Rise of the Ronin

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 t...

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.

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.

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.

Rise of the Ronin is a solid action RPG experience that could, and probably should, have been stronger. It's fun but too familiar in the grand pantheon of similar offerings – not least from developer Team Ninja's back catalog itself.

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...

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 - with an exciting story of engaging characters being bloodied icing on the cake.

Rise of the Ronin isn't just Team Ninja's most ambitious game to date; it's also its most important one. With this title, the studio has pivoted into a bold new direction while still retaining the essence of its classic titles. However, if the studio's past games didn't click for you, it's unlikely that Rise of the Ronin will. But if they did, this will feel like a radical improvement from Team Ni...

Team Ninja's most ambitious project today is a successful one, albeit not a flawless one. Rise of the Ronin aims to deliver an epic story filled with well-rounded characters, an open-world adventure, action-filled combat and a presentation taking advantage of current-gen hardware. For the most part, it succeeds. The story is indeed epic, with plenty of intrigue delivered by well-rounded characters...

“Rise of the Ronin isn't the best Soulslike out there, but it has one heck of a parry system.”

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.

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.