Rise of the Ronin was originally released as a PS5 exclusive. Developed by Team Ninja in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment, it has recently been ported to PC. Unlike Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, which was designed as a multiplatform release from the start, this PC port likely required more effort to adapt. The game launches with all the latest features, including support for modern upscaling technologies, a wide range of graphical settings to tweak, and frame generation. However, since I accessed it in a pre-release state, some features had issues, which I’ll discuss later.
The game’s time period is an interesting choice. Set in mid-19th century Japan during the Bakumatsu period, leading up to the Boshin War, it immerses players in a turbulent historical era. Instead of a fixed protagonist, the game uses a character creation system, letting you control the Blade Twins—siblings seeking vengeance after their family is murdered by the Shogunate. They join a resistance group called the Veiled Edge and embark on a quest for revenge. The story also incorporates historical figures like Ryoma Sakamoto and delves into the political chaos of the time.
Rise of the Ronin’s combat is flashy and dynamic, with a heavy emphasis on parrying to counter and overpower enemies. Mastering this skill is crucial to winning most fights, and the tutorial does a good job of teaching it. There’s a variety of weapons to choose from, each with its own unique set of attacks. The game also features multiple choices during key scenarios, which can lead to different endings. Combined with its choice-driven narrative and engaging gameplay, Rise of the Ronin offers solid replay value.
The game offers multiple difficulty levels at the start, making it accessible for players who might not be as skilled in action games. You can explore various cities, including Yokohama, Kyoto, and Edo, along with their surrounding countryside areas. These locations are fully open for exploration, whether you’re riding a horse, using a grappling hook, or gliding through the air. The weapons are another highlight, featuring unique designs that go beyond just katanas—Boshin War-era firearms are also available, reflecting the Western influence on Japan during that time.
However, like many open-world games, Rise of the Ronin struggles with its side content. While you can liberate towns and clear bandit camps, these activities start to feel repetitive after a while. Completing these tasks can unlock additional sidequests from NPCs in the area, but they don’t always feel fresh or engaging. The story, while decent, leans heavily on the overused theme of revenge, and the cast of characters doesn’t stand out as particularly memorable. Since the main character is a player-created persona, there’s only so much depth they can have, which limits their development. Additionally, with so many games already set in this historical period, Rise of the Ronin can sometimes feel like it’s retreading familiar ground, giving a sense of “been there, done that.”
The PC port of Rise of the Ronin feels quite demanding, and the visuals don’t fully justify the hardware requirements. Even when testing it on two different setups—one with an RTX 4070 and another with an RTX 3080—I struggled to achieve stable performance. Tweaking settings was necessary to get the desired results, but maxing out the settings didn’t deliver the visual polish I had hoped for. While it does look better than the PS5 version and performs more smoothly depending on your hardware, the visual upgrade isn’t a huge leap forward. The game includes a ray-tracing toggle, but it doesn’t seem to be anything groundbreaking, likely limited to shadows and occasional reflections rather than advanced features like ray-traced global illumination.
On the positive side, the game supports ultra-widescreen displays right from the start and includes frame generation. However, players with high refresh rate monitors will be limited by the 120 FPS cap currently in place. While this is an improvement over the PS5 version, the game still suffers from stutters that can affect gameplay. In the pre-release version I tested, frame generation felt a bit buggy. DLSS didn’t provide much of a performance boost, while FSR Frame Generation felt smoother but had a noticeable bug where the UI was cut off when enabled. These issues are expected to be addressed in patches around the game’s official launch on March 11.
Rise of the Ronin Game Information
- Price: $59.99
- Publisher: Koei Tecmo
- Developer: Koei Tecmo
- Platform: PC (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
