Summary
Rise of the Roninis far from an original game. It builds upon what Team Ninja has been doing for decades, which are intense action games with challenging combat systems.Ninja Gaiden’soriginal Xbox reboottook the developer to new heights and there are certainly plenty of ninja elements in their latest game.
Rise of the Roninis also an open-world game with a samurai theme. As such, fans may be interested in other similar games after completingRise of the Ronin. Some recommendations may seem outside the box, but experimentation and exploration are part of the fun of the gaming medium.
TheWay of the Samuraiseries began on the PS2. While it never made a huge splash in the gaming market, its dedicated fans kept it alive. The series was known for short,samurai-themed adventuresthat offered players a lot of choices.
The first game could take about three to four hours while subsequent playthroughs could be shorter or even longer depending on the path taken. Beyond the samurai theme,Rise of the Roninhas someWay of the SamuraiDNA present, such as the choice system.
Samurai Warriors 5is the latest iteration in the series, which also began during the PS2 generation. It’s a more fantastical samurai game thanRise of the Roninwith magic-adjacent influences among the flurry of historical figures.
There are tons of characters to choose from and they all have varying degrees of weapons, from swords to spears to sickles.Samurai Warriors 5is worth recommending beyond other entries because it’s more readily available on current platforms and looks nice thanks to the cel-shading. That was a first for the franchise.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyis the last game from Team Ninja. Whilebrutal at first, the difficulty evened out thanks to the introduction of the AI-driven party members. That element was reused forRise of the Roninbut so was the idea of toning down the difficulty levels, as they can be adjusted, unlike most Team Ninja games.
However, for beginners in the Soulslike genre,Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyis a good choice because of that more even challenge thatRise of the Roninplayers may be used to.
Bushido Bladeisa PS1 classicthat only spawned one sequel despite great reviews between the two of them. They are fighting games with heroes falling under the ninja or samurai variety. Players can choose a variety of weapons to tackle their opponents, so no one is set with their weapons, unlike fighting games akin toSoulcalibur.
The gimmick behind these games is that opponents die in one hit, so there is a lot of strategy involving counters. It’s one of the most intense fighting games of all time and both of them deserve a second look.
Ghost of Tsushimais an obvious recommendation as a modern open-world samurai game. It also skirts the line on whether it is a samurai game or a ninja game as the main character, Jin, can sneakily take down enemies from the shadows besides honorably facing them in battle.
The first game was successful enough that it even got optioned for a movie. Movie aside, this game is also based on history, although it takes plenty of liberties just likeRise of the Roninto give fans an exciting adventure through feudal Japan.
Rise of the Roninincorporates a few Soulslike elements, such as the strong countering system. In this regard,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicemakes the most sense to recommend. It’s a ninja game that is probably themost challenging in FromSoftware’s catalogbecause it is devoid of most RPG elements, unlikeDemon’s Souls.
To get through this game, players have to master the flow of combat and become familiar with their opponents' attack patterns. The challenge is worth it just to see all of the interesting levels and bosses that are present inSekiro’s rendition of the Sengoku era.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildhas been an inspiration for a lot of games post-2017.Rise of the Roninis not alone in this. Whether games feature gliders or free climbing, Nintendo made a big impact with this one and it’s an obvious recommendation along with its sequel,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Getting lost in either of these worlds is easy courtesy of the vast open world. PS5 owners may not have a Switch at the moment, but these games are worth the $300 entry level. The hype is indeed worth it even seven years later.
