformation. Rise of the Ronin commences with the Blade Twins, Siamese protagonists who have trained alongside each other within the Veiled Edge resistance against the Shogunate. You can customize the twins’ appearance and select their gender at the outset, but gameplay is centered on one twin while the other acts as your companion. An early assassination mission goes awry, resulting in the loss of your partner.

Your journey spirals into a lengthy cycle of revenge that leads you through Yokohama, Edo, and Kyoto, as you navigate the era’s volatile political landscape. Throughout your quest, you encounter historical personalities who played vital roles in shaping Japan’s destiny. In Yokohama, your first city to explore, you befriend Ryoma Sakamoto, a prominent samurai from the Bakumatsu period. Together with Sakamoto and his companions, you undertake missions against the Shogunate, while also having the choice to pursue objectives that support the Shogunate’s interests.

The early chapters of Rise of the Ronin set you on a vengeful path
Photo Credit: Team Ninja/ Screenshot — Manas Mitul

This choice-driven aspect remains vital to gameplay in Rise of the Ronin. Depending on how you tackle your missions, your allegiances may shift, altering your interactions with individuals on both sides of the conflict. At an early stage, I was faced with the dilemma of either eliminating a minor antagonist or sparing him at the end of a mission. Opting for mercy led him to become a key ally, assisting me in later main missions. Rise of the Ronin offers several meaningful choices during its narrative arc, making the story feel personalized and unique to each player’s journey.

As you advance, the story broadens along with your objectives. What begins as a personal vendetta evolves into a sweeping tale of political machinations and national significance set against a Japan on the brink of revolution. Your initial forays in Yokohama and its neighboring areas transition you to Edo (historically Tokyo) and Kyoto, allowing you to gather allies and delve into Japan’s historical narrative. Though the setting is captivating, the expansive storyline, which involves numerous significant and minor characters, sometimes struggles under its own ambition. Like most RPGs, Rise of the Ronin employs a lighter narrative approach, missing the emotional depth and character-focused structure seen in titles like Ghost of Tsushima.

Yokohama is the first location you explore in Rise of the Ronin
Photo Credit: Team Ninja/ Screenshot — Manas Mitul

The main storyline is not a straightforward affair. Completing it can easily take over 20 hours, with side quests and exploration adding at least another 20 hours. Even if you were to focus solely on the main missions (which may be difficult), it’s easy to lose track of everything in play. Numerous factions, side characters, allies, and antagonists vie for your attention and allegiance. Over time, they meld into a homogeneous mix of NPCs delivering expository dialogue, with only a handful standing out as memorable. The side quests remain consistently lackluster, expanding the game map with markers promising activities, but these offerings fail to introduce anything new or compelling to the existing framework.

Although Rise of the Ronin may not excel in storytelling, it boasts mechanical depth. From its assortment of weapon choices and combat stances to intricate skill trees and a detailed bonding system, the game incorporates a great deal—sometimes surpassing its capacity. Gameplay shares similarities with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, yet lacks its punishing difficulty and intricate combat mechanics. Team Ninja titles have garnered a reputation for their challenging systems without compromises. Both their Nioh series and the recent Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty maintained the Soulsborne philosophy, emphasizing arduous combat and complex level designs. Rise of the Ronin, however, makes its combat more approachable through single-button combos, a forgiving parry system, and a diverse range of weapons and abilities suitable for various encounters. The open world design also aligns it with contemporary action-adventure titles, providing opportunities to explore when confronted with difficult challenges.

The open world of Rise of the Ronin allows for exploration beyond the main narrative
Photo Credit: Team Ninja

Let’s examine the combat system. Although it lacks the brutal difficulty of prior Team Ninja games, it remains quite demanding. Each weapon type has three different stances, effective against specific adversaries. While the combat moves can be straightforward, allowing for combos with a single button, the wide variety of weapons ensures a dynamic experience. Each weapon feels distinct; for instance, the uchigatana is versatile while the spear offers precision, and the hefty swing of an odachi contrasts sharply with the quick jabs of dual swords. The polearm’s rigid design stands in contrast to the agile movements possible with an oxtail blade.

