Rise of the Rōnin is a combat focused open-world action RPG that takes place in Japan at a time of great change. It is the very end of a 300-year long Edo Period, commonly known as “Bakumatsu”. Set in the late 19th century, Japan is facing the darkest of times as it struggles with its oppressive rulers and deadly diseases while western influence permeates as civil war continues to rage between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Anti-Shogunate factions.
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The graphics aren't the best and its a little outdated in ways but that also gave the game a nice charm, spent around 50 hours in it and enjoyed it a lot. The story surprisingly picked up and became interesting. The combat and gameplay loop was fun too.
overshadowed by hype. great game
funniest game ever played
CONS
Main story dragged on a bit.
Decent but repetitive side activities.
Too many characters to keep track of.
Outdated graphics.
PROS
Decent combat with varying styles and weapons.
Decent story.
Quite a few likable characters.
Good variety of boss fights.
Main story dragged on a bit.
Decent but repetitive side activities.
Too many characters to keep track of.
Outdated graphics.
PROS
Decent combat with varying styles and weapons.
Decent story.
Quite a few likable characters.
Good variety of boss fights.
Decent, but very janky for a $70 game, glad I got it discounted.
At this point in time the ubislop school of open-world design is simply inexcusable, and is by far the biggest factor in play at making the game feel as bloated as it is.
Still, while it certainly overextends its welcome, Rise of the Ronin is pretty god damn fun to play thanks to its strong spoof in Sekiro's combat system that adds enough of its own identity to keep things interesting. The game however at times feels like a Frankenstein's monster of mechanics tacked on from Team Ninja's previous games: The gear stat system is completely pointless, 90% of the inventory might as well not be there, etc. Still, none of its mechanical messiness affects the core gameplay loop in any noticeable way, so while it is certainly pointless at the very least it is not disruptive at all.
Story also ended up being unexpectedly interesting; the Bakumatsu period has been heavily romanticized in popular fiction thanks to its myriad of larger-than-life personages, but I liked the way this game kept contrasting that starry-eyed idealism of its characters with the incredible amounts of bloodshed all their political action demanded, and the inherent tragedy of it all. The story does end up feeling rather messy towards the end due to its incredibly large cast (they really REALLY wanted all these historical figures to have their spotlight), but at the same time the actual period was a complete mess in real life too so I feel like the game ends up being reflective of that. I also find amusing how its most direct comparison, the American-made Ghost of Tsushima, ends up feeling much more nationalistic than the Japanese-made Rise of the Ronin lol.
Speaking of characters, I very much enjoyed how the game was not content with focusing only on the Big Warrior-slash-Politician People and also included plenty of real-life figures outside that big political circle. From courtesans and photographers to interpreters and firefighters, I appreciated how Rise of the Ronin acknowledged that the "little" people are as important to the tides of History as the more celebrated lawmakers and warriors are.
Anyway, while not an all-timer by any means, Rise of the Ronin is a pretty solid game that makes for a fun playthrough, and a very interesting take on the Bakumatsu period. I do hope Team Ninja's perpetual lack of proper identity doesn't make them forgo the open-world formula forever; if they manage to learn from Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring's much more interesting design choices and marry that to their already excellent combat design we could end up with something truly great in our hands in the future.
Still, while it certainly overextends its welcome, Rise of the Ronin is pretty god damn fun to play thanks to its strong spoof in Sekiro's combat system that adds enough of its own identity to keep things interesting. The game however at times feels like a Frankenstein's monster of mechanics tacked on from Team Ninja's previous games: The gear stat system is completely pointless, 90% of the inventory might as well not be there, etc. Still, none of its mechanical messiness affects the core gameplay loop in any noticeable way, so while it is certainly pointless at the very least it is not disruptive at all.
Story also ended up being unexpectedly interesting; the Bakumatsu period has been heavily romanticized in popular fiction thanks to its myriad of larger-than-life personages, but I liked the way this game kept contrasting that starry-eyed idealism of its characters with the incredible amounts of bloodshed all their political action demanded, and the inherent tragedy of it all. The story does end up feeling rather messy towards the end due to its incredibly large cast (they really REALLY wanted all these historical figures to have their spotlight), but at the same time the actual period was a complete mess in real life too so I feel like the game ends up being reflective of that. I also find amusing how its most direct comparison, the American-made Ghost of Tsushima, ends up feeling much more nationalistic than the Japanese-made Rise of the Ronin lol.
Speaking of characters, I very much enjoyed how the game was not content with focusing only on the Big Warrior-slash-Politician People and also included plenty of real-life figures outside that big political circle. From courtesans and photographers to interpreters and firefighters, I appreciated how Rise of the Ronin acknowledged that the "little" people are as important to the tides of History as the more celebrated lawmakers and warriors are.
Anyway, while not an all-timer by any means, Rise of the Ronin is a pretty solid game that makes for a fun playthrough, and a very interesting take on the Bakumatsu period. I do hope Team Ninja's perpetual lack of proper identity doesn't make them forgo the open-world formula forever; if they manage to learn from Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring's much more interesting design choices and marry that to their already excellent combat design we could end up with something truly great in our hands in the future.