Rise of the Ronin Reviews
Accessible, fun, and full of ambition, Rise of the Ronin will have you hooked on its combat no matter what type of player you are - with an exciting story of engaging characters being bloodied icing on the cake. Sure, some of its RPG systems won’t be for everyone, but Team Ninja’s first open-world effort is almost everything you could want from an action-packed samurai game set in Japan.
Providing Team Ninja iron out some of the creases in a post-launch patch, this could still be seen as a retainer—possibly a worthy companion piece to anybody hooked on the Shogun miniseries.
Rise of the Rōnin is a fascinating game. It makes up for its lack of polish with a considerable amount of charm. And this charm makes me like the game more than many other polished but soulless AAA games. Yes, the graphics are dated, the mission design is repetitive and the enemies are dumb as dirt. But the combat system and traveling through the open world are so much fun that these criticisms pale into insignificance. When I switch off my brain and enjoy the excellent action, time flies by with the game. Rise of the Rōnin may not be flawless, but it offers a damn fun and captivating gaming experience that no fan of samurai and Japan should miss out on.
Review in German | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin's exhilarating combat, accessibility and open world will appeal to Team Ninja fans and newcomers to the Soulslike genre, even if it's more safe than innovative.
Team Ninja once again shows its quality by further improving an excellent combat system and adapting this to an open-world game. Masterfully representing Japan in one of its most troubled periods, in addition to delivering a complete package of quality, Rise of the Ronin only fails in technical aspects and in some design decisions that can compromise in the end.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
In spite of solid combat and fun traversal, Rise of the Ronin is, unfortunately, Team Ninja's most underwhelming game in years.
Rise Of The Ronin is Team Ninja's best title to date, perhaps on par with Nioh 2. It's not the most revolutionary title, but the developer continues to shape the Souls-like genre into their own distinctive style and that continues with this latest game. If you're looking for a meaty historical open-world game that's not too difficult but still provides a bit of a challenge, Rise Of The Ronin is that game.
While Rise of the Ronin looks a little out-of-date as a PS5 exclusive, its robust choose-your-own-adventure system and Team Ninja's best and fairest combat system to date make it a worthy addition to the PS5's exclusives catalogue.
Rise of the Ronin isn't necessarily an awful game, it's just one that's quite unremarkable. When this project was first unveiled back in 2022, I was ecstatic to see Team Ninja tackle the open-world genre and was curious to see how the studio would bring its own unique ideas to this format. Instead, virtually nothing that Team Ninja has done with Rise of the Ronin is enough to set itself apart from a growing deluge of games in the genre. With so many other titles to choose from in this space, there are far better options that warrant your time and attention.
While it does have an interesting and dynamic narrative premise, Rise of the Ronin fails to deliver a story worthy of awards or great praise. However, its combat stands out for its depth and for being fun, once again showcasing where Team Ninja truly excels.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
"Rise of the Ronin treads too closely with games we have already experienced."
In feudal times, ronin was a samurai without a master. Being your own master is the feeling delivered by Team Ninja's newest title Rise of the Ronin. Freely roaming huge open world districts with trusty horse companion, gliding throughout architecturally stunning cities of 19th century Japan, switching around diverse combat stances, making bonds with true friend and have epic duels against mighty foes. Moreover this grounded adventure from Bakumatsu period sprinkled with various creative liberties let's you experience Japan's grand opening to the world.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
While Rise of the Ronin suffers from outdated and unattractive graphics, the story and gameplay more than make up for it with a wealth of varied and interesting content available paired with good storytelling that keeps players engaged and wanting to know more. Fans of Team Ninja may be disappointed from the step down in combat quality, but nonetheless it is an enjoyable title that we can recommend at full price.
Rise of the Ronin doesn’t offer the photo-realistic visuals of those seen in Ghost of Tsushima, nor does it provide the nail-biting difficulty of Sekiro. Instead, Team Ninja’s samurai epic successfully forges a new path – blending adrenaline-fueled combat, fun traversal mechanics, and a loveable cast of characters, wrapping them all together in a world ripe for exploration. Just like the ronin themselves, Team Ninja’s open-world game is not bound by the old masters of the past – instead, it rises to the challenge set by Sucker Punch and FromSoftware, forging its own path to stand firmly amongst them.
Rise of the Ronin is nothing if not ambitious, and though that ambition leads to the game not being as polished as you may expect from a PS5 release, it still manages to tell an enthralling story in which your actions truly matter, while also utilizing a unique bond mechanic, an in-depth -albeit slightly repetitive - combat system, and so much to do you'll find yourself losing sleep in an effort to complete just one more task. Those approaching Rise of the Ronin like the next Nioh will likely leave disappointed, but those who approach Team Ninja's latest effort with an open mind and patience will find a gem that just happens to have a few rough edges.
Rise of the Ronin isn't a bad game; it's something debatably worse: completely forgettable. With dated open world design and a monotonous narrative, the cracking combat of a Team Ninja title is left to try and pick up the pieces. It manages to get the title in acceptable shape, and with its Bonds system and culture clash, just about forms an experience one could enjoy. Where it falls apart is the fact the open world is so intrinsically linked to all these features and mechanics that it's impossible to find pleasure in them for any respectable length of time. Rise of the Ronin is designed to attract a wider audience than Team Ninja titles past; what they find might put them off for good.
Rise of the Ronin is a fine open world adventure that never elevates itself to greatness. Fun Team Ninja combat will drag you through, but pointless open world fluff and questionable visuals sadly result in just another open world game.
Rise of the Ronin takes you to an exciting time in Japanese history. However, that says it all. Rise of the Ronin borrows many elements from well-known games such as Assassin's Creed and Nioh. The combat can be relatively frustrating due to the different styles you have to learn. There is also a lot to experience in the open world, but it is not always beautiful or challenging. Rise of the Ronin is therefore primarily a game where you can enjoy yourself for a short time.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Rise of Ronin is a mindblowing action-adventure open-world RPG set at the end of the Shogun Era. While the game may have soul-like elements, not the difficulty, allowing more people to enjoy the game. Inspired by many mechanics from Nioh titles, the game boasts to have a compelling story with the freedom of shaping your future under your control. Rise of Ronin also excels with fluid combat and amazing sights but slightly lacks in matching the current generation graphics.
Rise of the Ronin is another action-heavy success story for samurai heavy-hitters, Team Ninja. The world and setting are perfectly suited to enhance the roleplaying depth of the game's design as your unnamed hero makes important choices in a divided world. Fun is always at the forefront, even if certain open-world tropes lead to rinse-and-repeat content. This is because the moment-to-moment gameplay, including both traversal and combat, remains delightfully engaging throughout. The dialogue can be hit or miss, but Rise of the Ronin still finds a way to satisfy, in both its big action setpieces as well as those tiny little details.