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Rise of the Rōnin
Critics Consensus (Skip It)
Rise of the Ronin is a mixed experience. While it boasts excellent combat, a captivating setting, and impactful narrative choices, it suffers from repetitive open-world activities and feels technically unpolished. Those craving thrilling combat and meaningful storylines in a historical Japanese setting might enjoy the game, but those hoping for a unique open-world experience could be disappointed.
Game Info
Rise of the Rōnin is a combat focused open-world action RPG that takes place in Japan at a time of great change. It is the very end of a 300-year long Edo Period, commonly known as “Bakumatsu”. Set in the late 19th century, Japan is facing the darkest of times as it struggles with its oppressive rulers and deadly diseases while western influence permeates as civil war continues to rage between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Anti-Shogunate factions.
0%
Recommended
0%
Average Score
Total Reviews: 99
RELEASE DATES:
GENRES:
- Action, RPG
DEVELOPER(S):
- Team NINJA
PUBLISHER(S):
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- n/a
GAME MODES:
- Single player
Where to Play
WHERE TO PLAY
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RATING & REVIEWS
Ratings & Reviews
99
Critic Reviews
78
Average Critic Score
Where to Play
CRITIC REVIEWS
All reviews are from professional critics. Learn more about the critics VSG aggregates.
High Score
100%
Median Score
80%
Low Score
60%
What did you think of Rise of the Rōnin?
Player Reviews0 Votes
0
Mick Fraser (God is a Geek)
March 21, 2024
8/10
Rise of the Ronin is a solid open world action adventure that rarely puts a foot wrong, but is unlikely to set the world on fire either.
Liam Croft (Push Square)
March 21, 2024
6/10
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.
Alessandro Digioia (IGN Italy)
March 21, 2024
7.5/10
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.
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Score Ranges
Read the Reviews (99 total)
| Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33bits | Fernando Sánchez | 87 / 100 | 04-01-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| 3DNews | Алексей Лихачев | 8 / 10 | 03-31-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| AnaitGames | Víctor Manuel Martínez García | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | The latest from Team Ninja is an ambitious period adventure in which the rigorous approach to combat is once again the highlight, and the most enjoyable. | Read review |
| Atarita | Eren Eroğlu | 83 / 100 | 04-01-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Atomix | Alberto Desfassiaux | 85 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a great open world game but it has many flawss in things like its mission design and graphic presentation. Although is another good reason to have a PS5. | Read review |
| Attack of the Fanboy | Davi Braid | 4.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | With a clear identity, a charming setting, and one of the best combat systems out there, Rise of Ronin is indeed Team Ninja’s best Action RPG so far. | Read review |
| But Why Tho? | Matt Sowinski | 7 / 10 | 03-26-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Capsule Computers | Travis Bruno | 7 / 10 | 03-27-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Cerealkillerz | Nick Erlenhof | 8 / 10 | 03-31-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| CGMagazine | Ridge Harripersad | 9 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin was the near-perfect samurai/ronin open-world RPG that I have been starving for, and offers players a lot of choice in their playstyle. | Read review |
| Checkpoint Gaming | Elliot Attard | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Chicas Gamers | Juanma Luengo | Recommended | 03-26-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| COGconnected | Jaz Sagoo | 83 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Rōnin takes Team Ninja’s formidable combat system and lets it revel in a large open world. Swinging your blade has never felt better due to the number of options available to annihilate your opponent. Even though it follows the expectations of the genre and the visuals are mixed, each step in feudal Japan is exhilarating and pulsates with the spirit of the samurai. | Read review |
| Console Creatures | Luke Williams | Recommended | 03-21-2024 | While Rise of the Ronin looks a little out-of-date as a PS5 exclusive, its robust choose-your-own-adventure system and Team Ninja’s best and fairest combat system to date make it a worthy addition to the PS5’s exclusives catalogue. | Read review |
| Daily Star | Tom Hutchison | 4.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is another cracking PS5 exclusive. | Read review |
| Destructoid | Kristina Ebanez | 7 / 10 | 04-12-2024 | Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun. | Read review |
| Dexerto | James Busby | 4 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Digital Chumps | Ben Sheene | 8.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is not merely an amalgamation of open-world tropes with punishing combat. While its side activities may be unremarkable and its serene world more barren than alive, each system feeds into itself. This is done in service to further expand upon Team NINJA’s character-driven combat fantasy, one supplemented by a narrative housed in cultural and political intrigue during one of Japan’s most turbulent periods. Whether looking for a casual, open-world jaunt or a ferocious action-adventure, Rise of the Ronin is steeped in choice. | Read review |
