Rise of the Ronin Game Review – A Razor-Sharp Action RPG Adventure

Team Ninja returns with the PlayStation 5 exclusive title Rise of the Ronin. While there’s an understandably heavy influence of the Nioh franchise in the developer’s latest title, this action RPG forgoes monsters and magic for a straight-up samurai adventure set during the Bakumatsu of the Edo period. Resultantly, there’s a lot of history (and fiction) to explore in 19th century Japan.

Entering the game, players create their Blade Twins (two assassins). Here, it’s possible to carefully and meticulously design both characters with a variety of options and accessories. Does it feature the character customization options that something like WWE 2K24 boasts? Absolutely not. And especially not at first, since Rise of the Ronin features a rich loot system where players are encouraged to explore the areas and environment to discover new (and hidden) items to kit out their ronin.

A rewarding combat system

As soon as the Blade Twins are created, it’s about choosing the combat style as well as the weapons at their disposal. This is where the real fun begins. The training session offers the player the opportunity to test out the different weapons and playing styles; however, do keep in mind it will be possible (and highly likely) to change weapons and styles later on in the game. So, don’t get too attached to dual swords like a certain author did.

There’s nothing quite like experiencing combat in a real high-stakes situation, though, and that’s exactly what the introductory mission does in Rise of the Ronin. It thrusts the Blade Twins into a dangerous scenario that forces them to learn how to use their weapons, block, parry, and also rotate between characters for maximum effect. While it’s far from the most grueling game ever created, it pays to invest time in getting the basics right since the gameplay mechanics build upon these fundamentals. Failure to learn how to parry, dodge, or block attacks will have serious repercussions down the line.

Diving deeper into Rise of the Ronin’s gameplay and bonding

Combat aside, the Rise of the Ronin experience grows as a player dives deeper into the other aspects of the gameplay. From gliding to swimming, the adventure isn’t only about blades and bullets. In typical RPG fashion, the way in which a player responds to a situation or another character holds consequences for how the story progresses. Building bonds with villages and other ronin proves to be critical to getting ahead and fostering relationships that will come in handy later, so don’t slaughter everyone like a 19th century Anakin Skywalker.

And as with any RPG, accumulating skill points and gaining new weapons and items are essential to leveling up characters. The menu options are clunky and about as user friendly as any Windows update, though, so it might take a little while to get used to where everything is and how to find it again. That said, at the rate the player should accumulate loot, it’s a good idea to keep seeing what’s in the inventory and selling off the less-powerful items for cash.

A recognizable story and stunning locations

From a storytelling perspective, Rise of the Ronin doesn’t overwhelm nor veer down an unexpected direction. Without getting into spoiler territory, it’s a tale told many times before, but it unravels in a satisfactory manner. Instead of reinventing the storytelling wheel, Team Ninja pushes the player to find their own story through the exploration of a vast and eye-catching environment. Sure, the missions and side quests might start to feel a little long in the tooth and similar after a point, but the open world never fails to captivate the attention and feel like a teleportation back to the Edo era.

In the lead-up to its release, Rise of the Ronin received a lot of criticism for not being more like this or that game, which is slightly unfair to judge it by those standards. On its own merit, this action RPG delivers a rich and compelling experience that should keep gamers entertained for days on end. Is it perfect? No, but like the weapons the ronin carry, the jagged and rough edges are what give it character.