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.
Another fumbled PC port blighted by poor optimisation and unpredictable performance issues.
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.
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.
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.
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.
