I love you, Rise of the Rōnin – warts and all

Rarely have I been so enthusiastic about a game with such obvious flaws. With every new mission and every dismembered enemy, I fell more in love with this bloody samurai adventure. Rise of the Rōnin kept me glued to the PS5 controller with its atmospheric open world, quirky charm and addictive combat system.

After around 50 hours, I can look back on an outrageously fun, incredibly bloody and occasionally chaotic gaming experience.

The story serves as a weak excuse for brutal carnage

Rise of the Rōnin takes place at the end of the 19th century. Japan is in a state of civil war. The Shogun’s military government wants to open up to the West, while imperial loyalists want to seal the country off from foreign powers.

As a masterless swordsman, I find myself smack dab between two warring factions. I’m trying to track down my presumed dead fellow Rōnin whom I lost years ago on a secret mission. In search of my Blade Twin, I switch back and forth between the opposing factions. Sometimes I fight alongside the shogunate, slaughtering the emperor’s supporters. One mission later, I pull out my sword for the emperor and fight samurai of the shogunate.

If you’re unfamiliar with Japanese history, you’ll get lost in the ultra-fast-paced storytelling of Rise of the Rōnin. The game introduces new characters at the speed of light and kills them off just as quickly. Their motivations are usually only vaguely hinted at, their intrigues and betrayals are incomprehensible. At least the numerous Encyclopaedia entries on historical figures, locations and events help bring some order to the chaos.

Overall, the story in Rise of the Rōnin feels confused and overloaded despite its historical context. I also get the feeling my decisions have no logical influence on the course of the story. As a result, I quickly decide to switch off my brain and hold back my urge for logic and comprehensible storytelling. Instead, I enjoy the brutal action. Because it has it all.

Dodge, block, slaughter

The big game highlight is the sophisticated combat system, reminiscent of other Souls-likes from developer studio Team Ninja. The brutal and often very bloody battles feel like a delicate dance between offence and defence. I can’t hit even the weakest enemies blindly. I constantly have to keep an eye on my character’s stamina, or as it’s called in Rise of the Rōnin – Ki.

Every attack, every dodge and every blocked attack lowers my Ki bar at the bottom of the screen. If it’s empty, I’m at the mercy of enemy attacks. If I parry attacks with perfect timing, the enemy loses some of their Ki and I can launch a devastating special attack. The adrenaline rush I get from countering endless enemy combo attacks is incredibly satisfying and downright addictive.

I go into battle with various Japanese melee weapons. Different fighting styles are available for each of them, all more or less effective depending on the opponent. Initially, I concentrate on spears and katanas. Over the course of my adventure, I unlock new weapons, fighting styles and attacks at an incredibly fast pace. These are supplemented by exciting skills I unlock with enough experience points in skill trees. The game isn’t stingy with new armour either.

In addition to katanas and other blades, I also have ranged weapons at my disposal. From western rifles and revolvers to Japanese shuriken and bows and arrows, everything is included. My favourite, however, is a powerful flamethrower. I almost feel sorry for my helpless enemies with their puny swords as I roast them to yakiniku with 1000 degrees.

The fast pace of unlocking weapons, armour and skills makes for a lot of variety. Different combinations allow various gameplay styles, and experimenting with them is a lot of fun. I’m in love. My only criticism of the combat system is the camera, which can sometimes be a bit annoying. Especially in tight spaces, it goes completely crazy when my character is pushed into a corner. I often lose both the overview, and the battle as a whole.

Open world with technical flaws

In search of my Blade Twin, I explore three expansive game worlds – Yokohama, Edo (now known as Tokyo) and Kyoto. The historical setting inevitably reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima’s stunning island. A shame that the open world of Rise of the Rōnin clearly loses out graphically and technically compared to the PS4 blockbuster, now four years old.

While Ghost of Tsushima scores with a highly stylised and colourful presentation, Rise of the Rōnin opts for a more realistic, but also paler depiction of its historical scenario, caused by a number of technical problems. Whether graphics or performance mode, the game often stutters along. As I traverse the game world, I’m also accompanied by muddy textures and unsightly pop-in effects. Characters and their animations also seem wooden and out of date in places. At least I can decide for myself how good or bad my own character looks – the game has an amazingly extensive character editor. I can even customise the appearance of my Rōnin later in the game.

On a positive note, I must emphasise the massive cities. The densely populated streets full of passers-by and vendors transport me to a bygone era with their authentic atmosphere and rustic charm. A dream come true for all history lovers and Japan fans. And another reason why I fell in love with Rise of the Rōnin.

I’m a psychopathic mass murderer

Traversing the extensive game areas is a lot of fun thanks to the means of transportation. I glide around in a self-made flying machine like in Breath of the Wild. Thanks to a grappling hook, I can climb ledges and houses with ease. And I gallop elegantly towards the sunset on my horse. Glorious. It’s also commendable that the game worlds are designed in such a way that I never have to take unnecessary detours to reach my destination. There are shortcuts everywhere I can use with my gadgets.

There’s a lot to discover in Yokohama, Edo and Kyoto. Sometimes I let myself be guided by exciting landmarks in the game world, and sometimes I work through an Ubisoft-style open-world checklist in the menu. I can’t ride or fly directly to a destination. I’m constantly veering off course and looking for collectable items or getting lost in side activities and side quests. They’re not particularly creative, but they’re quick and give me valuable experience points as well as rare items.

I collect hidden cats, achieve high scores at shooting ranges and help citizens in need. My favourite is the photography missions where I have to find and photograph certain subjects. These missions slow down the action-packed game and provide variety in everyday combat.

However, the main chunk of activities in the open world consists of liberating villages or city districts from nasty bandits. These unspectacular liberation missions aren’t very diverse. But thanks to the excellent combat system, clearing settlements is still a lot of fun, even after the fiftieth time. I often start in stealth, using my glider for assassinations from the air or pulling enemies onto rooftops unnoticed with the grappling hook to murder them there.

The game doesn’t tell me why I’m liberating the villages and who these criminals are. In Ghost of Tsushima, the mission was clear – free your island from evil Mongol invaders. In Rise of the Rōnin, on the other hand, I dismember random people who’ve taken over a village for whatever reason. Let’s be frank – I’m a psychopathic mass murderer. But who cares, I switched my brain off a long time ago. I’m just happy to have an extra reason to slaughter even more enemies.

Speaking of switching off your brain – bandits have apparently also put their upper brains into standby mode. They’re dumb as a doornail. If I’m hidden, I can murder a bandit with my sabre three metres away from his crony without being discovered. My victim screams like a spitfire. His buddy sees this, whistles to himself and walks away without a care in the world. However, I don’t see these unintentionally comical situations as a point of criticism – on the contrary. Rise of the Rōnin has rough edges, but it exudes an idiosyncratic charm that reminds me of games from the PS3 era.

A Rōnin rarely comes alone

Rise of the Rōnin is inspired by Team Ninja’s other Souls-like games. In addition to the combat, the checkpoint system is also typically Souls-like – if I rest at a Veiled Edge Banner, I replenish my health, medicine and ammunition, but enemies that have already been killed respawn. If an enemy kills me, my experience points are lost until I take revenge on them.

However, the game isn’t quite as difficult as Nioh or Wo Long. I can switch back and forth between three difficulty levels at any time. In many main missions, I also have up to two companions fighting alongside me. This makes quests easier, but also more varied. I can choose to swap NPCs for real players and fight online with friends or strangers.

For my test, I played almost exclusively with computer-controlled companions – not least because I can control them myself in missions if necessary. I learn new fighting styles and weapons along the way. For example, French commander Jules Brunet fights with a shield and sword, while legendary samurai Ryōma Sakamoto helps out with a katana and firearm. The higher my bond with individual companions, the more attacks and combat advantages I unlock. I increase this bond by completing missions and talking to characters.

Despite the variety provided by numerous allies, the mission design of the main quests is monotonous overall. Exciting tasks are few and far between. I usually have to wipe out all enemies and face a huge boss at the end of the level. Violence is always the solution. Luckily, the violence in Rise of the Rōnin is so much fun that I don’t get bored with the simple missions until the end credits roll.

Verdict: a terrific game, despite quirks and bugs

Rise of the Rōnin is a fascinating game. It makes up for its lack of polish with a considerable amount of charm. It makes me like the game more than many other polished but soulless AAA game.

Yes, the graphics are old-fashioned, the mission design is repetitive and the enemies are dumb as dirt. But the combat system and movement in the open world are so much fun that these points of criticism pale into insignificance. If I switch off my brain and enjoy the excellent action, my time with the game flies by. Rise of the Rōnin may not be flawless, but it offers a damn fun and captivating gaming experience that no samurai and Japan fan should miss out on.

Rise of the Rōnin will be released on 22 March for the PS5. The game was provided to me by Sony for testing purposes.