I’ll let you in on the secret: men don’t just think about the Roman Empire. We also daydream about the katana-swinging heyday of Japan.
Between FX’s Shōgun and PlayStation’s Rise of the Ronin, suffice it to say, we’ve been armed with plenty of fantasy fuel to while away the idle hours. The latter of which allows you to forge your fate in the dramatic (and brutal) glory of open-world gameplay.
Let me set the scene.
Japan, 1863. The Bakumatsu period. A crucial moment of cultural revolution immediately after the Tokugawa Shogunate depicted in everyone’s favourite new historical series.
As the Black Ships of the West descend upon the Land of the Rising Sun’s borders, the storied nation finds itself plunged in the chaos of war, disease, and political unrest.
Now, it’s up to you — the masterless Ronin, a North star to the working-class folk — to not only decide your own destiny, but also shape the course of history with the edge of your blade.
As far as open-world action/adventure games go, Rise of the Ronin has all the key ingredients of a winner.
From the veteran developers behind Nioh and Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja, comes this deeply immersive playing experience featuring a wonderfully layered (yet accessible) combat system.
We’re talking grapple hooks, spears, and era-appropriate firearms in addition to katanas; a dynamic storyline that hinges upon your every decision (which political faction will you align with?); in addition to a richly detailed interactive backdrop you can traverse by foot, horse, the aforementioned grapple hook, or even glider.
Think of it as the perfect marriage between a stunningly cinematic, character-driven drama and an outrageously fun hack-and-slash title that doesn’t know the meaning of “over the top.”
Very rarely in life do we get to be the hero. Even rarer is the prospect of travelling back in time. With PlayStation’s Rise of the Ronin, the opportunity is quite literally in the palm of your hands. All you need is a DualSense controller.
Rise of the Ronin is now available on PlayStation®5.