| Digital Trends | George Yang | 3.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin has an excellent parrying system that makes its Soulslike gameplay feel challenging, yet fair compared to its contemporaries. | Read review |
| Digitally Downloaded | Matt Sainsbury | 4.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | While it is an open world game and therefore part of a tired and tiring genre, Rise of the Ronin makes it worth sticking with, thanks to incredibly strong historical fiction storytelling. With any luck, it will inspire some people to learn the more factual side of the era and, hopefully from there, come to a better understanding about where modern Japan came from. Despite being relatively recent, the Boshin War is a relatively under-utilised period of Japanese history, and Rise of the Ronin acts as a good introduction to it. Like with any historical fiction, the emphasis is firmly on the “fiction” side of things, but Koei has done a superb job of depicting the dynamics, tensions, conflicts and personalities of the era, making it as good an introduction to the era as any. | Read review |
| Echo Boomer | David Fialho | Not Recommended | 03-21-2024 | While it does have an interesting and dynamic narrative premise, Rise of the Ronin fails to deliver a story worthy of awards or great praise. However, its combat stands out for its depth and for being fun, once again showcasing where Team Ninja truly excels. | Read review |
| Enternity.gr | Konstantinos Kalkanis | 7.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is an experience worth living, not only for the rich action, but also for the story itself which is interesting and offers a perspective on the Japan of that time. | Read review |
| Entertainium | Eduardo Rebouças | Recommended | 03-29-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Eurogamer | Alan Wen | Recommended | 03-21-2024 | Team Ninja borrows the open-world familiarity and historical tourism of Assassin’s Creed while adapting its own breed of hardcore action for the mainstream. | Read review |
| Everyeye.it | Alessandro Bruni | 7.2 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is undoubtedly the most ambitious of the titles developed by Team Ninja to date, as well as the riskiest. This is because the vision shaped by the studio has led it to face unprecedented challenges in terms of design and technical implementation, deriving from the choice to opt for an open world that frames a more articulated narrative structure than that of the previous productions of the Japanese collective. | Read review |
| Evilgamerz | Jeroen Janssen | 8.7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is therefore a very strong first game in a new IP. It’s the Assassin’s Creed in Japan that we’ve been looking for for years. It manages to create an epic story where choices really matter. The gameplay is deep and manages to find a nice balance in terms of difficulty and challenge. The game is extremely ambitious with sixty hours for the story and packed with various options, but this does come with a few downsides. Graphically, the game is less strong and exploring the many extra assignments and missions feels very repetitive. The many bosses and characters are similar and lack creativity. The three regions are not different enough, but the game still manages to keep you interested for sixty hours. It manages to tempt you into another mission every time. I can’t wait to dive back into the game and see what I missed because of my many choices. | Read review |
| eXputer | Muhammad Haris Umer | 4FALSE | 03-25-2024 | Despite its shortcomings, trust me when I say it: Ronin’s gameplay, bosses, and traversal mechanics keep you hooked until the end. | Read review |
| Fextralife | Tyr | 8.4 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | While Rise of the Ronin suffers from outdated and unattractive graphics, the story and gameplay more than make up for it with a wealth of varied and interesting content available paired with good storytelling that keeps players engaged and wanting to know more. Fans of Team Ninja may be disappointed from the step down in combat quality, but nonetheless it is an enjoyable title that we can recommend at full price. | Read review |
| Game Informer | Imran Khan | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Almost nothing in Rise of the Rōnin is outright bad, but it is Exhibit A in any argument about why action games are not dozens of hours long or why open-world designs do not fit every mold. For all the inspirations the game wears on its sleeve, it never rises above them, and thus feels like a title in search of an identity and desperate for a specific kind of player. It’s sometimes a good time, just not for a long time. | Read review |
