Rise of the Ronin Reviews
Another fumbled PC port blighted by poor optimisation and unpredictable performance issues.
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
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.
So, is it worth playing Rise of the Ronin? I think so. Especially if you enjoy clearing a map filled with scattered markers. There’s a good chance the game might wear you out before you finish it, but you can always come back to it after a break to check off a few more collectibles. Personally, I’m looking forward to a sequel because it’s a pretty solid foundation that Team Ninja could expand on.
Review in Polish | 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 genuinely disappointed me. It was, above all else, BORING, which is a cardinal sin of video game design. The disjointed mechanics and inability to step firmly into a genre or style hamstrings what could have been a solid game, and leaves it feeling incredibly disjointed and unpleasant to play. Every time I sat down to boot up Rise of the Ronin was a chore, and video games should never feel that way.
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.
Rise of the Rōnin's open world is vast and content-rich, but it's a case of quantity over quality that's only partially rescued by the unambitious but technically adequate combat.
Rise of the the Rōnin doesn’t feel like a game that is worth $70 in my opinion, it is a hodgepodge mix of some of gaming’s biggest trends lately but never amounts to the sum of those parts. I really miss when Tomonobu Itagaki was at Team Ninja; and NOT for the oversexualized women in DoA or crazy volleyball games but for the awesome ninja action games.
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 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.
It's a disappointing change of stance from Team Ninja, and one that could leave them open to an unfortunately mortal blow.
No matter how fun the gameplay is, that doesn’t matter if the game doesn’t consistently work, and I don’t think anyone could realistically say that Rise of the Ronin works as it should on PC.
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 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 the Ronin dilutes the gameplay of Nioh and Wo Long to accomodate for an open world that offers little of worth. Combat is still great despite this, but it could have been so much more
Our journey with Rise of the Ronin was far from enjoyable. Despite the excellent implementation of the combat system and the thrill of its boss battles, the poor graphics and reliance on tired, repetitive level design within a lifeless open world drained any hope we had for the game. Ultimately, it stands out as one of the most disappointing PlayStation exclusives of the past decade.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Ultimately, Rise of the Ronin is a good game, but it falls short of its potential. For fans of samurai and feudal Japan, there's a lot to enjoy, but those expecting a revolutionary action RPG in the Souls-like vein may end up disappointed. Its combat is satisfying, and combined with an interesting story and a good setting, it may be enough to keep players hooked, but don't expect any major innovations, and be prepared to face terrible technical issues.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Rise of the Ronin is, from many perspectives, Koei Tecmo's most ambitious adventure and its arrival on PC should be celebrated for providing even more enthusiasts of the theme and fans of the studio with access to it.However, between mistakes and successes in the adaptation, here we have yet another proof that PC ports require a lot of attention during their creation. Therefore, it is difficult to recommend this version more widely until its most serious problems are solved and the performance is within expectations for different hardware configurations, both above and below average. Until then, we hope that, one day, the adventure of the nameless warrior can in fact be experienced in all its glory on computers as well.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review