The Unspoken Rules of Rise of the Ronin Explained

Rise of the Ronin represents a significant step up in size and scope for developer Team Ninja. The studio behind the Ninja Gaiden series, Nioh and its sequel, and more recently, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, has finally tried its hand at an open-world game. The result is Rise of the Ronin, an ambitious, if a little familiar, blood-soaked romp through feudal Japan. Despite not quite managing to win all critics over, the game provides hours of action-packed content, and for Team Ninja fans it is likely to satisfy. Combat, as always for the Japanese developer, is the priority here, and the game introduces a few new twists to the studio’s usual mechanics to keep things fresh.

The likes of Ninja Gaiden and Nioh set an incredibly high bar when it comes to combat. Both franchises aren’t afraid to push players to their limits, with the latter in particular known as one of the toughest non-FromSoftware series on the market. Similar to what Elden Ring did for Dark Souls‘ formula, the nature of Rise of the Ronin‘s open world makes it slightly more accessible than past Team Ninja games, but this by no means makes it a walk in the park. Players must get to grips with the multitude of systems the game introduces before they can properly master its combat.

Rise of the Ronin Puts a New Spin on Some of Team Ninja’s Best-Known Mechanics

Loot Management Returns

Team Ninja has developed a reputation for throwing an abundance of loot at the player, and Rise of the Ronin is certainly no exception in this regard. From very early on, players will find themselves accumulating weapons, armor, and items at an alarming rate. Thankfully, Team Ninja has included a way to counteract this, and it’s hidden in the Settings menu, which can be easily missed. Should players want to, they can go into the Basic Settings sub-menu, and toggle a feature called Auto-Disassemble, or Auto-Sell, which allows loot to be automatically disassembled or sold, respectively, upon picking it up. This will save valuable time, and means players won’t have to spend countless minutes in the equipment menu sorting through their loot.

Rise of the Ronin’s Combat Encourages Experimentation

Like other games from the studio, Rise of the Ronin features a plethora of different weapons for players to experiment with. Thankfully, the game makes it super easy for players to do this. Experimentation is encouraged, and weapon proficiency stats are tied directly to how often a specific weapon is used. This means that, in theory, the player can explore the open world, engaging in as much combat as possible, and as long as they are regularly switching between weapons, they will become stronger with each one. Conversely, for those who settle on their weapon of choice early on, this loyalty will be rewarded as proficiency increases and more abilities unlock.

Rise of the Ronin also allows players to switch between three distinct styles for each weapon. Each of these styles has its strengths and weaknesses, and switching between them will allow players to gain the upper hand against enemies of varying size and strength. When mixed with the special abilities, the stamina meter, and the emphasis on parrying, the combat’s increasing number of layers is suitably deep and rewarding. Players are encouraged to find what works for them and apply it liberally.

Completionists and Players Who Roam Off the Beaten Path Will Be Rewarded

While Rise of the Ronin‘s in-game world is unlikely to win any awards for visuals or originality, it does manage to nail the concept of rewarding exploration. For those who aren’t overly keen on ticking off every single marker on the open world’s map, the game cleverly splits this up into bite-sized chunks, and hitting 100% in each of these areas will reward the player with rare loot. This means players can pick and choose what they want to do, while still aiming for rewards, without the need to complete absolutely everything on the map. Random mini-boss encounters are also scattered across the map, and these are often cleverly hidden so that players will quite literally stumble upon them with no warning. This adds a great element of unpredictability to the game, and similarly to Elden Ring, encourages players to scour the map from top to bottom.

Rise of the Ronin

Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin is an exclusive PS5 action RPG set in Japan, with the story taking place during the Edo period’s final few years.

Released

March 22, 2024

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Genre(s)

Action RPG

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op

Engine

Proprietary

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence