Rise of the Ronin is out this week, and this new Sony-published game from Nioh developer Team Ninja shifts the action to a more grounded direction when compared to the studio’s recent spate of fantasy-themed titles. Set in a turbulent era of Japan, Rise of the Ronin tells character-driven stories across years of history that you’ll shape with your blade and guns.
Reviews are live at dozens of outlets, and so far, critics have highlighted the game’s surprisingly strong storytelling and slick action. Where Rise of the Ronin does seemingly falter is in its open world full of busywork, a lack of variety in missions, and the game needing several hours to find its groove. On GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic, Rise of the Ronin currently has a “Generally Favorable” Metascore of 76 from 94 reviews.
“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,” Phil Hornshaw wrote in GameSpot’s Rise of the Ronin review. For more review roundups of all the big games dropping this month, you can check out what critics have to say about Dragon’s Dogma 2, Alone in the Dark, and Unicorn Overlord.
Game: Rise of the RoninPlatforms: Steam, PS5Developer: Team NinjaRelease Date: March 22Price: $70
GameSpot — 7/10
“It’s not without some flaws, but I finished Rise of the Ronin with much more left to do, and even after 50 hours, I want to head back in to see what I’d missed and attempt to change history. The parts of the game that work more than balance out its weaker elements. And while it took a while to find the rhythm of Rise of the Ronin’s combat, its speed, complexity, and intensity make for some phenomenal fights that always feel great to win. Rise of the Ronin is a game that might take a bit to get good, but the commitment is worth it.” — Phil Hornshaw [Full review]
NME — 4/5
“Rise Of The Ronin has a slow start, but pays off immeasurably for those who stick with it. Few titles can match the frantic thrill of its sword fights, while Bakumatsu proves to be the perfect setting for a choice-driven narrative.” — Andy Brown [Full review]
Eurogamer — 4/5
“As a Sony-published release, Ronin isn’t quite Team Ninja’s Elden Ring, even if it does evolve its Nioh-like formula, with the help of existing open world formulae. Still, while it’s been great to witness the renaissance of Japanese games these past few years, there’s something special about seeing a Japanese developer stepping up to reclaim the AAA open world samurai game for itself –especially one that cares more about being a video game than a Kurosawa film.” — Alan Wen [Full review]
Noisy Pixel — 8/10
“Rise of the Ronin is a masterful blend of historical fantasy narrative and intricate combat mechanics, set in an expansive and immersive open world. The game challenges and respects player choices, offering a rich story that explores loyalty, cultural shifts, and personal goals. Despite minor issues with environmental traversal and graphical hiccups, Team Ninja’s foray into open-world design is a significant achievement.” — Azario Lopez [Full review]
RPG Site – 8/10
“It is relatively much more grounded than Team Ninja’s previous action RPGs as it contains no mythical, supernatural, or fantastical elements; Rise of the Ronin is a story about humans all the way through. While this title retains the awesome action combat that Team Ninja is known for, its open-world activities lack variety, and much of what it has to offer in that regard has been done before, and even better, in other open-world titles.” — Josh Torres [Full review]
GamesRadar — 3.5/5
“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.” — Joe Donnelly [Full review]
IGN – 7/10
“Rise of the Ronin is excellent when it has the courage to be itself and lean into its challenging, rewarding fighting; too often, however, it feels stuck in indecision, torn between what it wants to be and what it feels it’s expected to be, and not even the best samurai can overcome that.” — Will Border [Full review]