Each weapon comes with its own set of unique animations and martial skills, functioning similarly to weapon arts in Elden Ring, executing powerful attacks via the right bumper and designated buttons on the PS5 DualSense controller. I frequently switched my arsenal to experience various styles and mitigate the tedium of the combat system. A range of ranged weapon choices is also present. Revolvers are quick and can incapacitate enemies at close range with precise timing. Rifles offer accuracy for long-range engagements, while bows cater to stealth scenarios, including elemental arrows like fire and acid.

Combat in Rise of the Ronin is approachable yet retains a level of challenge
Photo Credit: Team Ninja

Melee combat requires players to parry, block, or dodge incoming strikes and respond with swift combos to defeat adversaries. Similar to previous releases from Team Ninja, all offensive and defensive moves rely on your Ki, or stamina. Your health gauge includes a Ki meter that diminishes with dodges, blocks, and attacks. While Ki regenerates during periods of inactivity, excessive use can deplete it quickly, exposing you to heavy damage. The same applies to your foes; normal strikes, martial arts, and well-timed counters, known as countersparks in the game, reduce their Ki, eventually making them vulnerable to significant hits.

While Rise of the Ronin checks many boxes for a contemporary action-RPG, the combat doesn’t quite match the tightness and finesse seen in Sekiro. Counterspark deflections, activated by the triangle button, feel awkward compared to other actions, making timing challenging. The parry window isn’t strictly narrow, but the accompanying animation feels exaggerated, which detracts from the snappiness required for such a maneuver. Managing inventory during intense combat can also be cumbersome; swapping between equipped melee weapons, a ranged weapon, and healing or status items disrupts the flow and overwhelms the player with menus. Custom loadout slots assist, but a more seamless weapon-switching system would enhance gameplay.

Utilizing stealth is advantageous for disabling enemy camps
Photo Credit: Team Ninja/ Screenshot — Manas Mitul

Combat in Rise of the Ronin may not deliver the desired responsiveness, but it remains enjoyable. Testing various weapons provides an invigorating experience as you take on multiple foes, seamlessly shifting stances to counter diverse opponents. Taking down an enemy camp, a frequent task in the game, demands careful planning. I found this aspect reminiscent of the camps in Far Cry, where players are granted the freedom to approach the situation however they choose. You can either engage enemies head-on or stealthily dispatch unaware guards one at a time. Although combat appears fluid, it doesn’t always feel as smooth, and the martial abilities associated with each weapon often feature intricate animations that infuse excitement into battles. The skill trees, distributed across Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Charm traits, also help to enhance combat depth, offering extra capabilities to enrich the overall experience.

During major missions, you are accompanied by chosen allies from characters you have befriended over time. The strength of your bond with these companions determines their efficiency in combat. Allies become invaluable during challenging boss encounters, as they can draw enemy attention, allowing you to strike effectively. Furthermore, you have the option to control your allies in main missions as well. Each ally is carefully crafted with well-defined personalities and characteristics, and helping them with personal favors develops your bonds, leading to further character revelations. Additionally, these allies are intricately woven into the overarching plot, where your choices may significantly impact their destinies. Consequently, over time, players naturally develop a connection with them and their ambitions.

Your allies provide vital assistance in battles
Photo Credit: Team Ninja/ Screenshot — Manas Mitul

While exploring the open world, you have company through ally NPCs and real players online in co-op mode, but outside of these missions, you’re often on your own. You are equipped with a horse, grappling hook, and glider for quicker navigation. The horse excels in traversing the countryside, while the grappling hook and glider are advantageous in urban settings. Despite these tools suggesting fluid movement similar to parkour mechanics in Assassin’s Creed titles, the Blade Twin presents surprisingly rigid controls. Although you can utilize ladders, strategically positioned crates, and hanging ropes to climb, and even leap between rooftops, on-foot movement lacks the desired fluidity.