| GameBlast | Matheus Senna de Oliveira | 9 / 10 | 03-22-2024 | After many hours playing The Rise of Ronin, it is undeniable that it bears many similarities to titles such as Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice and Nioh. It may be inferior to them in certain aspects, but it also surpasses its peers in several aspects. More than that, it offers an original and rich experience, full of unique and competent elements. Not only is the adventure engaging, but it can be shaped according to the player’s decisions. The gameplay is even more flexible and satisfying, with many types of weapons, combos, projectiles, items and equipment to obtain and master, all of them well implemented. There are many activities to entertain yourself, from photography to hunting powerful bandits. The few flaws are (far) outweighed by the positive qualities, making the title a practically mandatory addition to your gaming library. | Read review |
| Gameblog | Unknown | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | https://www.gameblog.fr/jeu-video/jeux/tests/rise-of-the-ronin-test-ps5-539926) | Read review |
| Gameffine | Uphar Dutta | 93 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of Ronin is a mindblowing action-adventure open-world RPG set at the end of the Shogun Era. While the game may have soul-like elements, not the difficulty, allowing more people to enjoy the game. Inspired by many mechanics from Nioh titles, the game boasts to have a compelling story with the freedom of shaping your future under your control. Rise of Ronin also excels with fluid combat and amazing sights but slightly lacks in matching the current generation graphics. | Read review |
| GamePro | Samara Summer | 81 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Quote not yet available | Read review |
| gameranx | Jake Baldino | Recommended | 03-21-2024 | Video Review | Read review |
| Gamersky | 心灵奇兵 | 8.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is undoubtedly Team Ninja’s most ambitious, detailed and mature work to date. With its rich maps, compelling storyline and exhilarating combat, it creates an unforgettable tale of the Bakumatsu period. As Team Ninja explores new design concepts, this is definitely a title not to be missed by Team Ninja fans. | Read review |
| GAMES.CH | Benjamin Braun | 85 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Quote not yet available | Read review |
| GamesCreed | Junior Onunkwo | 4.7FALSE | 03-24-2024 | Rise of the Rōnin is certainly not the masterpiece we were hoping for, but it’s extremely close to being one. What you’re already getting with the intriguing story, outstanding weaponry, excellent combat, refined mechanics, and so on are more than enough to provide a phenomenally gripping, historical, action-packed RPG experience. | Read review |
| GameSpew | Richard Seagrave | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| GameSpot | Phil Hornshaw | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Though it has a somewhat steep combat learning curve and some dated open-world ideas, Rise of the Ronin does a great job of rewarding your time in its world. | Read review |
| GamesRadar+ | Joe Donnelly | 3.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | “Enemy AI appears torn between realistic long-distance vision (which is neat but totally un-video game-friendly) and some pretty non-existent hearing” | Read review |
| Gaming Age | Tyler Nethers | 6 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| GamingBolt | Shubhankar Parijat | 6 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | In spite of solid combat and fun traversal, Rise of the Ronin is, unfortunately, Team Ninja’s most underwhelming game in years. | Read review |
| GamingTrend | Richard Allen | 90 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is nothing if not ambitious, and though that ambition leads to the game not being as polished as you may expect from a PS5 release, it still manages to tell an enthralling story in which your actions truly matter, while also utilizing a unique bond mechanic, an in-depth -albeit slightly repetitive | Read review |
| Geeks & Com | Marc-Antoine Bergeron Cote | 8.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin may not become the benchmark game of this generation, but it offers a more than interesting experience. The title offers a combat system that is difficult to master, and which should satisfy even the most demanding players. Neophytes, meanwhile, are not left out in the cold, as the game remains very accessible, whether through cooperative play or the ability to choose the difficulty level at any time. All in all, the story of this period plunges the player into an entertaining adventure that blends numerous genres to our great delight, despite a few minor flaws. | Read review |
| GGRecon | Ben Williams | 4 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | 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 | Read review |
| Glitched Africa | Marco Cocomello | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin has an excellent combat system and a somewhat dark narrative but the game’s dull world and mediocre quest design take away from the best mechanics on offer here. It all starts to blend together into a mindless sandbox game that offers little excitement. | Read review |
| God is a Geek | Mick Fraser | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a solid open world action adventure that rarely puts a foot wrong, but is unlikely to set the world on fire either. | Read review |
