After years spent waiting for a true open-world samurai game, we’ve seen a flurry of them arrive on PC in pretty close proximity. First, there was Ghost of Tsushima. Later this month, we’ll finally have Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which puts Ubisoft’s signature open-world stealth twist on the feudal setting. But wedged in the middle is Nioh and Ninja Gaiden developer Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin, a 19th-century adventure that blends parry-based swordplay with the industrial era’s advancing technology in a sprawling open-world map. With its 2024 PS5 version rated 76 on Metacritic, it’s just dropped on Steam this week and could be a solid way to while away the hours until Shadows drops, even if the early Steam user reviews don’t paint the prettiest picture.
It’s 1863, and Japan is in ruins. Plague, political upheaval, and war ravage the lands, and it’s up to you to put it all back together again. Cast as a nameless warrior (or Ronin, hence Rise of the Ronin), you’ll encounter key Japanese historical figures, collect endless amounts of loot, gradually learn a hard-to-master combat system, and clear the map of side quests and activities.
The old ways of sword-based martial artistry are taking a backseat to gunpowder-fuelled weaponry. While the open-world RPG‘s combat still champions getting up close and personal with foes using a katana, spear, or odachi sword, you can also attack from range using guns and bows.
Rise of the Ronin launched on Steam today, Tuesday March 11. As of this writing, it’s peaked at 8,773 players, which is sure to rise heading into the weekend. Its reviews, however, are less than favorable, currently sitting at a ‘Mixed’ 47%.
The overarching theme is performance woes. Players have experienced “stuttering on a 4090,” saying the “same place can have 70fps then it quickly drops to around 30fps.”
Niall’s prelaunch breakdown of the Rise of the Ronin system requirements sought to “raise some red flags” regarding its arguably aggressive use of upscaling. As someone who’s currently running a 2060 Super, I’ll probably stick with the PS5 version for now.
If you’re content to wait another week for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows release date, then that might be the wiser play for now until performance improvements roll out. We also have a list of all the best open-world games, as well as all the best story games if you’re looking for a narrative-driven experience.
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