Rise of the Ronin Reviews
Team Ninja borrows the open-world familiarity and historical tourism of Assassin's Creed while adapting its own breed of hardcore action for the mainstream.
Rise of the Ronin marries a cool setting, Team Ninja’s mastery of tough-but-fair combat, and smart RPG design, even when map clutter and junk loot can get in its way.
It feels like nobody in Rise of the Ronin is connected to the world or its events, much in the same way most mechanics of the game don’t feel connected to each other. The game is inconsistent and unpolished. Annoying stat-crunching, a poorly handled story, and some really awful boss fights make it feel like a bad Soulslike was bolted on to something that could’ve been so much better. But its traversal mechanics, top-notch side missions, sublime open world, and the varied and likeable characters you can build relationships with all help prop up its weaker elements.
"Enemy AI appears torn between realistic long-distance vision (which is neat but totally un-video game-friendly) and some pretty non-existent hearing"
Almost nothing in Rise of the Rōnin is outright bad, but it is Exhibit A in any argument about why action games are not dozens of hours long or why open-world designs do not fit every mold. For all the inspirations the game wears on its sleeve, it never rises above them, and thus feels like a title in search of an identity and desperate for a specific kind of player. It’s sometimes a good time, just not for a long time.
Though it has a somewhat steep combat learning curve and some dated open-world ideas, Rise of the Ronin does a great job of rewarding your time in its world.
For better and worse, Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja’s “Greatest Hits” RPG. There might be a dud or two in the tracklist, but on the whole, this record—I mean, game—bangs.
It's a disappointing change of stance from Team Ninja, and one that could leave them open to an unfortunately mortal blow.
Team Ninja shot for the moon and delivered a fun open-world action game that, despite its faults, is an excellent experience. Rise of the Ronin provides a fantastic new vision for Team Ninja.
Rise of the Ronin is a solid open world action adventure that rarely puts a foot wrong, but is unlikely to set the world on fire either.
Rise of the Ronin is a competent open-world game that suffers from too much bloat. While there are story pacing problems and too many meaningless interactions, Rise of the Ronin is the best iteration of Nioh’s systems translated into an open-world game.
Rise of the Ronin is the culmination of the combat formula that Team Ninja has using since Nioh. A beautiful game, complex and simple at the same time, and a lot of fun. Katanas and firearms to close a a great first quarter of the year for PlayStation.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is not a perfect game and has its fair share of flaws, but it still is really impressive. Its landscapes and many scenarios paint the amazing picture of the Edo era in Japan masterfully, and you can add on top of that a gameplay that is incredibly solid mostly thanks to its flawless battle mechanics. Overall, Rise of the Ronin is a game that will satisfy an incredibly wide range of audiences.
Review in Spanish | 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 incredible open-world action-RPG. Its version of Bakumatsu era Japan is beautiful and delightful to explore, with plenty of activities that don’t fall deep into the open-world genre’s trap of being tedious. Its combat and customization are also incredibly well-refined, allowing you to become the martial artist you want to be, whether it’s an assassin, brigand, gunslinger, or more. The characters were fun to get to know and help a lot in reducing what would otherwise be some ridiculously difficult fights in the game. Don’t get me wrong though, this game has moments where it’s Team Ninja hard. Nonetheless, it’s still an incredible journey of cultural revolution and familial salvation. Between its solid combat, varied open world, and enjoyable characters, Rise of the Ronin sets a new tier of excellence in Team Ninja’s game design.
An enjoyable counterpart to Ghost Of Tsushima, with some truly excellent combat, but the bloated open world elements can often suffocate your enjoyment.
If you're not careful with a sharp katana, you risk cutting yourself. Luckily, Rise of the Ronin unsheathes itself with a sublime combat and a very attractive story for lovers of the most samurai Japan. There are significant shortcomings, but Team Ninja makes a much more precise cut than imagined with this ambitious game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin has an excellent parrying system that makes its Soulslike gameplay feel challenging, yet fair compared to its contemporaries.
Rise of the Ronin fails to impress through its open-world sandbox or graphical fidelity, but it can still provide dozens of hours of fun thanks to a great combat system, an impressive amount of content, and an interesting story.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is a massive gamble for Team Ninja, known for its more linear action games, but it's one that has paid off. Rise of the Ronin has a lot of depth to it from the satisfying combat, to all the side activities across three broad regions, and the plethora of excellent characters. This game should mark the start of a grand new era for Team Ninja.