Rise of the Ronin Review & Gameplay Guide and Everything You Need to Know

Rise of the Ronin is the most ambitious game in Team Ninja’s history — and one of 2024’s most underrated PlayStation exclusives. Developed by Team Ninja (Nioh, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty) and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it released on March 22, 2024 exclusively for PS5. Set during Japan’s Bakumatsu era of the 1860s — a period of civil war, political upheaval, and clashing ideologies as Western powers pushed open Japan’s closed borders — you play a nameless Ronin of the Veiled Edge, a secretive mercenary organization navigating the conflict between pro-Shogunate and anti-Shogunate forces.

🏆 Quick facts: Rise of the Ronin — Released March 22, 2024 | PS5 (PC 2025) | Developer: Team Ninja | Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Koei Tecmo | Three open-world cities | 80+ hours of content | Multiple endings based on faction alignment

🎬 Rise of the Ronin — Full Gameplay Video

Watch Rise of the Ronin in action — Bakumatsu Japan open world traversal, Counterspark combat, glider exploration, historical boss encounters, and what makes this Team Ninja’s most ambitious project.

🎮 Rise of the Ronin gameplay footage via YouTube. Developed by Team Ninja, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

📋 What’s in This Article

• Story — The Bakumatsu Era
• Combat — Counterspark, Ki & Weapon Styles
• Open World — Three Cities
• Faction System — Shogunate vs. Anti-Shogunate
• Bond System & Allies
• Traversal — Glider, Grapple Hook & Horse
• Is Rise of the Ronin Worth Playing? Our Verdict
• Essential Tips & Tricks
• FAQ

🗾 Story — The Bakumatsu Era

Japan, 1863. After 300 years of Tokugawa Shogunate rule, the country is fracturing. The Black Ships of the West have arrived, and internal factions are tearing Japan apart: loyalists who want to preserve the old order, and reformers who believe Japan must modernize or be colonized. Your Ronin — a warrior of the Veiled Edge, trained alongside a Blade Twin — enters this maelstrom searching for their lost partner and increasingly entangled in history itself.

The story’s greatest strength is its historical authenticity. Rise of the Ronin is populated with real Bakumatsu figures — Ryoma Sakamoto, Isami Kondo, Kogoro Katsura, the Shinsengumi — integrated into its fictional narrative with genuine care. For anyone with an interest in Japanese history or samurai cinema, this is a treasure trove. The narrative branches meaningfully based on your faction choices, and multiple endings reflect how you navigated the conflict.

⚔️ Combat — Counterspark, Ki & Weapon Styles

Rise of the Ronin’s combat is Team Ninja’s most streamlined design — deliberately more accessible than Nioh 2 while retaining the studio’s signature depth.

Core Mechanics

• ✨ Counterspark — the game’s defining mechanic, equivalent to Sekiro’s parry. Press L1 at the precise moment of an enemy attack to deflect it, depleting their Ki and staggering them open for a counter. Chains of successful Countersparks are the most efficient path through any difficult fight.
• ⚡ Ki System — both you and enemies have a Ki gauge (stamina). Depleting an enemy’s Ki triggers a Ki Break — a critical hit window where you can deliver a devastating finisher. Managing your own Ki while depleting the enemy’s is the central rhythm of every combat encounter.
• 🔄 Combat Styles — each weapon type has multiple unlockable styles, each with a rock-paper-scissors relationship against enemy types. Switching style mid-fight to exploit a weakness is consistently satisfying and often decisive.

Weapon Arsenal

💡 Combat tip: Faster weapons — particularly the Katana — are significantly easier to learn Countersparks with and create more attack windows. Start fast, then transition to heavier weapons once the timing system is in your muscle memory.

🏙️ Open World — Three Cities of 1860s Japan

Rise of the Ronin’s open world covers three distinct historical cities, each unlocking progressively as the story advances:

• 🌊 Yokohama — the opening region. Japan’s first major international port shows the collision of Eastern and Western cultures, with foreign districts and European architecture beside traditional townscapes.
• 🏯 Edo — Japan’s traditional capital and Shogunate power base. Dense and historically rich; unlocks the Testaments of Soul replay feature and deepens faction conflicts.
• 🌸 Kyoto — the imperial capital, featuring ancient temples, cherry blossom corridors, and the strongholds of the Shinsengumi. Some of the game’s most visually striking environments.

Each city is filled with side missions, fugitive hunts, horse archery ranges, gambling dens, cat locations, and bond-building content. The vertical traversal options — especially the kite glider — make exploration genuinely enjoyable.

