Singapore’s Media Development Authority has officially classified Rise of the Ronin as suitable only for players aged 18 and above. This M18 rating reflects the game’s inclusion of strong violence and sexual references, setting a clear guideline for potential players about the mature content that they can expect.
Developed by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja and exclusively set to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5, Rise of the Ronin is scheduled to be released on March 22, 2024. The game takes the players to 19th-century Japan, which was marked by the decline of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the arrival of Western influences, embodied by the Black Ships from the West. The players assume the role of a ronin, a masterless samurai, navigating the tumultuous period with skill, diplomacy, and force.
The gameplay is designed to immerse players in the expansive open world from a third-person perspective, offering a mix of indoor and outdoor environments. Players can engage in a wide range of activities, from completing missions and tasks to engaging in side activities like settling disputes and assisting those in need. The game boasts a diverse arsenal, including traditional samurai weapons, more modern armaments, stealth tactics, and strategic combat.
The M18 rating is attributed to the game’s graphic depictions of violence and bloodshed, with scenes showing characters being slashed, impaled, and even decapitated, resulting in realistic portrayals of combat and its consequences. These elements are accompanied by optional content that includes suggestive themes and relationships, including implications of intimacy between characters. According to the rating, this includes “optional scenes of same-sex characters inferred to be romantically attracted to each other, or implied to be engaging in intimacy, including one of a woman getting atop another before the screen fades out. Other scenes portray geishas dancing and playing music for guests, and descriptions of sexual innuendoes during conversations between characters without explicit details shown.”
Rise of the Ronin will launch on March 22, 2024, exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
