5 Ways Ghost of Tsushima is Better Than Rise of the Ronin

Rise of the Ronin borrows liberally from a lot of games. From developer Team Ninja’s own Nioh titles to open world games like Assassin’s Creed to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and its parry-focused combat, the action RPG takes elements from a number of games and combines them into its own take on things. But the game that it probably has the most in common with is Ghost of Tsushima.

With its period Japanese setting, samurai protagonist, and a similar open world loop, Rise of the Ronin overlaps with Sucker Punch’s acclaim action-adventure game in a number of different areas- though more often than not, that comparison doesn’t work out in its favour. Team Ninja’s newest game has its strength in some areas, from its combat to the slick traversal mechanics, but in almost all the ways that it attempts to emulate Ghost of Tsushima, it ends up falling short quite significantly. Here, we’re going to talk about a few such areas.

OPEN WORLD ACTIVITIES

Rise of the Ronin is Team Ninja’s first open world game, and in a lot of ways, it’s very easy to see that, even if you don’t have any familiarity with the developer or its past projects. Its world design feels quite dated, not only because it’s a very by-the-numbers, checking-things-off-the-list sort of open world experience, but also because the things that you’re doing themselves are very rarely all that interesting. The combat and traversal manage to remain fun, sure, but from the actual objectives of the side quests and activities, and how little the game tries to contextualize them in an interesting way, it’s hard to get invested.

That last bit can be crucial in open world games- how they contextualize their activities. Many of Ghost of Tsushima’s activities are, on paper, pretty rote, but the game throws in an abundance of unique wrinkles to make them stand out, from following tori gates to chasing after foxes and birds. Then you have the more unusual type of recurring side activities, like writing haikus and slicing through bamboo, all of which do an excellent job of giving the game and its open world a very distinct flavour.

IMMERSIVE SETTING

Another area where Rise of the Ronin’s open world pales in comparison to Ghost of Tsushima is how it doesn’t feel nearly as alive as it should. Even in the supposed hubs of civilization, crowd density is always sparse at best, the animations and behaviours of NPCs feel static, and the world all around generally just has this lifeless feel. For a game that’s trying to immerse you in its period Japanese setting, those feel like crippling issues. For instance, first laying eyes on Yokohama in the early hours of the game is quite an exciting moment, as you dream about the prospect of exploring this dense, bustling city, but it quickly becomes apparent that the game comes nowhere close to realizing that vision.

Compare that to how successfully Ghost of Tsushima grounds you in its world and how dynamic and alive every inch of its map feels, and Rise of the Ronin’s deficiencies seem even starker in contrast. There’s an incredible amount of visual variety to be found across Ghost of Tsushima’s open world, and no matter where you find yourself in its massive map, it never fails to feel like an alive, gorgeous place that’s brimming with its own unique personality. The fact that we take the game’s ability to immerse you in its setting for granted should tell you all you need to know about how effectively it does so.

ART STYLE

This seems almost like an unfair comparison, because let’s face it, there are very few games in existence that can hold a candle to how gorgeous Ghost of Tsushima looks, so much of which is down to its stellar art design. To be clear, Rise of the Ronin is not a bad looking game by any means. Even if it is technically a little rough around the edges, it does have solid art design in its own right, and from the open plains of its map to the more densely populated locales, it does present you with some impressive sights from time to time.

Ghost of Tsushima is, however, just a nonstop rollercoaster ride of some of the most visually arresting vistas you’ll ever see in a video game. It’s a game that makes excellent use of colour, of natural vegetation, of lighting, and most importantly, of wind, and all of it combines to create what might be among the most distinct and memorable visual identities a game could ever hope for. Playing Rise of the Ronin, it’s clear to see that the game does take plenty of cues from Sucker Punch’s title in the art design department, but very rarely does it even hint at that level of excellence.

STORYTELLING

Team Ninja games have never been known for their storytelling, nor has the developer ever really claimed to place much emphasis on that area in the vast majority of its past titles. This, however, is one of several ways Rise of the Ronin differs from Team Ninja’s previous games, in that it does place much more of an emphasis on story and storytelling. But though there’s definitely more storytelling in the game, it’s not necessarily better. Whether it’s the stiff interactions between characters, the clumsy exposition, or the sub-par voice acting, the game stumbles in too many ways to be able to come anywhere close to doing justice to what’s otherwise an interesting narrative premise on paper.

Now, Ghost of Tsushima isn’t exactly an infallible narrative masterpiece either. From a number of clumsily written side quests to pacing issues with the main story from time to time, it does have its flaws, too. It’s a game with incredible high highs, though. Every so often, Ghost of Tsushima hits you with these unforgettable moments that elevate the entire experience to new heights, and the end result is a game that does more than enough to make its mark with the story that it tells, and how it chooses to tell it.

STEALTH

Stealth plays a bigger role in Rise of the Ronin than it has in most Team Ninja games in the past, and it can be plenty of fun from time to time. Assassinations feel visceral, especially special variants like double assassinations or air assassinations, while using your grappling hook to pull an enemy towards you before instantly killing them never gets old. The game suffers from some very blatant AI issues though. Enemies are either spectacularly hard of hearing, or have incredibly short memories, or just awful eyesight, which means stealth sections very frequently lose any and all tension.

Ghost of Tsushima’s stealth is pretty rudimentary for the most part, too, but it fares far, far better in its execution. It’d be unfair to give it the leg up over Rise of the Ronin in this area based on the far greater amount of options and tools it gives to players in stealth, given the fact that it’s a significantly more stealth-driven game. But even if you’re only looking at how the two implement their core, most fundamental stealth mechanics, Ghost of Tsushima easily comes out on top.

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