Rise of the Ronin Reviews
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.
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.
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.
While waiting to receive that long-awaited incursion by Ubisoft into Japan with its Assassin's saga, we can affirm that Rise of the Ronin is the best experience to date of an open world set in the land of the Rising Sun. If you are a fan of games of this style, do not hesitate to approach this new Team Ninja title because you will really enjoy its combat mechanics and the exploration of its spectacularly set world with a duration of between 50-60 hours. You won't find anything revolutionary, but everything it does is done very well regardless of its somewhat outdated graphical appearance for the current generation of consoles.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ultimately, Rise of the Ronin will be a mixed bag for people. The combat will carry it for many, but the lack of variety in the open world, messy story, and performance issues will take away from others.
Rise of the Ronin tells an interesting story in a realistic historical setting with some outstanding combat mechanics but lets its dated open-world design and poor performance drag it down.