| Hobby Consolas | David Rodriguez | 87 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | If you’re not careful with a sharp katana, you risk cutting yourself. Luckily, Rise of the Ronin unsheathes itself with a sublime combat and a very attractive story for lovers of the most samurai Japan. There are significant shortcomings, but Team Ninja makes a much more precise cut than imagined with this ambitious game. | Read review |
| IGN | Will Borger | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin marries a cool setting, Team Ninja’s mastery of tough-but-fair combat, and smart RPG design, even when map clutter and junk loot can get in its way. | Read review |
| IGN Italy | Alessandro Digioia | 7.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| IGN Spain | Mario Seijas | 9 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is the culmination of the combat formula that Team Ninja has using since Nioh. A beautiful game, complex and simple at the same time, and a lot of fun. Katanas and firearms to close a a great first quarter of the year for PlayStation. | Read review |
| Impulsegamer | Nathan Misa | 4.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | An ambitious open-world action-RPG with fast-paced combat, choice-based storytelling and a variety of gameplay systems that keep the experience fresh. | Read review |
| INVEN | Kyuman Kim | 7.5 / 10 | 04-03-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Jump Dash Roll | Connor Shaw | 7 / 10 | 04-02-2024 | If you have the time and the inclination Rise of the Ronin is a deep game with a rich, character-driven, story. However, you’ll have to do battle with the controls, the multitude of systems, and endless reserves of useless loot, as well as your enemies, to get there. | Read review |
| Kakuchopurei | Alleef Ashaari | 90 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Rise Of The Ronin is Team Ninja’s best title to date, perhaps on par with Nioh 2. It’s not the most revolutionary title, but the developer continues to shape the Souls-like genre into their own distinctive style and that continues with this latest game. If you’re looking for a meaty historical open-world game that’s not too difficult but still provides a bit of a challenge, Rise Of The Ronin is that game. | Read review |
| Kotaku | Levi Winslow | Recommended | 03-21-2024 | For better and worse, Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja’s “Greatest Hits” RPG. There might be a dud or two in the tracklist, but on the whole, this record—I mean, game—bangs. | Read review |
| LevelUp | Víctor Rosas | 7.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Team Ninja’s open-world experiment with Rise of the Ronin leaves a bittersweet taste, but the studio’s inexperience in that journey is understandable. In short, the delivery is far from what this type of game is today and its great exponents; However, the Japanese studio manages to get away with its polished combat system delivering impressive duels on several occasions. As I warned, the niche is here for the duels and, in that sense, you won’t be disappointed; Apart from that, there are several forgettable elements, but it is a fact that the 2 incentives that I considered during my experience: the development of the story and its combat proposal, are enough to give it a chance. | Read review |
| Merlin’in Kazanı | Samet Basri Taşlı | 80 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Ready your katanas! Rise of the Ronin is a good game that has made some concessions from the Team Ninja quality we are used to to reach different players, but offers it with an open world and advanced storytelling. | Read review |
| Metro GameCentral | GameCentral | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | An enjoyable counterpart to Ghost Of Tsushima, with some truly excellent combat, but the bloated open world elements can often suffocate your enjoyment. | Read review |
| MKAU Gaming | Stace Mayhem | 9 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Nerdburglars | Dan Hastings | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin presents a deep and complex combat system set against the backdrop of Japan’s Bakumatsu period, offering a unique blend of historical immersion and challenging gameplay. However, its ambitious mechanics are somewhat overshadowed by an overwhelming tutorial system, lifeless urban environments, and inconsistent voice acting. Despite these drawbacks, the game rewards players who persevere with a richly rewarding combat experience, especially through its intricate parry system. | Read review |
| New Game Network | Alex Varankou | 70 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a case where more isn’t always better. It’s got varied and challenging combat, a wealth of content, and a wide variety of mechanics in a story that spans over a decade. But while most of the individual components work, many feel unrefined, and their sheer volume doesn’t elevate the experience. | Read review |
