Rise of the Ronin review: Team Ninja goes mainstream with a brilliant action-adventure title

Rise of the Ronin has been one of my most anticipated PlayStation 5 titles this year, and for the most part, Team Ninja has managed to deliver an amazing game that draws parallels from the likes of Ghost of Tsushima, among others.

Despite superficial similarities, make no mistake — Rise of the Ronin is very much a Team Ninja game, possessing the same adrenaline-fuelled combat and challenging difficulty the developer has grown a reputation for. Unfortunately, this also extends into its weaknesses, and Ronin exhibits eerily similar problems — which can be rather disappointing for what is an overall solid package.

The game does feel like a natural evolution for Team Ninja. It aims to be a title that is more accessible and far less niche — something that I appreciate. Despite its technical faults, Ronin is an amazing game for the PlayStation 5 and probably the best game by the developer yet.

Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja's most mainstream game yet

Rise of the Ronin has a heavy emphasis on its story, offering distinct, impactful choices

Rise of the Ronin's best moments are when bonding with your allies (Image via Team Ninja)

In sharp contrast to other Team Ninja titles, Rise of the Ronin places greater emphasis on its story and game world. This works out largely in its favor, and there was never a dull moment in my 22-hour-long, admittedly rushed playthrough of the game.

Certain parts of the game do feel rushed though - especially with regards to the introductory section and the parts revolving around the antagonist’s motivations. A slightly longer campaign would have been appreciated, especially when it comes to tying up certain quests and loose ends with a satisfactory conclusion.

One thing that surprised me was the depth of choices on offer. These choices do affect significant events of the story and felt important enough that I had to think twice before proceeding. Thankfully, there exists an option to replay these choices and watch the entire timeline unfold in its complexity - something I find quite impressive.

Rise of the Ronin also features a ton of side quests to engage in, with the bond missions being of particular interest. These were my favorite parts of the game (outside of its combat), allowing me to get close and interact with the amazing characters in this game, exploring their motivations.

The Bakumatsu era of Japan is brought to life with an impressive cast of historical characters

Rise of the Ronin has a diverse cast of characters (Image via Team Ninja)

Rise of the Ronin’s characters include various key figures from the Bakumatsu era of Japan, depicted beautifully with excellent voice-over work. I would recommend the Japanese dub of the game as it is far superior to the English dub and feels more true-to-life and expressive.

Key individuals of the era such as Sakamoto Ryoma, as well as factions such as the pro-Shogunate Shinsengumi and anti-Shogunate Ishin Shishi, are depicted amazingly well. Each character felt unique, possessing their own set of motivations and quirks that kept me hooked throughout both the campaign and individual Bond missions.

The entire cast comes together beautifully in the game’s many cutscenes - battling against each other and forming unlikely alliances, united in their resolve to ensure the prosperity of their nation.

I do wish that a few of the characters were given a bit more screen time, as it would help cement the protagonist’s motivations and origins a bit better.

It was also disappointing to find that the protagonist was mostly silent. A bit of characterisation and expressiveness would have gone a long way, and the protagonist mostly felt bland. There is nothing wrong with having a self-insert character, but a lack of a distinct personality is rather unfortunate to see.

The open world for Rise of the Ronin is massive, but parts of it feel dated

Ronin's open world is dense and filled with things to do (Image via Team Ninja)

Ronin is Team Ninja’s first open-world game and mostly delivers on its promise of an interactive world teeming with things to do. The world is impressively large, and littered with a dozen or so side quests and collectibles in each sub-region. Completing these sections will take up a significant portion of your playthrough, as it is spread across multiple cities. In short, there is no dearth of things to do in the game world, especially in the later sections of the game. Completing these quests is well worth the effort, offering significant rewards in return.

It’s not without its faults however, especially with how some of these missions are handled. Certain parts of the game world feel incredibly dated, being especially evident in the sections which require you to “liberate” regions from enemy territory to unlock Fast Travel. This part of the game felt frustrating at best, being too repetitive for my liking.

Ronin also has a great emphasis on traversal and exploration. The addition of a grappling hook and Glider to the game spices things up a little, allowing you to creatively traverse environments with relative ease. While overall functional, these additions are in no way as smooth or natural-feeling as the ones implemented in the Batman: Arkham series.

A lack of variety does hurt, but thankfully the quests don’t take too long to complete, and they never overstay their welcome.

Combat takes a while to open up but is addictive and satisfying

Combat is streamlined yet impressively in-depth (Image via Team Ninja)

Combat is key to Rise of the Ronin, and Team Ninja delivers it outrageously well. I can happily report that the game strikes a good balance between being easy to get into for newcomers while simultaneously delivering challenging combat sections that will keep veterans on their toes – especially thanks to the addition of a much appreciated difficulty slider.

The combat also possesses a surprising amount of depth, offering multiple “styles” that each possess a rock-paper-scissor-styled advantage system against enemies. The sheer choice of weaponry on hand can be quite overwhelming at first, and it did take me a fair bit of experimentation until I finally settled on the Odachis and Bayonets for my particular walkthrough.

