While waiting for next week’s review, a final try of Rise of the Ronin, arriving exclusively for PlayStation 5.
After spending a few hours with the game, it’s clear that the most striking aspect of Rise of the Ronin is its combat system, more unique than rare in an open world context. The Team Ninja title presents a combat system closer to that of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice than Ghost of Tsushima, and the fact that this takes place in such a large setting is a new element.
The game has some openings compared to Soulslikes, like the Japanese development team’s Nioh itself: for example, you can pause at any time, and save at any time while exploring the open world.
Not that this necessarily leads to a simplification of the game, on the contrary. Rise of the Ronin is full of mechanics to digest, such as the fact that the more you use a weapon type, the more you rank up in that fundamental, thus unlocking further moves spread across four branches. There is a non-trivial RPG component, which is halfway between Souls and the most basic action adventure, so not excessively pronounced.
Deviations —
The combat system is the star of the show though. Rich in tension and pathos, it is mainly based on deflect, a fairly extreme dynamic that recalls the aforementioned Sekiro. It is very high risk, given that every blow suffered hurts a lot, but also very high reward: with common enemies it is enough to execute it correctly to completely collapse their posture and therefore be able to proceed with a lethal critical blow.
The deflect is further enhanced by the fact that the enemies’ bar goes down very slowly if it is not used, and that the enemies always have a good parry and a tough posture to loosen. The AI is capable of landing quick combos, and reading individual hits requires great timing and some getting used to. For example: did you know that you can also deflect shots marked in red, which are typically unstoppable in action adventures? Now you know.
Looking at others that have attempted to replicate the samurai experience in an open world, such as Ghost of Tsushima, it wasn’t a given that a more hardcore formula wouldn’t end up diluted in some way. In the Sucker Punch title, for example, there was a level of complexity, but it soon descended into button mashing that quickly broke the spell.
An open world —
The care placed on the fighting is also revealed by details such as those relating to the flaming arrows. By deflecting them, it is possible to make your weapons catch fire for a short period, and this causes extra damage on enemies hit in that moment: it is a type of systemic reaction that recalls the latest Zelda games and, although small, it is a rarity in type. The combat is also quite gory, with decapitations and jumping limbs, respecting a cinematic tradition that has never spared itself with this setting.
Team Ninja has not given up on a functional stealth component. Detecting enemies is perhaps too simple, but the mechanics allow you to take out minor ones with an instant hit. We won’t dwell too much on the world of Rise of the Ronin, keeping this aspect for further investigation during the review phase. However, it is a truly open world, with a well-defined map, various explorable areas and a horse (among other things) to do so.
Since every challenge can be the last even outdoors, the game features checkpoints that can be visited once freed from enemies (sometimes a small village, other times on the road). As a matter of curiosity, checkpoints and animation are recycled exactly from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty by the same developer.
Rise of the Ronin, the verdict (for now) —
The setting is fascinating: we are in a sort of Japanese Red Dead Redemption, in which one world is giving way to another and we, in the role of a ronin who has abandoned his clan to seek revenge, will be right in the middle. Between the ancient of feudal Japan and the modern of a tormented opening to the West.
From a technical point of view, Rise of the Ronin is in a complex situation. From these first few hours, the game feels very dirty. There are three modes: graphics, performance and ray tracing. But all three have notable problems: even with the best graphics, it pales in comparison to Ghost of Tsushima, with which the comparison appears natural due to the setting and of which it tries to imitate some of the most successful visual expedients (tall grass, for example example). The models and structures are rough, some proportions are incorrect – think of rabbits wandering around the world -, and the animations are questionable. On Performance, the graphics take a further hit with an experience that, however, remains inconsistent in terms of frame rate. The Italian dubbing, whose availability is undoubtedly an advantage, also seems to be of very questionable quality for now.
We’ll talk more about the game when we show you our review of Rise of the Ronin on March 21st at 12pm.
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