| NextGen Player | Paul Hunter | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Nexus Hub | Sam Aberdeen | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| NoobFeed | Jay Claassen | 80 / 100 | 03-23-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| NookGaming | Thomas Knight | 9 / 10 | 04-04-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| One More Game | Chris Garcia | Recommended | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Oyungezer Online | Sabri Erkan Sabanci | 8 / 10 | 03-22-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Paste Magazine | Jackson Tyler | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin shows exactly what that money buys. From the awkward horse animation to the silent protagonist, in every cutscene fading out to a loading screen instead of dynamically swinging back behind the protagonist, in the constant tooltip tutorials and the entirely unmotivated progression systems with no contextualisation in the world. | Read review |
| PCMag | Gabriel Zamora | 3.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin offers an enticing, streamlined take on complex Team Ninja action, but it will prove somewhat disappointing if you’re a fan of mechanically rich combat. | Read review |
| Play Watch Read | Sylvano Witte | 6.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| PlayStation Universe | John-Paul Jones | 9.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | A jack of all trades and master of some, though Rise of the Ronin feels like a melting pot of influences from other games, it is also quite the surprise of the year for me thus far as it clearly shows that Team Ninja has a confident grasp of compelling open world design in a way that many of its genre stablemates do not. Though the visual presentation might be comparatively a little rough around the edges, Rise of the Ronin nonetheless is simultaneously the most accessible and ambitious game Team Ninja has done to date and one that both hardcore action RPG fiends and open world adventure aficionados will surely embrace. | Read review |
| Post Arcade (National Post) | Chad Sapieha | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Team Ninja’s historical samurai epic lacks visual dazzle and a compelling protagonist, but it’s also pretty darned playable. Keep reading. | Read review |
| PowerUp! | Adam Mathew | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Providing Team Ninja iron out some of the creases in a post-launch patch, this could still be seen as a retainer—possibly a worthy companion piece to anybody hooked on the Shogun miniseries. | Read review |
| Press Start | Harry Kalogirou | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | While still an apt Souls-like experience, Rise of the Ronin struggles to find its identity amongst Team Ninja’s catalogue. It feels like it’s being pulled in different directions, and starts to collapse under its own ambition in the third act. In saying this, the DNA of Nioh and Wo Long is palpable here, and I have no doubt that fans of Team Ninja will enjoy this first foray into open world design despite its shortcomings. | Read review |
| PSX Brasil | Bruno Henrique Vinhadel | 85 / 100 | 03-21-2024 | Team Ninja once again shows its quality by further improving an excellent combat system and adapting this to an open-world game. Masterfully representing Japan in one of its most troubled periods, in addition to delivering a complete package of quality, Rise of the Ronin only fails in technical aspects and in some design decisions that can compromise in the end. | Read review |
| Push Square | Liam Croft | 6 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Rectify Gaming | Unknown | 7.5 / 10 | 03-28-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| RPG Site | Josh Torres | 8 / 10 | 04-09-2024 | Team Ninja’s ambitious open-world action RPG is one of the best games about the Bakumatsu era ever, but its repetitive, uninspired open-world activities bog down what is an otherwise captivating experience. | Read review |
| Saudi Gamer | Unknown | 7 / 10 | 03-25-2024 | Rise of the Ronin provided the best encounters and combat system Team Ninja ever provided in a recent memory, but it’s open world is devoid of life or points of interest | Read review |
| Screen Rant | Leo Faierman | 4.5 / 5 stars | 04-09-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is an immersive open-world title that does a lot of work to value the time of its players, making for a rewarding journey. | Read review |
| SECTOR.sk | Oto Schultz | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | In feudal times, ronin was a samurai without a master. Being your own master is the feeling delivered by Team Ninja’s newest title Rise of the Ronin. Freely roaming huge open world districts with trusty horse companion, gliding throughout architecturally stunning cities of 19th century Japan, switching around diverse combat stances, making bonds with true friend and have epic duels against mighty foes. Moreover this grounded adventure from Bakumatsu period sprinkled with various creative liberties let’s you experience Japan’s grand opening to the world. | Read review |
| Shacknews | TJ Denzer | 9 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is an incredible open-world action-RPG. Its version of Bakumatsu era Japan is beautiful and delightful to explore, with plenty of activities that don’t fall deep into the open-world genre’s trap of being tedious. Its combat and customization are also incredibly well-refined, allowing you to become the martial artist you want to be, whether it’s an assassin, brigand, gunslinger, or more. The characters were fun to get to know and help a lot in reducing what would otherwise be some ridiculously difficult fights in the game. Don’t get me wrong though, this game has moments where it’s Team Ninja hard. Nonetheless, it’s still an incredible journey of cultural revolution and familial salvation. Between its solid combat, varied open world, and enjoyable characters, Rise of the Ronin sets a new tier of excellence in Team Ninja’s game design. | Read review |
