Rise of the Rōnin preview: a cross between a Soulslike and Ghost of Tsushima

Fans of historical Japanese settings have a treat in store for them. Last month saw the launch of Shōgun, an excellent mini-series set in 16th century Japan. Now, Rise of the Rōnin, a new, PS5-exclusive samurai game created by legendary developer studio Team Ninja, is scheduled for release on 22 March.

The game begins at the end of the Edo period in the late 19th century. Japan’s opening up to the West, political tensions are rising and the country’s plunging into civil war. And as a masterless Rōnin, I’m right in the middle of the chaos. I can hardly wait to get started.

I could spend hours using the character creator

I spend about five hours previewing the game. During my limited amount of game time, I complete several main missions, threatening the safety of the open world around the port city of Yokohama. But before I get to that, I spend a fair bit of time unleashing my creativity on the character creator.

It’s astoundingly detailed and allows me to customise the appearance of my character right down to the smallest detail. I give my Rōnin a grim, scarred face. And he’s got to be muscly too, obviously. I don’t want to go too crazy with the hair style and colour. But I do go all out on the tattoos, choosing a beautiful combination of koi carp and flowers.

Forty-five minutes later, I’m finally satisfied with my creation. I’m ready to go into battle. But since the story revolves around a fearsome Rōnin couple, the game then tells me I need to create a second character. My creative juices have stopped flowing. I don’t put as much effort into my female Rōnin, choosing instead to rely heavily on presets. Nevertheless, I’m satisfied with the result.

If you can’t be bothered delving into the character creator, you can use the two predefined game characters. Or you can have characters created for you at random. The results produced by the random generator, however, are usually ... questionable.

My editorial colleague Simon has, as usual, pulled out all the stops to create game characters in the ugliest possible combinations. I’m intriguedto see what sort of crazy creations players concoct once the game’s been released.

A bumpy start

Once I’ve generated my characters, I need to complete various tutorial missions first. I go head-to-head with an old sword master in a practice fight, infiltrate an American merchant ship and defend my village from an attack by masked assassins. In these initial missions, the storytelling seems a little clunky. Why am I doing all this and what motivates each character? Beats me. I just let it happen and accept the chaos.

My introduction to the combat system proves to be even rockier. I’m inundated with tutorials, overcrowded menus and button combinations. Unable to remember it all, I find myself floundering at the first boss. I also find the intro’s linear level design frustrating and boring. I just can’t seem to click with it. My initial excitement about the Rōnin adventure gives way to worry.

Exciting game world, unspectacular graphics

After the linear tutorial missions, I’m let loose on Rise of the Rōnin’s open game world. The area around the port city of Yokohama draws you in with its hilly landscapes and beautiful beaches, making you want to explore.

Once I’ve taken my first few steps into the open world, my initial concerns vanish. Yes, the game gets off to a bit of a bumpy start, but what I see here gives me hope. I want to explore every last inch of this world. Everywhere I look, there’s something exciting. I unlock new means of transportation relatively quickly, riding around on a fast horse, scaling buildings and rocky gorges with a grappling hook and flying through the air on a homemade glider. Moving around is fun and gives me even more of an incentive to explore the game world.

The historical setting inevitably reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima’s stunning open world. From what I’ve seen so far, however, Rise of the Rōnin’s graphics clearly fall short of the PS4 classic. When exploring the game world, I see stuttering, pop-in effects and unattractive textures in places. Not only that, but the characters and animations aren’t all on a par with today’s standards. Patches are set to be delivered before the game’s release, but I doubt they’ll work any graphical miracles.

A Soulslike touch

In the thrilling open world, I quickly forget I’ve got a pretty urgent main mission to complete. Side quests and mini-games, such as the shooting range and flying obstacle course, distract me. I’m busy looking for hidden cats that’ll help me unlock new, rare armour. Or taking on side quests to help the citizens wandering around the place. And liberating countless villages from nasty bandits. It’s a typical open world experience.

During these liberation missions, I get familiar with Rise of the Rōnin’s combat system. I fight with katanas and spears, as well as handguns, bows and arrows in often very bloody battles. Combat is a delicate dance between attack and defence, during which I always have to keep an eye on my stamina meter. With every attack, block and dodge, I lose a bit of stamina or «Ki» as it’s called in Rise of the Rōnin. Once this bar is completely depleted, I’m at the mercy of my opponent’s attacks.

With a perfectly timed counterattack, I not only fend off enemy attacks, but also rob the attackers of their Ki. This makes them vulnerable for a short time.

Anyone who’s ever played Team Ninja’s Soulslike games will get to grips with the basics of the combat system quickly. It might not be as spectacular and seamlessly staged as in Ghost of Tsushima, but it’s always fun. When I lash out mindlessly, I usually end up getting killed. Every opponent requires a considered approach and perfect timing. If I die in the open world, I lose the experience points I’ve earned so far. I can get them back by taking revenge on my rival after respawning and killing them. Another typical Soulslike feature is that if I rest at a checkpoint, I replenish my health points, medicine and ammunition, but dead enemies respawn.

Mind you, Rise of the Rōnin isn’t quite as difficult as other Soulslike titles. There’s a selection of three difficulty levels. On the easiest setting, even Soulslike noobs like me should be able to get the hang of the combat system – despite the less-than-ideal tutorial.

The combat system has potential

At this point, I’ve only scratched the surface of the combat system. A glance at the menus reveals numerous skill trees and countless weapon combinations waiting for me to unlock them. During my short gaming session, I also unlock an additional fighting style for one of my weapons, the katana. The styles I use are more or less effective depending on the type of enemy and the weapon used. This, too, reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima.

I’m intriguedto see how all these different styles, skills and possible combinations will unfold as the game progresses. I can’t yet say whether my enthusiasm for the game’s sword and pistol duels will be there in the long run, but there’s potential.

I also see a lot of potential in the main and side missions, which occasionally take me out of the open game world and into closed game areas. It’s in these moments that Rise of the Rōnin feels most like a «real» Soulslike. Other characters sometimes help me out on these missions, and I can even control them myself. Apparently, there’s also a relationship system connected to these additional game characters. The more time I spend with them and the stronger our bond is, the more options I unlock in battle. I also see a lot of potential for exciting gameplay twists there.

The verdict for now: promising

After a dodgy start, I got acquainted with the Soulslike combat system after a few attempts and fell in love with the Japanese open world. Poor graphics aside, I’ve now well and truly settled into the world of Rise of the Rōnin.

I’m intriguedto see whether the open world will motivate me to continue exploring in the long term and whether the combat system and all its unlockable skills will give the gameplay some more depth. I’m cautiously optimistic, and can’t wait to continue my Rōnin adventure.

Rise of the Rōnin will be released on 22 March for the PS5. The game was provided to me by Sony for testing purposes. I’ll publish a more detailed review of the game on 21 March.