Rise of the Ronin is an open-world samurai action RPG, and perhaps developer Team Ninja’s most ambitious project to date. Building on the same in-house technology that powered Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Stranger of Paradise, the pure focus on PlayStation 5 development makes the project particularly tantalising in what has become a prolonged cross-generation era. To that end, fully open world streaming is incorporated into the engine plus ray-traced reflections.
Despite these engine breakthroughs, Team Ninja has a huge challenge in following 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch’s open-world samurai action game which set a high bar for visual quality despite its cross-gen release. How does Rise of the Ronin fare in comparison, and which of its three graphics modes are the best way to enjoy the game?
The good stuff first: Rise of the Ronin takes the winning Souls blueprint for its combat, with a particular focus on counterattacks – much like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. The more counters in a row you nail, the lower the opponents’s stamina gauge falls until they’re left open to a finishing move. It’s brilliantly executed, and the tight action – together with a wealth of weapons and the ability to quickly switch characters and styles – make for a satisfying challenge.
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