Koei Tecmo Games has managed to put out a lot of great action titles over the past few years, bit is Rise of Ronin one of these? We’ve had Nioh, then its sequel, then Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and each of them were tough as nails too. Rise of Ronin follows in their footsteps while setting itself apart with a variety of things that it does differently.
So should you pick up this game on PC and is it worth checking out?
Rise of Ronin
Rise of Ronin originally launched on the PlayStation 5 in 2024. Now fast forward to 2025 and a PC release has graced us with its presence. Rise of Ronin is an action adventure almost “soulslike” game that has a deeper focus on storytelling and freedom. The game is set in Japan around the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate’s reunification and the subsequent period afterwards. Government forces are, however, overreaching and there’s an air of rebellion in the midst of things.
This is where you come in as the player. As part of a shady organization known as the Veiled Edge, you and your “Blade Twin” were trained up by a Bladesmith mentor to enact swift vengeance, or justice, as your organization deems fit. The game onboards players quite quickly by setting up a tutorial mission which has you boarding a British Imperial Navy ship and trying to assassinate its Captain. It all feels very Assassin’s Creed-like and stealth is an aspect of Rise of Ronin that works really well.
The story escalates when a mysterious figure shows up and you’re separated from your Blade Twin. Without spoiling too much, the story of Rise of Ronin is filled with political intrigue, subterfuge, nationalism, turmoil, betrayal and of course a tonne of drama revolving around military figures and leaders. This is palpable in the game’s world-building since NPC characters will talk about the actions of bandits or government in the game and it feels very believable.
Moving on to the gameplay, Rise of Ronin features of a mixture of various Team Ninja / Koei Tecmo styles of combat. It feels very Nioh but at the same time also feels very Ninja Gaiden. Players will control one of the two protagonists who they will create at the start of the game. The character creator is great and you can easily spend hours here crafting your perfect protagonists. You can even pick your character’s nail colour which is something I haven’t ever seen before in a video game. More games need to do this! Some more body size/type options would have been appreciated but other than that, the character creator is excellent.
Circling back to the actual gameplay though. As mentioned above, it feels very Nioh. In fact, the game also includes specific stances just like in Nioh and you will have to swap between stances to augment your damage or defence capabilities. If you enjoyed Nioh, you’ll definitely enjoy Rise of Ronin’s combat. Players can use a “Counterspark” ability which allows them to instantly counter an enemy’s attack based on a telltale red marker or based on correct timing. Again, very Nioh and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it eh?
There’s quite a lot of variety in weapon choices in Rise of Ronin and their damage output is tied to your various stats and a skill tree. As you progress throughout the game you will gain experience and skill points which you can spend unlocking more of the skill trees. These are essential to progressing since they really do improve your character a lot. Fairly standard fare for any self-respecting adventure game to be honest.
Enemies in Rise of Ronin range from weaker foes that can be instantly killed via stealth takedowns or tougher foes who will take a lot more damage before succumbing. Players can stagger enemies and unleash strong finisher attacks and these are incredibly satisfying to pull off.
Rise of Ronin features a mixture of an open-world with more story focused missions. Like a blend between Ninja Gaiden and Nioh’s chaptered level approach with a more Ubisoft-esque open-world with villages or encampments to unlock and free from the clutches of the government or bandits. It works seamlessly and is rather well done. The RPG aspects also show through here since you can converse with NPCs and also make decisions/choices throughout the game that have far reaching consequences down the line.
Players can also access a horse when they unlock it later in the game and can fast travel between destinations. Soulslike aspects creep into the game in the form of “Banners” which serve as the equivalent bonfires. You can rest at these, change your equipment and respawn enemies in the environment when these are accessed. Changing your weapons will also become crucial to progressing since some weapons benefit greatly from the different stances and style on offer.
The katana for example was my favourite since it just gives you so much more freedom to play the game in a satisfying manner. Using a spear for example is a lot slower and feels hefty but given how brutal enemies are in this game, chances are you’re going to die unless you know what you’re doing.
Which brings me to my next point. Rise of Ronin is a brutal game. Even standard enemies can easily deal massive damage to you if you’re not careful. There are plenty of times in the game where you will be absolutely decimated from underestimating a foe. In fact, the prologue of the game itself is already tough as nails it may put off some less patient gamers from progressing further. This is definitely a Team Ninja game alright.
Players can play some missions co-operatively with a friend and this further adds to the game’s enjoyment since it really enhances the fun factor. Taking on tough foes together with a pal is extremely fun but you will have to fight your way through the story single-player for most of the game until you unlock the specific missions where you can team up with a friend.
Where Rise of Ronin falters somewhat lies with the fact that on PC, the game suffered from a rocky launch. Performance was all over the place with the framerates dropping into the single digits on a high end PC when out in the open world. At the time of writing this review, there has been a few patches though and this seems to have been ironed out but as with all PC games, depending on your own system configuration, your mileage may vary.
Rise of Ronin looks absolutely fantastic with all settings maxed out and thankfully a Photo Mode is also present in the game for you to play around with. The game is just so beautiful you’ll often spend some time just admiring the scenery when you’re not out on the battlefield dying to bandits and soldiers.
The soundtrack of the game is excellent with music that’s appropriate for the game’s theme. The voice acting is also very well done and the sound effects are on point too – Especially for the finishers and more flashy moves.
Final Verdict
Overall Rise of Ronin on PC is an excellent game bogged down with some technical difficulties which are still being patched out. The game blends a lot of different genres into one and you can easily spend 100 hours or more in this game clearing up the various objectives on the map or replaying older missions and making different choices. This is a great game and one that you should give a try if you’re a fan of Nioh, Ninja Gaiden or Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.
Rise of Ronin Trailer
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The code was provided by the distributor.
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