The open-world aspects of Rise of the Ronin adhere fairly closely to standard expectations of the genre: an endless and perpetually expanding list of tasks and side quests. Clearing an enemy stronghold in a particular region populates that map with icons indicating available activities. These include simplistic tasks like petting stray cats, assisting allies, fulfilling NPC requests, photography quests, landmark discovery, target shooting, and “random” encounters. This quickly becomes monotonous, as the limited variety among quests lacks motivation for players to engage with supplementary content. Transitioning to an open-world design doesn’t necessarily yield depth in Rise of the Ronin, aside from offering the freedom to meander before returning to reflect on the main storyline. Prior Team Ninja games thrived on fast-paced, linear level design, while this latest installment diminishes tension by adopting an open world formula. Unlike Elden Ring, it fails to innovate the open-world conventional techniques that have become commonplace.

Relationships you build in Rise of the Ronin significantly influence the narrative
Photo Credit: Team Ninja/ Screenshot — Manas Mitul

Visually, Rise of the Ronin fails to leave a lasting impression. I might excuse this more readily if the game maintained a linear design like Nioh, but open worlds necessitate stunning landscapes and captivating environments. A rich visual style and vibrant locales are essential. Unfortunately, Rise of the Ronin appears bland and lackluster in contrast to its modern open-world counterparts. The game suffers from a lack of environmental diversity and texture detail, while character models don’t hold up against its competitors. While there are moments when the graphics shine, it’s easy to overlook the absence of polish, yet the standards set by titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon Forbidden West are high. Though it may be unfair to expect a Team Ninja game to reach this benchmark, Rise of the Ronin could have benefitted from a more distinctive visual approach to counter its limitations in graphical fidelity.

The performance on the PS5, however, is largely commendable. The game offers a 60fps performance mode alongside a 30fps graphics mode and another 30fps ray-tracing variant that activates ray-traced lighting. I opted for the performance mode as the graphics enhancements in other modes didn’t justify the framerate drop. The framerate generally remains stable, though some dips are noticeable in busy areas and densely populated cities. As a PS5 exclusive, Rise of the Ronin effectively utilizes the DualSense controller’s features, boasting responsive haptic feedback and adaptive trigger responses tied to in-game actions.

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While Rise of the Ronin can look impressive, it lacks the refinement seen in contemporary open-world titles
Photo Credit: Team Ninja/ Screenshot — Manas Mitul

Rise of the Ronin serves as Team Ninja’s most ambitious project to date. Renowned for their intense and linear Soulslike offerings, the studio is broadening its horizons this time, aiming to engage a wider audience more inclined towards open-world experiences. This shift makes sense for a studio whose previous works were confined to a niche audience, as their latest venture strives for greater accessibility. While Team Ninja largely succeeds in intertwining the distinctive essence of its games with the well-established conventions of the open-world genre, there remains a fundamental issue.

That core framework itself has grown stale in recent years. Titles that do not infuse their unique perspective into the genre often fade into obscurity amidst a sea of similar releases. With Elden Ring, FromSoftware pushed the boundaries of game scale, choosing not to simply adapt the open-world mold but to challenge the established norms consistently. Rise of the Ronin does not follow suit; its world is largely uninspired both in execution and creativity, although its central mechanics and an engaging story help it rise above the mediocrity.

The ally system brings meaningful choices and a sense of depth to each character within the game. The extensive array of weapons and items keeps combat engaging and fresh. Moreover, the evocative setting and memorable cast of characters drive the story forward. Despite wobbles and weaknesses, Rise of the Ronin strives to overreach its capabilities, but commendably, it manages to stay upright.

Pros

• Engaging combat
• Intriguing story and setting
• Charismatic characters
• Variety of weapons and tools
• Impactful ally system

Cons

• Generic open world design
• Insufficient visual appeal
• Repetitive side missions
• Clumsy inventory management

Rating (out of 10): 7

Rise of the Ronin was launched on March 22, exclusively for PS5.

The starting price is Rs. 4,999 for the Standard Edition at the PlayStation Store for PS5.

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