How Rise of the Ronin Wastes its Open World Potential

Bakumatsu was an era of vast cultural and economic upheaval in Japan in the mid-1800s, encapsulating the ending of the 250-years long Edo Period and the eventual abolishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Growing overseas influence propelled Japan to end its isolationist foreign policy during this period, the country opening maritime trade routes to foreign powers, experiencing rapid industrialisation, and adopting Western ideals and production methods, and embracing foreign technology, all to the dissatisfaction of traditionalist noblemen and samurai.

Edo – as Tokyo was formally known – was plagued by violence on its streets, the ideological-political divide driven mostly by different forces. Other factions beyond the anti-shogunate nationalists and the sitting shogun were at play too, attempting to take advantage of Bakumatsu’s tumultuous political landscape to further their own endeavours and seize personal power.

As far as eras in Japanese history go, Bakumatsu is amongst the most interesting. Boiling it down to its essence, Bakumatsu was a period of culture clash, of conflicting ideals and beliefs on how to best navigate Japan through inevitable, modernisation. Plunge a ronin right into the middle of this conflict – a wandering, masterless, warrior free to pursue their own ideals – then the stage should have been set for an enrapturing history lesson in a tantalising, evolving landscape. Instead, we get a serviceable story set against a drab backdrop in Rise of the Ronin.

Rise of the Ronin is not a bad looking game, but its graphics aren’t up to snuff either. This PS5 exclusive – funded in part by Sony themselves – certainly isn’t an advert for the graphical prowess of Sony’s current-gen console. There are fleeting moments of beauty, the dusky hued sunlight glinting through corn meadows for instance, but the game’s overall presentation is sorely lacking. The colour palette is dull, character models are plain, and environments are bereft of detail.

Graphics aren’t the be all and end all, of course. If gameplay is great, then the importance of graphics dwindles. Excellent grapple hook and hawk-wing traversal and fine-tuned customisable combat aside, Rise of the Ronin is let down in its quest design, and the way these quests are distributed throughout the open world. Yep, you may have noticed that Team Ninja’s first foray into open world gameplay copies a little too closely to the modern open world playbook. The maps are littered with quest markers. Every side quest, collectable, or point of interest is so clearly signposted that Rise of the Ronin lacks a true sense of exploration. There are no surprises, there is nothing out of the ordinary. Not everyone is unhappy to be constantly shown the way of course, and Elden Ring’s enigmatic, unexplained landscape isn’t for everyone, but Rise of the Ronin’s approach to open world design is bog-standard. It feels incredibly outdated in 2024, and this is a crying shame given the slice of Japanese history the game takes place in.

A bolder approach to environmental storytelling should have been applied by Team Ninja. They’ve achieved this somewhat in Yokohama’s city design, with the juxtaposition of traditional timber and paper housing sitting adjacent to garish brick and mortar buildings, but the proliferation of on-screen markers distract from any sentiment of world design Team Ninja have attempted.

Compare and contrast with Ghost of Tsushima; an obvious touchstone given its similar historical Japanese setting for sure, but Sucker Punch’s own samurai odyssey takes place in a breathing, vibrant world which Rise of the Ronin’s landscape simply doesn’t replicate. Exploration is much more immersive in 13^th century Tsushima, and this is in part aided by Sucker Punch’s reluctance to spoon-feed every important location to you. There are no fixed waypoints or mini maps in the entire game. Secrets, collectibles, and points of interest are discoverable via player-character Jin’s navigational aids Guiding Wind and Yellow Songbird.

These navigational aids go one better than hinting at an important location, as their connection supports one of the game’s overarching themes of respecting nature and the landscape. Ghost of Tsushima is a beautiful game, but signs of the invading Mongols are seen everywhere – blood stains on flower petals, wildlife lie slaughtered throughout woodland, distant fires rage above the canopy, charcoal plumes sully the otherwise unspoiled visage, acrid craters dot quaint villages. These are clear signs of an environment in turmoil, and they strengthen Jin’s resolve to eradicate the death-mongering Mongol invaders.

Rise of the Ronin deploys very little environmental storytelling. Its narrative is extremely streamlined, with player choice instead impacting the story rather than environmental detail, NPC conversations, or readable left-behinds such as notes and the like. Had there been more emphasis on environmental storytelling then its rural landscape might have been more memorable. Instead, Team Ninja’s first open world risks something which is instantly forgettable. Even its focus on player choice shaping narrative appears at odds with itself at times, perhaps prodding too heavily on players’ decisions despite our protagonist routinely undertaking tasks for the shogunate.

Even the side activities – used by numerous open world games of late to add meat to an open world’s bones – are unimaginative and derivative of games you’ve played before. A collect-a-thon comes in the form of petting cats, recovering a merchant’s stolen possessions the lowly highlight of a litany of fetch quests; assassinations, escort missions, you’ve seen and done all this before.

Compare again to Ghost of Tsushima’s side content, with most quests away from the main storyline having to be found naturally, by exploring, talking to natives, and getting off the beaten path. There’s much more variety in side activity too – infiltration missions, pure stealth, gung-ho swordfights; surveying the pristine environment to prepare for battle, to investigate prior crimes, or fashion a poison antidote. These quests add intrigue and story to the land alongside the usual fetch quests and rescue missions.

Rise of the Ronin game director Fumihiko Yasuda hasn’t shied away from declaring open world games like Red Dead Redemption 2, and Ghost of Tsushima as important influences on Rise of the Ronin. It’s just a shame that the team seem content with replicating those games without attempting any sort of innovation. To be clear, Rise of the Ronin is not a bad game. There’ll be plenty of players out there who love it, and that’s cool if you’re one of them, but there are clear detractions taking away from the overall experience. In replicating from various sources, in trying to be a jack of all trades open world adventure, Rise of the Ronin falls flat and fails to hit the highs of those games it takes inspiration from. It’s parry-heavy combat isn’t quite as slick as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, it’s overabundant map markers and loot aren’t satisfying, and its environment isn’t as well designed and immersive as Ghost of Tsushima’s. Again, Bakumatsu is as interesting a historical era in Japan as any other, but Rise of the Ronin’s open world does not service the undeniably fascinating era in any meaningful way.

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