Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja's first open world title and while it turns out to be a very fun game, you can REALLY tell it's their first.

Being set in Japan's Bakumatsu period, Ronin puts you at the center of many conflicts, wars, and political turmoil that defined the era. The game attempts to take full advantage of its setting through the introduction of a large cast of historical figures and a system that allows you to form bonds with quite a few of them. I was fond of Ronin's Bond system particularly due to the character-specific bond missions which provide more characterization to important characters and in some cases lead to their own little storylines. The rate at which new characters are introduced does make it a little hard to remember a lot of the cast and their role within the story (the in-game encyclopedia is a lifesaver). Even then, this is still probably one of the most comprehensible narratives Team Ninja has ever told.

Ronin's biggest strong point is without a doubt its gameplay. There are a lot of weapon types to choose from each comprised of their own styles, stances, and skills that allow you a great deal of variety when it comes to choosing your playstyle. The combat was fast and challenging enough to the point where I never really got bored by it. Pulling off consecutive parries until the enemy gets stunned long enough to pull off an execution just feels really satisfying. I had concerns regarding the enemy variety since 99.9% of them are humans, unlike in Team Ninja's previous game, Wo Long which had you fighting monsters on top of them. The enemy variety comes mainly from the styles they use, with more unorthodox weapons coming into play occasionally during boss fights. I didn't feel like my brain was actively turning into mush every time I fought the same group of enemies, unlike in Wo Long, so clearly it did something right.

Now, let's talk about the open world. It's split into three separate maps that are packed to the brim with icons indicating activities, collectibles, and missions. These activities include clearing bandit outposts, taking pictures, petting cats, glider training, etc. I completed almost everything on the first map, but when the second map arrived and filled the map with even more of these activities, I hit the "honk mimimi" and put most of my focus on completing the actual story missions. A lot of the open-world activities just felt mind-numbing and I didn't see much incentive in doing them. While the open world is capable of looking beautiful visually, its graphics still feel outdated and that becomes even more apparent the moment you enter one of the main cities. All of this comes together to make it the weakest part of the game, but like I said before, this is Team Ninja's first open world and I do hold the belief that they will do significantly better if they ever decide to tackle this format again.

Since this game is currently a PS5 exclusive, I do want to point out how surprisingly well it uses the dualsense. The haptic feedback allows you to feel everything from swords clashing to the steps your horse makes while you're riding it, which was especially useful as it made traversing the open world slightly less boring.

Overall, I really did enjoy Rise of the Ronin, but I just cannot recommend buying it for its asking price of $70. Catch this on a sale if you can.