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- Rise of the Ronin was marketed as a $70 PlayStation exclusive.
- Audiences hoped it would deliver the same level of quality PlayStation is known for.
- The comparisons with Ghost of Tsushima did not help either.
- Amid poor visuals, inconsistent performance, and mediocre gameplay, it failed to justify this price point.
Rise of the Ronin is the latest AAA exclusive to grace the PS5’s growing library.
With Team Ninja’s rich background of action games, PlayStation’s partnering role, and a revered setting like Japan, the game seemingly checked off all the boxes for a successful single-player adventure.
However, initial reviews show that Rise of the Ronin failed to deliver in more than a few ways. Following these results, many have wondered what exactly went wrong. There is no simple answer, but if I had to say, the game seems to have fallen victim to the $70 price tag.
Why it matters: Rise of the Ronin was expected to be Team Ninja’s most ambitious project, so its middling reception is quite interesting to analyze.
Rise of the Ronin, out now only on PS5. It has horses! pic.twitter.com/bQzlKmG3XV
— colteastwood (@Colteastwood) March 21, 2024
AAA Price & Expectations
AAA gaming is so set in stone today that it is difficult to challenge the notion.
There is a certain bar of quality that I expect whenever a game is marketed as a flagship title. Following the switch to $70 prices, it is more important than ever to meet this bar.
However, Team Ninja, in many ways, has stuck to its old ways. Rudimentary animations, a cookie-cutter open-world experience, and dated visuals hold the game back from living up to this standard. Making matters worse, the game is unable to hold a consistent 60FPS.
PlayStation’s involvement only serves to hurt the experience further. When I think of PlayStation, I picture games like God of War and Horizon. Most of PlayStation’s releases have one thing in common: class-leading production values.
However, Rise of the Ronin can not hold a candle to the work of PlayStation’s internal teams. Traversing through the bland and barren open world of Team Ninja’s latest adventure is a stark contrast to Ghost of Tsushima’s artistically rich environments.
Moreover, Team Ninja’s first shot at an open world ends up hit or miss. The studio has never been one to follow trends closely, yet its open-world structure can only be described as Ubisoft-esque, in my opinion.
Adding insult to injury, it suffers from being in Ghost of Tsushima’s shadow despite Team Ninja’s efforts to separate the game after the obvious inspiration. However, make no mistake, Rise of the Ronin is by no means a bad game.
Rise of the Ronin Is Not Bad
Perhaps this is the game’s biggest problem at the end of the day.
As a jack of all trades and master of none, Rise of the Ronin fails to live up to Team Ninja’s legacy. Where Nioh was all about the combat and RPG experience, this release tries to offer a bit of everything, biting off more than it can chew in the process.
When all is said and done, the game lands somewhere firmly in the middle. I am still very much interested in Rise of the Ronin. However, this one falls in the wait-for-sale category for me because I don’t see it justifying the $70 price tag.
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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