Rise of the Ronin - Full Play Through - Stream 1

"Rise of the Ronin" is an open-world action RPG developed by Team Ninja and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, initially released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive on March 22, 2024, with a PC version following on March 11, 2025. Set during Japan’s Bakumatsu period in the mid-19th century—a time of significant political and cultural upheaval—the game follows a customizable protagonist, a ronin, navigating the turbulent end of the Edo era as Western influences clash with traditional Japanese society. Below is a review based on its key aspects: story, gameplay, world design, and technical performance.
Story and Setting
The narrative begins with a compelling premise: you play as one of the "Blade Twins," siblings trained as assassins by the anti-shogunate Veiled Edge group. The opening mission—to assassinate Commodore Matthew Perry aboard his Black Ships—sets a dramatic tone, blending historical fiction with personal stakes as one twin sacrifices themselves, leaving the survivor to seek revenge and shape Japan’s future. The story weaves in real historical figures like Ryoma Sakamoto and Tokugawa Yoshinobu, offering an intriguing lens on the Boshin War and Japan’s forced reopening to the West.
While the historical backdrop is rich and educational, the execution of the plot has mixed reception. The game allows players to align with pro- or anti-shogunate factions, influencing relationships and outcomes through dialogue choices. However, these decisions often feel superficial, with major historical events unfolding regardless of your actions, diluting the sense of agency. The character-driven side stories and bond system—where you build relationships with NPCs—are a highlight, adding depth and charm, though the main narrative can feel disjointed or overly reliant on spectacle over substance.
Combat is where "Rise of the Ronin" shines brightest, showcasing Team Ninja’s expertise in crafting challenging yet rewarding action systems. Drawing from their work on "Nioh" and "Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty," the game features a Ki-based stamina system (akin to stamina in Soulslikes), where managing offense and defense is key. Players can wield an array of weapons—katanas, spears, odachis, paired swords, firearms, and even a flamethrower—each with distinct combat styles that counter specific enemy types. The Counterspark mechanic, a well-timed parry, is particularly satisfying, staggering foes for devastating follow-ups.
Unlike Team Ninja’s more punishing Soulslike titles, "Rise of the Ronin" is more accessible, offering difficulty settings (Dawn, Dusk, Twilight) and a forgiving checkpoint system via Veiled Edge banners. Stealth and traversal tools like grappling hooks and gliders add variety, letting you approach encounters creatively—whether sneaking up for assassinations or gliding into battle. However, the gear system, with its constant influx of incrementally upgraded loot, can feel bloated and disrupt the flow, a criticism echoed from "Nioh." While the combat is a standout, some boss fights and uneven difficulty spikes may frustrate players expecting a smoother curve.
The game’s open world spans regions like Yokohama, Edo (modern-day Tokyo), and Kyoto, beautifully capturing mid-19th century Japan with dynamic day-night cycles and varied landscapes. Traversal is a joy, thanks to the grappling hook, glider, and a horse, making exploration feel fluid and engaging. However, the world is often criticized for its Ubisoft-esque design: a map cluttered with icons for repetitive tasks—bandit camps, collectibles, and side quests—that prioritize quantity over quality. While some missions, like infiltrating a ship during fireworks or rescuing allies from a prison, showcase creativity, many activities feel like busywork, detracting from the experience.
On PS5, "Rise of the Ronin" was praised for its smooth performance, though its visuals were considered dated compared to contemporaries like "Ghost of Tsushima," with less polish in textures and animations. The PC port, however, has been a sore point. Despite its potential to be the definitive version with higher resolutions and frame rates, it launched with significant issues: inconsistent frame rates, stuttering, high VRAM usage (even on high-end GPUs like the RTX 4070), and graphical glitches. A day-one patch was promised, but early reports suggest it didn’t fully resolve these problems, leaving the game best played on lower settings for now—a disappointment for PC players expecting optimization.
"Rise of the Ronin" is an ambitious title that excels in its combat and historical setting but stumbles with a bloated open world and, on PC, technical woes. It’s not Team Ninja’s magnum opus—lacking the polish of "Ghost of Tsushima" or the depth of "Elden Ring"—but it’s a solid action RPG with moments of brilliance. The combat alone makes it worth experiencing, especially for fans of the developer’s signature style, and the educational glimpse into Japan’s past adds unique flavor.