Rise of the Ronin Review Summary

Fun and satisfying combat: The combat system is widely praised for being enjoyable, accessible, and rewarding. Players find it fun, challenging, and satisfying with a variety of techniques and actions.

Enjoyable gameplay experience: Players report an enjoyable and engaging gameplay experience with high replayability. The gameplay is described as rewarding, addictive, and generally highly rated.

Immersive open world: The game includes a well-crafted open world with a variety of activities and exploration opportunities. The open world is described as enjoyable, immersive, and alive.

Deep character customization: The game features a robust and in-depth character customization system, allowing for extensive customization of character appearance and weapons. This includes a detailed character creation system and various build combinations.

Well-developed characters: The game has well-developed characters with good character development. Players find the characters interesting and engaging.

Combat system flaws: The combat system is widely criticized for being clunky, frustrating, and poorly designed. Players find it overly complex, unfair, and lacking depth, leading to a mediocre and tiring experience.

Optimization and performance issues: The game suffers from significant optimization problems, leading to performance issues such as stuttering, frame drops, and long loading times. These issues are particularly noticeable in cities and on PC.

Outdated and poor graphics: The game's graphics are frequently described as outdated, subpar, and not up to modern standards. Many players feel the graphics look like they belong to a mid-2010s game, with poor textures and lighting.

Weak and confusing storyline: The storyline is criticized for being simplistic, repetitive, and poorly written. Many players find the story confusing and not immersive, lacking groundbreaking elements.

Difficult and unfair boss battles: Boss fights are often described as difficult, unfair, and unbalanced. Players find these battles frustrating and overly challenging, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.

Detailed combat mechanics: The combat system is detailed and includes mechanics such as parrying, stamina management, blocking, and special moves. It features a variety of weapons and combat styles, with enemies having different combat mechanics than the player.

Open-world exploration and activities: The game features an extensive open-world design with various activities, exploration mechanics, and a semi-open world structure. Players can engage in horse riding, grappling hooks, gliding, and random encounters, with a map that gradually unlocks points of interest.

Variety of weapons and combat styles: Players have access to a wide variety of weapons and combat styles, allowing for different fighting stances and strategies. This variety enhances the combat experience and provides multiple ways to approach encounters.

Unique historical setting: The game is set in 1800s Japan during the Bakumatsu period, featuring a historical context with prominent figures and events from the late Tokugawa shogunate. The story involves historical factions and characters, providing a rich historical backdrop.

Comparison to other games: The combat and gameplay mechanics are often compared to other games like Nioh, Sekiro, Dark Souls, Ghost of Tsushima, and Assassin's Creed. The game features a combat system similar to these titles but with its own unique elements.

Poor optimization and performance: The game suffers from significant optimization issues leading to various performance problems. Players report poor PC port performance, long loading times, and graphical glitches.

Graphical issues and downgrades: Players note graphical glitches, downgrades, and overall poor graphical quality. Some areas suffer from severe graphical issues affecting the visual experience.

Frame rate and stuttering problems: The game has issues with frame rate fluctuations, stuttering, and occasional frame drops. Some players experience slow-motion bugs and FPS drops in certain areas.

High system resource usage: The game has high GPU and VRAM usage, with some players reporting CPU usage spikes. This can lead to performance issues, especially in densely populated areas.

Specific settings improve performance: Adjusting specific settings can improve performance, with some players achieving stable 60 FPS with certain configurations.

Recommended for Soulslike and Action Fans: This game is highly recommended for fans of Elden Ring, Sekiro, Nioh series, and other realistic soulslike games. It is also suggested for those who enjoy Samurai/Ninja action games and open-world exploration.

Buy During Sales: Many reviewers suggest purchasing the game during sales to get the best value. It is often mentioned as a good buy when discounted.

Historical and Cultural Appeal: The game is recommended for those interested in Japanese history, the Bakumatsu period, and samurai culture.

Mixed Recommendations Based on Fan Status: The game is highly recommended for hardcore fans and those who enjoy Team Ninja's mechanics, but it may not be suitable for everyone.

Potential for Future Improvements: Reviewers express hope for improvements in future games and potential sequels or DLCs.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 67.0h.

Endgame: 160.0h.

The game starts fun but becomes repetitive after about 10 hours. The fun increases as players progress and overcome the initial learning curve.

Reported time to anchor: 10h.

Friction: Repetitive tasks; Steep learning curve.

Unlock drivers: Progressing through the game; Mastering combat mechanics.

History Buff: Explores the story and historical setting, uses the encyclopedia for understanding events. Motivation: Historical context and narrative. Stance: sale.

Setting Enthusiast: Engages in non-combat activities, enjoys the realism and RPG mechanics. Motivation: Unique setting and non-combat activities. Stance: buy.

Performance Critic: Focuses on the technical aspects of the game, tests performance and optimization. Motivation: Technical performance and optimization. Stance: no buy.

Performance issues and instability are commonly reported across all hardware cohorts, with higher VRAM configurations also experiencing significant problems. Even powerful systems struggle with optimization and crashes.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: negative. Users report poor performance, crashes, and instability despite high VRAM, with many noting significant issues even after updates.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: negative. Frequent complaints about crashes, poor optimization, and high CPU usage, making the game difficult to play smoothly.

Windows <8GB VRAM: negative. Struggles with stability and performance, with many users experiencing crashes and unplayable frame rates even on lower settings.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck experience for this game is marred by significant performance issues, including frequent crashes, poor optimization, and graphical problems. Users report severe frame drops, stuttering, and compatibility issues with upscaling technologies like FSR and DLSS. Additionally, the game's high storage requirements and subpar graphical quality are notable concerns. Stability issues, such as sudden crashes and hardware strain, further detract from the experience. While some users find the controls fluid, others report responsiveness issues, particularly in combat scenarios.

Linux and Proton: The game exhibits significant performance issues on Linux, with notable drops in FPS and occasional crashes. While some users report that tweaking settings can improve performance, others experience stability issues and crashes. High-end hardware seems to mitigate some of these problems, but the overall experience on Linux and Steam Deck is mixed. The game requires additional optimization for a smoother experience on Linux systems.

Monetization: The analysis of user reviews indicates that the game is generally praised for not having microtransactions or season passes, which is a positive aspect of its monetization. Some reviews mention the base price and technical issues, but these are not directly related to predatory monetization practices. Overall, the game appears to be fair in its monetization approach.

External guides: The analysis of user feedback reveals several critical issues impacting the user experience. The most prominent concerns include the lack of clear explanations for complex game mechanics, the necessity to rely on external guides for understanding combos and techniques, and significant performance issues such as frame rate drops. These issues collectively detract from the overall enjoyment and accessibility of the game.

Mixed personal experiences: Users have mixed feelings about the game, with some enjoying it despite its flaws and others comparing it to their experiences with other games like SEKIRO, Elden Ring, and Ghost of Tsushima.

User platform preferences: Users mention playing the game on various platforms, including PS5 and PC, and some discuss their personal PC setups.

Positive feedback on technical support: The game supports a variety of monitor setups, including 32:9 monitors, and allows resolution changes without stretching.

Negative future purchase intent: Some users express dissatisfaction, stating they won't purchase Team Ninja games in the future.

Mentions of game audio: There are mentions of the game's audio aspects, specifically the French dubbing and music.