Rise of the Ronin Reviews

Rise of the Ronin is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
TrueGaming
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

Rise of the Rōnin is a very solid game though it still suffers from open-wrld-fatigue and a feel of repitition after spending enough time with it. Still, the Bond feature and the ability to alter the course of the story are a very welcomed additions to this type of game.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

It’s safe to say that Rise of the Ronin is perhaps Koei Tecmo’s largest and most ambitious game yet. There’s tens of hours of fun to be had here, living out your fantasy life as a Ronin. Who you ally yourself with and how you develop your character is up to you, and with so many options, you could have a very different experience compared to a friend who is also playing. It’s just a shame that its open world areas aren’t a little more interesting; it ends up diluting the experience on the whole. Still, whether you love open world games, action RPGs or simply like the idea of being a samurai, Rise of the Ronin is worthy of your attention.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 31, 2024

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

8 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

Rise of the Ronin really demands that you give it a fair go. It starts off slow and takes a while to get running. Once it does, it's quite fun, with engaging and exciting combat that feels more demanding and intense than I'm used to from an open-world game. It's a big investment up front to find out if the game works for you, and enjoying previous Team Ninja games doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 22, 2024

While Team Ninja's first open-world game felt dated and same as other open-world games in some ways, incredibly successful gameplay, which the team has now mastered, and the fun-to-follow script and characters made me overlook these shortcomings.

Review in Turkish | Read full review

Mar 21, 2024

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.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

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.

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Dexerto
Top Critic
Mar 21, 2024

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.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

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.

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8 / 10
Mar 21, 2024

The good times continue to roll in 2024, with Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo's Rise of the Ronin adding to the amazing selection of action role-playing games available on the PlayStation 5. Whether you are engaging in its fantastic combat or diving into the rabbit hole of Japanese history, every hour spent in this world is always meaningful and fun. Just avoid looking too closely and getting stuck in tight spaces, and you will definitely have a great time as a ronin determining the course of history.

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80 / 100
Mar 21, 2024

Rise of Ronin was a game that started at a slow pace and opened up as you progressed, combining a more simplified version of Nioh 2's awesome combat system with an open-world formula, which fell short of my expectations, but I still had a good time.

Review in Turkish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Mar 22, 2024

Rise of the Ronin puts you into the role of a masterless samurai amidst the chaos of war, disease and political unrest of 19th century Japan. Reviewed on PS5. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes. Rise of the Ronin is a fusion of many influences aimed at creating something more than the sum of its parts. A game that stands tall, echoing the spirit of its predecessors while carving its own path.

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80 / 100
Mar 23, 2024

Rise of the Ronin is turning out to be a great souls-like with endless potential and a brilliant story to match. There’s a beautifully detailed world to explore and the unforgiving combat that all hardcore gamers crave, but there’s also so much room for improvement, and a lot of pruning is needed. The cluttered map and the neverending junk loot are two of the biggest factors that dull the experience, but if you can overlook those issues, there’s a massive world to see and a lot of new challenges that await you in Japan.

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4 / 5.0
Mar 25, 2024

Despite its shortcomings, trust me when I say it: Ronin’s gameplay, bosses, and traversal mechanics keep you hooked until the end.

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8 / 10
Mar 21, 2024

The method of storytelling, acting, and character motivations are distinctively Japanese, potentially alienating some audiences. The visuals are also a mixed bag. But all that hardly matters when katanas start whizzing around. This is an excellent game with rough looks, doing its own thing.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

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.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 31, 2024

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

80%
Mar 21, 2024

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

8 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2024

Rise of the Ronin, in its entirety, is a Jack of all trades and master of none. It is a sampler platter of many design ideas stitched together, held in place with a captivating story and likable characters. If you are a fan of Team Ninja’s unique blend of combat and/or the time period this game takes place, then you are in for a treat. Just know that combat won’t be forgiving and you probably won’t like all the busy work. But barring all that, it is worth a couple of playthroughs just to see where the story possibilities go even if you can’t change history in the way you would’ve liked.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2024

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