The weapons were balanced fairly, each having their own advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, I did find myself mastering a variety of weapons to try out new playstyles and gain specific advantages in battle, which is a testament to the game’s well-thought out combat loop.

Combat features a heavy reliance on parries, and it was incredibly satisfying to execute them in succession to stagger enemies, leaving them vulnerable for a finisher. Boss fights are also a major highlight of the game, with each boss having their own fighting style that required me to adopt new strategies.

Rise of the Ronin also lets you choose up to two party members for most major missions, and you can either employ AI-controlled companions or human players to assist you in this endeavor. These AI companions are more than competent at holding their own, and you can switch between characters during battle at will.

However, combat does take a while to open up, and I found that the second half offered more variety and freedom. While the first few chapters are quite enjoyable overall, the combat in these sections felt lacking, mostly due to the limited options.

The game feels streamlined and accessible

Rise of the Ronin has a ton of accessibility options (Image via Team Ninja)

Ronin has been designed from the ground up to be more accessible to players, offering several quality-of-life features and accessibility options that are not a staple of this genre. In certain ways, the game does feel like a traditional action-adventure title at first, but things quickly change once you dive head-first into combat where you will be greeted with familiar elements.

This is Team Ninja’s attempt to break into the mainstream audience, and I am all for it. The addition of a difficulty slider, along with miscellaneous other additions (such as a healthy number of checkpoints) makes the game easier to get into for those who just want to enjoy the campaign.

Freedom of choice is paramount in Ronin’s gameplay, and players looking for a challenge need not fear the worst, as the game can be quite a fair bit challenging on higher difficulties. My playthrough was primarily in the Normal difficulty, and the late-game bosses kept me on my toes. The game did not feel overly punishing in this regard, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time fighting against them (even though I admittedly lost my fair share of battles along the way).

While the visuals are perfectly fine, the game does look a generation old

Parts of the game appear last-gen (Image via Team Ninja)

Despite being a current-gen PlayStation 5 exclusive, Rise of the Ronin is no looker. The visuals are perfectly serviceable and look crisp, but the game’s visuals do not break new ground. If I’m being perfectly honest, the game’s visuals match that of a release for the PlayStation 4 instead - something which should not surprise anyone given the long seven years it was in development.

Even then, the game is no match for similar PlayStation 4 titles such as Ghost of Tsushima, which still look striking to this day. This is perhaps a bit of an unfair comparison, but the parallels between the two games extend far beyond visual makeup and presentation.

Team Ninja games have never been renowned for their visuals, and Ronin is no different in this regard. Ronin can look absolutely gorgeous at times, but these moments are fleeting. That said, it is undoubtedly the developer’s most visually striking title as of yet.

The performance leaves room for improvement and a lot to be desired

A look into the graphical settings (Image via Team Ninja)

My biggest gripe with Rise of the Ronin is in its performance, which is simply not adequate. The game world suffers from inconsistent frame pacing, which makes parts of the game feel rather awkward to play through. This is particularly evident in the later sections of the open world, in which the frame rate also takes a hit.

Despite playing through Ronin mostly on its Prioritize FPS preset, these problems remained evident throughout. I also tried out the Ray Tracing preset, which brought in a minimal improvement to image quality. Interestingly, the RT preset also possesses a 60 FPS option, which it usually achieves.

I would still recommend the Prioritize FPS preset for most users however, as the difference in visuals between the modes is negligible. Furthermore, the dips in the other two modes are more pronounced and honestly a little immersion breaking. Thankfully, these performance issues are minimal during the game’s many boss battles and cinematics.

I do hope these performance issues can be fixed in a future update, or via the day one patch.

Rise of the Ronin feels like Team Ninja’s attempt at crafting a new identity of its own

With an emphasis on story, Ronin is Team Ninja's most ambitious title yet (Image via Team Ninja)

There is no denying the fact that Rise of the Ronin feels like Team Ninja’s spin on Ghost of Tsushima. Right from its introductory sequence, the game feels like a major departure from the usual team Ninja formula, focusing heavily on cinematics rich with lore and individual characters.

Ronin also borrows elements from titles such as Assassin’s Creed, offering a similar open-world experience and level design with a heavy emphasis on side quests and exploration. This is not to say that these games can be compared on an apples-to-apples basis. All of them possess strengths and weaknesses of their own and offer a unique experience.

In the end, Rise of the Ronin feels quite different from the usual Team Ninja game. This works out mostly in its favor, and I did enjoy their spin on Feudal Japan.

In conclusion

Ronin features a world of intriguing characters (Image via Team Ninja)

Rise of the Ronin is an impressive action-adventure title from Team Ninja, blending a likable cast of characters with a streamlined, yet in-depth combat system that keeps you itching for more.

The game is especially easy to get into for newcomers thanks to the suite of accessibility options at hand, but it still manages to deliver a challenging experience for players more experienced with this particular genre.

Unfortunately, the game suffers from a multitude of performance-related technical issues that sour the overall experience. This is in addition to the admittedly last-gen visuals that, while serviceable, do not leave you in awe.

Despite these shortcomings, I can wholeheartedly recommend Rise of the Ronin thanks to its absolutely stellar cast of characters, intriguing plot, and in-depth combat system.