Rise of the Ronin Reviews
Rise of the Ronin’s story is still good enough to keep players hooked, effectively luring them into the gameplay loop, which does have plenty of its own merits. But it’s dubious whether the various iniquities of the game are good enough to justify where it goes, especially knowing that all that effort can’t change which way the wind is blowing for Japan by the end.
Rise of the Ronin surpasses Ghost of Tsushima in many aspects (with the exception of graphics), while offering a highly entertaining slice of Japanese history. And the high level of variation and the plethora of options make Ubisoft managers cry in the closet.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin shows that once again Team Ninja knows how to do fun combat systems with a ton of depth, unfortunately the rest of the package isn't quite up to par, with a disappointing story and structure that make the game drag on.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
This was perhaps one of the games I most wanted to play in 2024. The theme of samurai in 19th century Japan is something that fascinates me immensely and, despite being a theme in many games over the last few years, this title had awakened me something through the trailers. However, the end result was disastrous, with terrible performance and gameplay that only gets away with it thanks to the combat (which, in turn, becomes repetitive very easily). The story is interesting but the way it is told is ineffective. which makes it difficult to interpret and at the end of the day, the only thing left is the combat which, perhaps even interesting for fans of “Soulslike”, however they won’t find the same difficulty as they do in a “NIOH”, for example In the end, Rise of the Ronin ends up being just another samurai game without a unique identity, which will only be recognized for being mediocre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
Rise of the Ronin is an immersive open-world title that does a lot of work to value the time of its players, making for a rewarding journey.
Team Ninja's ambitious open-world action RPG is one of the best games about the Bakumatsu era ever, but its repetitive, uninspired open-world activities bog down what is an otherwise captivating experience.
Rise of Ronin really likes its players, and that’s what I love most about it. While its world features a lot of busywork, it’s also a joy to explore thanks to how easy and versatile movement is. An enthralling combat system openly traces the best of Sekiro and Nioh, serving the extract in a more accessible fashion with a huge variety of ways to fight. While co-op is restrictive, it’s still really funny to go online and turn bosses into confetti, plus you can run a cat rental service.
Rise of the Ronin uses exciting combat and character-driven story scenes to tell the story of one of the most interesting periods of Japanese history. Between slightly different combat and an open world with a ton of extra activities, it doesn't quite fit into the soulslike mold and is a far more accessible game for it.
A refined Team Ninja's action met an open-world experience. While the story unfolds like a grand drama of Japanese history, the limited impact of player choices is a drawback. The inclusion of sensitive real-life figures and the system for building rapport with them may justify the cancellation of the official release in Korea.
Review in Korean | Read full review
If you have the time and the inclination Rise of the Ronin is a deep game with a rich, character-driven, story. However, you'll have to do battle with the controls, the multitude of systems, and endless reserves of useless loot, as well as your enemies, to get there.
Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja's first open-world game and arguably their most ambitious title to date. We will travel through a part of Feudal Japan during the last years of the Edo period and we will be indirect participants in one of the most turbulent historical periods of the country of the rising sun while we pursue our own objective. Team Ninja has known how to tell the story and introduce us to it brilliantly, and has given us its best combat system to date, however the open world that it offers us beyond being historically achieved, only fulfills and visually does not take advantage of the system power. Despite this, Rise of the Ronin is still a highly recommended and enjoyable game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
With its well designed open world and a great gameplay system full of variety, Rise of the Ronin is one of Team Ninja's great games.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is little new and yet a lot of fun. The battle system from Nioh and Wo Long meets a classic open world, adds a story full of decisions for the duo protagonists and makes it more beginner-friendly overall. If you like the setting and don't expect any major innovations, you'll have an entertaining adventure on the island nation.
Review in German | Read full review
A successful attempt by Team Ninja to make a game in an open world. Even though there is little innovation here, it is not boring to follow the story (and influence it) and fight in fierce battles for dozens of hours.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is one of those games that is filled with many strengths and weaknesses. Combat is extremely engaging and fun, but on the other hand, its world is too shallow, story is disappointing and visuals are outdated. You can enjoy it, but keep your expectations low.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin struggles to find its identity in ways that hinder what would otherwise be one of Team Ninja's finest works. A compelling story told against the backdrop of the 1850s Bakumatsu Period is instead overshadowed by a vapid and uninspired open-world setting and a narrative that rarely feels like the player has agency.
Without the time crunch to get a review out for it, Rise of the Ronin would be the sort of game that I’d keep on the backburner to come back to every now and then. It’s something I’d rather not rush through as I want to hear what it has to say, not just in regards to its narrative, but as someone who’s keenly interested in its setting and the way in which it portrays a Japan that was in a deep identity crisis. With this and excellent new Shogun show, the true battle is finding the time to devote to them as they justly deserve.
Rise of the Ronin’s blend of thrilling strategic combat and intriguing player-driven storytelling ensures it stands out as another hit for the PlayStation 5. It can be a bit guilty of being by the numbers with its open world design, but at the same time offers a satisfying sense of discovery as well as plenty of excitement to ensure it doesn’t grow tiring for the player. And come on, who doesn’t want to use a grappling hook or glider to get around? It’s definitely not as pretty to look at as some of the other big PlayStation 5 console exclusives, but it always delivers where it matters most: the gameplay. The combat is some of the best we’ve seen from Team Ninja, the world is enthralling to uncover, whilst the decisions you make will genuinely shape how your journey unfolds in satisfying ways.
If you’re looking for a genre-defining samurai game, you won’t find it here with Rise of the Ronin. Despite its run of the mill open world formula and last-generation graphics, Rise of the Ronin’s commendable accessibility options, fascinating historical backdrop, and addictively refined combat allow it to reach an audience far more than Team Ninja’s titles did before, for better or for worse.