FromNinja GaidentoNioh,Team Ninja has established their expertise in crafting memorable games with challenging and rewarding combat. The worlds they’ve crafted have been celebrated across several console generations, forging memories through grueling battles and bloodshed. Their latest endeavor,Rise of the Ronin,appears to be continuing this tradition of visceral combat. Given Team Ninja’s track record, Hardcore Gamer jumped at the opportunity to play the first couple hours ofRise of the Ronin.
Rise of the Ronintakes place in 19th century Japan during the final years of the Edo Period, known as Bakumatsu. This is a time when the Boshin War was waged between the ant-shogunate factions and the Tokugawa Shogunate. This is a time of cultural upheaval, as visitors from the Americas have been trying to open up trade with Japan, bringing not only commerce, but a western influence on their culture, causing divisive reactions among citizens that wish to hold on to traditions and those who want to adapt for the sake of advancement.
Wanna Fight?
The player begins by creating a custom character in which they are given several options to tailor the character’s appearance to fit their desired look. After designing their appearance, the next step is choosing their Blade Sharpening origin, which essentially serves as their character class. The skilled specialties are Killer, Breaker, Seducer and Sapper. Each of these classes has different attributes between strength, dexterity, intelligence and charm. These origins also are better suited for specific weapon types and have their own specialized skills. There are also two additional options. One is the Beginner, which is more of a blank slate option that has more possibilities but may not realize the full power found in the more specialized classes. The last is the Unsharpened, an inept weakling cursed with poor stats and increased luck seems to be the only logical explanation for their survival.
Battles inRise of Ronincan be ruthless, but the amount of skills at the player’s disposal can make it a bloody good time. Depending on a player’s style and chosen character build, there are a variety of weapons they can use. The usual suspects such as katanas and polearms are viable options, as well are period specific firearms. The player is armed with a grappling hook, and while its primary function is used for traveling to hard to reach areas, it has battle implications as well. Using the hook to pull enemies stumbling toward the protagonist or using it to launch explosive barrels at enemies, the hook became an extremely fun tool for battle. But the greatest skill to master for battle is the Counterspark.
The Counterspark mechanic is crucial to master for success inRise of the Ronin.Similar to the deflect mechanic inWo Long: Fallen Dynasty,this skill can stop devastating attacks and even stagger the aggressor, setting them up to be on the receiving end of a deadly counterattack. Mastering the timing can be tricky at first, as the exact timing varies against different attacks and there aren’t anyArkhamstyle prompts to tell the player when to do it, but even with these variables, pulling off the Counterspark isn’t too difficult. The trickiest aspect of the Counterspark is that it’s mapped to the triangle button, which is a regular attack button. Given the similarity to the deflect mechanic inWo Long,during the early stages of the game there was an instinctive urge to use the circle button, as that was what was conditioned in Team Ninja’s previous game.
Review: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Challenge alone does not make a game great, but Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty excels in every area from artistic design to gameplay mechanics.
Open World Adventure
After the prologue, the player finds themselves in an open world. Quest markers point the player in the general direction of where they need to go, but there’s plenty to do for those who wish to venture off the beaten path. There are villages around the country full of people who need assistance with assorted tasks. But as a ronin, picking herbs may not be the most appealing item on a to-do list, but fortunately, an easy way to improve one’s standing with the locals in a specific settlement is to take care of bandits and other unsavory characters that are terrorizing the area.
The main objectives aren’t going anywhere, so the player is encouraged to take their time in exploring the countryside to see what sort of mysteries they may uncover. Early on the player can discover there are worthwhile sites to see and collectibles when they go down the road less traveled. In the brief time that was spent withRise of the Ronin,the crafting system wasn’t really explored, but based on the sheer amount of ingredients that were found, it’s suspected that this may be a major source of upgrading and acquiring items later on. The map fog didn’t offer a clear idea of how big the world is, but between the glider, grappling hook and horse there are several avenues for exploration at the player’s disposal.
How was Rise of the Ronin?
After spending a couple of hours withRise of the Ronin,it shows a great deal of potential to be a great open-world action RPG. The combat is challenging, but still easier than some of Team Ninja’s other games that are known for their high level of difficulty. The player can also switch between three difficulty levels whenever they want to set the challenge to their preferred level. To fully summarize a game after only two hours would end up being highly inaccurate, but so far there’s a mix of rewarding and challenging combat and a compelling story about a world that is at a turning point.Rise of the Roninis scheduled for a March 22 release exclusively on PlayStation 5.
