RISE of the Ronin is the upcoming PlayStation exclusive soulslike that puts you in the heart of feudal Japan.
Set in the Bakumatsu era, it has an East-meets-West vibe, as firearms mix with katana as they often did in the Boshin War.
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It has tried to reach a certain level of realism when it comes to the setting and weaponry which blend into the open world.
Like most soulslikes, the most important feature is the combat, but this does stray from your typical soulslike formula.
You can pause anytime you like, and save anywhere while exploring the world.
It still has the challenges you expect from the genre, and is full of combat systems you need to learn and ultimately master.
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The more you use a weapon type, the more it ranks up, unlocking moves across skill trees.
These RPG elements add something different from your typical game in the genre and move it more towards action adventure.
Combat is still incredibly tense, based on the risky Deflect mechanic – similar to a parry – which reminded us of Sekiro’s gameplay.
However, the rewards are high and pulling it off successfully will allow you to clear through enemies much more easily.
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This is necessary as without using Deflect it can feel like enemies’ health bars take a long time to decrease.
Enemies can also parry you, which makes fighting them without Deflect all the more difficult.
The high degree of challenge in combat reflects reality in a way, as samurai had to be highly trained if they wanted to stay alive in combat.
Sticking to realism, deaths can be quite gory, featuring decapitations, loss of limbs and plenty of blood.
You’re even given a horse to ride around on, making travelling the open world a little simpler.
Our main gripe was with the performance, and no matter which mode you choose there are noticeable issues.
Of course, there is still a lot of time left before launch, and we’re hoping it gets the polish it needs by its release date on March 21, 2024.
If you want to read more game reviews and previews, check out our WWE 2K24 review.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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