Rise of The Ronin hands-on: A memorable journey to 19th century Japan

If we’re still going through a period where many of us are anchored in the Shogun series universe, we confess that we were quite happy when we heard about Sony’s newest game release, Rise of The Ronin for PlayStation 5. It jump right into 19th century Japan, a period that brings with it countless political tensions and intrigues that you, nameless and clanless samurai, will have to resolve in a satisfying way. And after a title like Ghost of Tsushima, the previous samurai game I played on PS5, the standards are set pretty high. So let’s see what’s up with Rise of The Ronin.

But let’s start with the beginning. The game released at the end of March impresses primarily by reproducing the historical context. We are at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in the second half of the 19th century, and Japan’s borders are beginning to open to the Western world. This, of course, brings with it a whole new set of problems that the Japanese people have to face, and it’s your duty as a Ronin, meaning Clanless Samurai, to help solve them. In fact, that’s what the game is about, it gives us a direction that reminds us quite strongly of the Assassin’s Creed series, especially the first titles in the series.

Open World developed

Another very good part is the atmosphere of the world through which you spin, the game being an open world type, with very strong emphasis on combat, one that will keep you glued to the screen, but which will not conquer you from the very first minute. The control scheme is slightly complicated at first glance, but it is adaptable at will, and after the first few minutes of familiarization with the combat mechanics, the game takes on a completely different dimension. It’s very satisfying to win the many duels with the enemies, and the boss fights are also well scripted, maybe even too well in places. In the first few hours of gameplay, we had to lower the difficulty level in order to solve some challenges.

And if we still compared Rise of The Ronin with Ghost of Tsushima, well here we are talking about a much more pronounced tangent on the RPG genre, combined with special attention to the action-adventure component. The result is fun and immersive, especially through the DualSense controllers. The haptic feedback we’ve talked about countless times here at connect conveys the “game vibe” to your hands much more naturally than a traditional Force Feedback controller from other competing consoles.

In fact, we could say that Bakumatsu-era Japan is one of the main characters in Rise of The Ronin, due to the complexity and attention to detail with which it was created. The multiple characters you’ll meet throughout this game, and the 50+ hours of gameplay you’ll easily hit in your foray, will help cement this gaming experience. But be warned, Rise of The Ronin is one of those games that gets more and more impressive the more time you invest in it. What we can tell you is that it’s totally worth it.

Fast paced gameplay

And, if we were talking earlier about the importance of the DualSense controller in the immersion in Japan in 1863, it must also be specified how it leaves its mark on combat. Every sword strike, or especially archery, feels very realistic in Rise of The Ronin, given that we’re talking about a game released specifically for Sony’s console hardware. It reminds me of another title developed for the PS5, Returnal, which made extremely good use of such features. Then combine that with Spatial Audio, provided you’re using a compatible pair of headphones, and Japan comes alive before your eyes and ears.

During the fights, hand-eye coordination is significantly helped by all the previously mentioned details and makes you feel, literally, the scenery that surrounds you but also the various ways of fighting, possible thanks to the multiple categories of weapons that you can choose to use . And we’re not just talking about traditional Japanese weapons here, but European ones as well. You can choose which mode you want to play, more stealth or more brutal, and that’s a very good thing. In fact, if you go more on the first option, the game will feel very close to the Assassin’s Creed series, as I mentioned earlier.

Also, the choices you will make during dozens of hours of gameplay, which will determine the storytelling experience, are extremely important. As I said, the RPG component is very well developed and intertwines properly with the action. Although the story does not flow linearly at many points, there is no loss of continuity, even if you choose to run from place to place to take care of the side missions. Incidentally, with all this, the total game time starts to increase by a good few hours.

Characters you easily become attached to

Another positive aspect to mention are the “Bond” type missions, those in which you develop your relationship with other samurai, with whom you will participate to fulfill them. In fact, the whole story of Rise of The Ronin is based on the sense of camaraderie and fighting side by side with your “brothers”. Your Blade twin, the sword brother, plays a pivotal role in the plot, one that we won’t go into too much detail about, but which will have a massive impact on the very history of Japan as you progress through the playthrough. In fact, friends as friends, but also enemies are very well outlined from the point of view of the scenario, and the fact that the gameplay I was talking about earlier turns into a Dark Souls type in some places, will even make you you really hate some of the fictional bad guys you’ll run into on your foray.

Another element present at every step is the fear of making mistakes in your choices. As with any RPG worth considering, the choices you make can have devastating consequences for the course of the game, many of the characters, and even the protagonist. There aren’t many titles where I was actually afraid to choose, metaphorically speaking, left or right, not being at all sure of the consequences that would befall my path. So be careful here too, because not always the most convenient or obvious choice is the right one for you.