Rise of the Ronin Reviews
Rise of the Ronin is the first open world from Team Ninja, which seeks to elevate its action RPG formula to a new level. In this new production, there will be no Oni or monsters to eliminate, but a scenario of clashes between the now former samurai opposed to the decisions of the Tokugawa shogunate and westerners from the United States, who wish to enter fully into the trade and life of the Japanese people. Within this era of historical transition, known as the Bakkumatsu, stands the game's protagonist, a ronin, who will set out to find his own twin blade, a comrade-in-arms he has trained with since childhood, believed dead. The open world created by Team Ninja will offer many elements of exploration, missions with multiple decision-making choices and collectables to collect. But the core of the game remains the combat system; Rise of the Ronin does not reward button-mashing in the slightest, but provides smooth and elegant combat that will make you focus on deflection and counterattack, which are necessary to survive. Although the graphics do not compare to other first-party titles from Sony, Rise of the Ronin will captivate you with its over-the-top gameplay and historical accuracy of mid-19th century Japan.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Whether it’s the skillful, satisfying combat, the occasionally gorgeous recreation of 1860s Japan, or the powerful idea of getting into shenanigans and making story-altering choices with real historical figures, Rise of the Ronin has it all. However, whatever novelty exists at the start eventually gives way to the worst kind of open-world gruel.
Rise of the Ronin isn't just Team Ninja's most ambitious game to date; it's also its most important one. With this title, the studio has pivoted into a bold new direction while still retaining the essence of its classic titles. However, if the studio's past games didn't click for you, it's unlikely that Rise of the Ronin will. But if they did, this will feel like a radical improvement from Team Ninja's previous titles, with plenty to be excited about what lies ahead.
Rise of the Ronin is a great game with rewarding combat and an engaging historical narrative, but it's primarily for action lovers as exploration often leads to battles.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is an unfortunate example of what happens when the chase for mainstream appeal goes in the way of creative identity. While it's still a fairly enjoyable action game when it allows itself to be, it's ultimately bogged down by half-baked mechanics that make the world feel emptier than it looks.
Rise of the Rōnin is an another great PlayStation title. It's not GotY material, but it does its job well.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is a step back for Team Ninja. The whole experience feels like a tech demo that was put aside and pulled out of a drawer at the last minute. The karma system, historical elements, and music make the game at least an average experience that will be appreciated only by die-hard fans of, for example, the second Assassin's Creed and the Japanese theme.
Review in Czech | 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
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
Rise of The Rónin offers everything you can expect from a Team Ninja game. Although they are impressive as usual, in presenting an excellent combat style and of the utmost fun, and it reaches its climax with boss fights, but also, as usual, the game fails in presenting a good story. Or a distinctive stage design, in addition to their creation of a mediocre open world, and a stealth system devoid of innovation spoiled by artificial intelligence, with the end result being that it is only a good game.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Rise Of The Ronin is not a missed opportunity but certainly not one of those exclusives that will be remembered for years to come, either. The excellent combat system crafted by Team Ninja, along with an engaging story that is respectful of the historical period used as a setting, make it an enjoyable game and, certainly, capable of beguiling fans of Ronin, Samurai and stories set in ancient Japan. At the same time, however, an obvious inexperience with the reference genre, coupled with an insufficient technical compartment.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is a great game for everyone who's looking for a new Samurai adventure to sink their teeth into. With a great historical story, impeccable and spectacular combat and amazing visual style, Rise of the Ronin delivers everything you would expect from a Team Ninja title. Add to this classic formula an interesting open world and some fun co-op and you have a great game on your hands. Some small technical issues hold this game back, but they will no doubt be fixed in the future.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
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.
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 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
Rise of the Ronin may not push the boundaries of the open-world genre, but it’s an enjoyable game with superb combat, deep mechanics and a great cast of characters. Highly recommend it if you enjoy samurai games like Ghost of Tsushima or past Team Ninja games like Nioh and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.
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
Rise Of The Ronin is a deep insight into the history of Japan from the perspectives of many individuals while also carrying its own parallel narrative of your character. A massive feat in itself. The open world is full of things to do and the combat is strategically paced but also refreshing as you upgrade it with your stances, equipment and skill trees. Any issues I had with this title were very surface-level and didn’t ruin my time at all. Rise Of The Ronin was an intriguing horse in the race of games so far this year, and I lapped up everything it had to give. It might be more subtle from Team Ninja but it’s just as impressive.
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
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.