⚖️ Faction System — Shogunate vs. Anti-Shogunate

Rise of the Ronin’s most distinctive RPG feature is its faction alignment system. Your choices align you with the pro-Shogunate or anti-Shogunate cause — affecting which allies you can develop relationships with, which missions you encounter, and which of the game’s multiple endings you reach.

Key historical figures you’ll align with or against include Ryoma Sakamoto, Isami Kondo of the Shinsengumi, Kogoro Katsura, and Katsu Kaishu — all rendered with historical care. The game rewards committing to a faction rather than trying to remain neutral.

💞 Bond System & Allies

Relationships with NPCs are tracked via a Bond level system (0–5). Building bonds unlocks unique items and gear, character-specific story missions, passive combat bonuses when the ally accompanies you, and unique passive skills. Bond missions begin unexpectedly — NPCs approach you in the open world or send letters requesting a meeting. Prioritizing these character quests early is essential.

🦅 Traversal — Glider, Grapple Hook & Horse

• 🪂 Kite Glider — the standout tool. Deploy from high points to soar across cities, reach rooftops silently, and approach enemies from altitude. Use it constantly.
• 🪝 Grappling Hook — pulls you to ledges and ziplines across gaps. Combining it with the Glider creates fluid parkour-style traversal.
• 🐴 Horse — purchasable early; essential for cross-city travel. Mounted archery is deeply satisfying and tactically useful.
• 🌙 Stealth System — full crouch-based stealth for setting up ambushes and silently eliminating priority targets before open combat begins.

⭐ Is Rise of the Ronin Worth Playing? Our Verdict

Rise of the Ronin is a better game than its 76 Metacritic score suggests — and player reviews averaging 86/100 reflect this more accurately. Critics focused on visual inconsistencies and derivative open-world design, but the depth of its combat, the quality of its historical storytelling, and its sheer content volume are all genuinely impressive.

💡 Essential Tips for Rise of the Ronin

• ✨ Master the Counterspark before anything else — it is the core of the combat system. Practice timing it against basic enemies before approaching story bosses.
• 🏇 Buy a horse early — it costs mission currency but pays back immediately in travel time savings across large city maps.
• 🪂 Use the Kite Glider constantly — it’s one of the best open-world traversal tools in any recent action RPG. Always look for high ground to launch from.
• 🐱 Pet every cat you see — cats grant Charm skill points used in conversation checks that shape faction relationships. Also very satisfying.
• ⚔️ Bring allies on every mission — allies provide passive combat buffs and their presence builds Bond levels. Always enter story missions with a full party.
• 📜 Choose a faction early and commit — trying to balance both factions limits bond development with key characters. Pick a side and follow it to maximize quest content and rewards.
• ⚙️ Enable auto-actions in accessibility settings — auto-crouching, auto-collecting, and auto-climbing all reduce friction without reducing challenge. Worth turning on from the start.

❓ Rise of the Ronin FAQ

Is Rise of the Ronin similar to Ghost of Tsushima?
Both are set in historical Japan with samurai combat and open-world exploration. Ghost of Tsushima has superior visuals and narrative polish; Rise of the Ronin has deeper combat mechanics (inherited from Nioh) and a richer, more factionally complex historical setting. They complement each other well.

How long is Rise of the Ronin?
The main story takes approximately 30–40 hours. Full completion including all side quests, bonds, and open-world activities takes 70–90 hours.

Is Rise of the Ronin on PC?
Yes. The PC version launched in 2025 via Steam with improved visual performance, and received stronger reviews from PC audiences who found the gameplay compelling regardless of the original console version’s visual limitations.

How do faction choices affect the ending?
Your cumulative alignment with pro-Shogunate or anti-Shogunate factions determines which historical path your Ronin follows in the final chapters, affecting available allies and how Japan’s transformation is depicted in your story’s conclusion.

Does Rise of the Ronin support co-op?
Yes. Story missions support co-op with up to two additional online players, who join as hired allies — particularly useful for difficult boss missions.

Final Thoughts

Rise of the Ronin is a game that rewards patient players who look past its uneven surface to find the rich, historically grounded action RPG underneath. If you love samurai games, Japanese history, or Team Ninja’s skill-based combat philosophy, this is essential — and one of 2024’s most criminally underappreciated exclusives.

Have you played Rise of the Ronin? Which faction did you side with — and any regrets? Drop a comment below!

Rise of the Ronin is developed by Team Ninja (Koei Tecmo) and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Released March 22, 2024 exclusively for PlayStation 5. PC version released 2025.