| Siliconera | Cory Dinkel | 8 / 10 | 03-22-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| SpazioGames | Domenico Musicò | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin brings the typical game structure of Nioh into a barren open world full of boring fetch quests and repetitive missions. The combat system is once again top notch, but the overall quality of the game certifies a step backward for Team Ninja. | Read review |
| TechRaptor | Isaac Todd | 6.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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 | Read review |
| The Beta Network | Samuel Incze | 10 / 10 | 03-22-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a fantastic adventure with a branching story, challenging combat that rewards mastery, and a beautiful open world. The stunning visuals, entertaining characters and world filled to the brim with engaging quests will keep you hooked, but beware the uneven voice acting and overflowing loot! | Read review |
| The Game Crater | Jayden Hellyar | 7 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | “Rise of the Ronin treads too closely with games we have already experienced.” | Read review |
| The Games Machine | Daniele Cucchiarelli | 7.5 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a samurai amusement park, an open-world adventure with an excellent combat system, in which the abundance of activities might distract you from a compelling and well-told storyline. It is closer to an Assassin’s Creed than a souls-like or any of Team Ninja’s earlier games and could have been even better if from a technical standpoint it had been less problematic. | Read review |
| The Jimquisition | James Stephanie Sterling | 9 / 10 | 04-06-2024 | Rise of Ronin really likes its players, and that’s what I love most about it. While its world features a lot of busywork, it’s also a joy to explore thanks to how easy and versatile movement is. An enthralling combat system openly traces the best of Sekiro and Nioh, serving the extract in a more accessible fashion with a huge variety of ways to fight. While co-op is restrictive, it’s still really funny to go online and turn bosses into confetti, plus you can run a cat rental service. | Read review |
| TheGamer | Joe Parlock | 3.5 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | It feels like nobody in Rise of the Ronin is connected to the world or its events, much in the same way most mechanics of the game don’t feel connected to each other. The game is inconsistent and unpolished. Annoying stat-crunching, a poorly handled story, and some really awful boss fights make it feel like a bad Soulslike was bolted on to something that could’ve been so much better. But its traversal mechanics, top-notch side missions, sublime open world, and the varied and likeable characters you can build relationships with all help prop up its weaker elements. | Read review |
| TheSixthAxis | Aran Suddi | 9 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a massive gamble for Team Ninja, known for its more linear action games, but it’s one that has paid off. Rise of the Ronin has a lot of depth to it from the satisfying combat, to all the side activities across three broad regions, and the plethora of excellent characters. This game should mark the start of a grand new era for Team Ninja. | Read review |
| TrueGaming | Unknown | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Use a Potion | Unknown | 9 / 10 | 03-28-2024 | 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? | Read review |
| VG247 | Sherif Saed | Not Recommended | 03-21-2024 | It’s a disappointing change of stance from Team Ninja, and one that could leave them open to an unfortunately mortal blow. | Read review |
| VGC | Jordan Middler | 3 / 5 stars | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Video Chums | A.J. Maciejewski | 8.1 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | Rise of the Ronin is a great action-packed open-world experience that starts very strong but as time goes on, it definitely starts to become repetitious; mostly due to its lack of variety and memorable boss fights. It’s still generally a lot of fun, though. 🏯 | Read review |
| VideoGamer | Jack Webb | 6 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Wccftech | Kai Tatsumoto | 7 / 10 | 03-29-2024 | Rise of the Ronin struggles to find its identity in ways that hinder what would otherwise be one of Team Ninja’s finest works. A compelling story told against the backdrop of the 1850s Bakumatsu Period is instead overshadowed by a vapid and uninspired open-world setting and a narrative that rarely feels like the player has agency. | Read review |
| WellPlayed | Kieran Stockton | 6 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| Worth Playing | Chris “Atom” DeAngelus | 8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| XGN.nl | Roland Janssen | 8.8 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
| ZTGD | Terrence Johnson | 6 / 10 | 03-21-2024 | 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. | Read review |
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