Developer Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo

Publisher SIE

Format PS5

Release Out now

According to Koei Tecmo, the planning phase of Rise Of The Ronin’s development began before the release of Nioh, way back in 2017. Its lengthy development time speaks to the grand ambition of this new Team Ninja game, which is by far its biggest production to date, but on the flip side it also explains why it sometimes feel like a project from another time.

Team Ninja president Fumihiko Yasuda has spoken of taking notes from the Assassin’s Creed series when Ronin was conceived, and too often the game feels in thrall to others rather than having the confidence to carve out its own identity. In that sense, it cannot help feeling dated.

That Ronin resembles an artefact from another era is appropriate given how much it leans into history. Set in 1860s Japan, during the Bakumatsu period, it portrays a nation coming to terms with influences from overseas. “If we don’t embrace the best parts of the west,” a character says at the beginning, “we’ll be left behind.” That is only one perspective, however, and the entire game pivots on the tension between the shogunate, which wants to grease the wheels of change, and the forces pushing in the opposite direction, determined to preserve Japan’s old ways. Naturally, you’re thrown into the middle, and in exploring the game’s most innovative feature you’re able to build alliances as you see fit, which affects how the story works towards its conclusion, giving you the option to choose where to place your support and who to fight alongside, and even decide the fate of certain key characters.