Rise of the Ronin Rumors Hit The Internet

We have new rumors that have suddenly come up about Team Ninja’s upcoming action game, Rise of the Ronin.

These rumors come from The Snitch, who has proven to be a reliable leaker before. In any case, these are somewhat general descriptions so there’s a good chance that they are accurate to the game, at least as it exists at this moment.

As reported by Insider Gaming, these are the rumored details from The Snitch:

• The game is a mix of Assassin’s Creed, Ghost of Tsushima, and Dark Souls
• Many item descriptions are used to make the lore bigger and better (E.G: “(…)It was produced in the craftsmanship style associated with a renowned blacksmith named Okisato Nagasone, who lived in Musashi during the 17th century and was also known as Kotetsu.
• Numerous side-quests that are more like Ubisoft side-quest designs
• Difficulty options
• Skill and technique trees
• Performance and quality modes (trying to improve fidelity before launch)
• Planned romance options
• Planned Q1 2024

Based on what’s described here, Rise of the Ronin might not really be a Soulslike or maso-core game as we have come to expect from Team Ninja nowadays.

It will certainly be difficult to resolve a possible Soulslike atmosphere during action sequences, when you are also romancing some potential partners in the side quests. While it’s easy to see some Soulslike fans would have wanted that options for some popular characters, it likely would not have coalesced to a logical game experience.

Difficulty options and skill and technique trees also punctuate the point that in spite of appearances and expectations, this is not intended to be a Soulslike at all.

It would seem that Sony is eager to make more video games themed in feudal Japan, which certainly struck as ironic since Ghost of Tsushima was made in Belleveu, Washington by Sucker Punch Studios.

This is not meant to say that Western studios can’t make good or ‘authentic’ games about feudal Japan. However, it should be fairly obvious that a Japanese company is signing off on these games nilly willy since they expect their being Japanese to make them seem authentic.

In any case, Team Ninja has proven themselves more than capable of expanding the idea of Soulslike games to what they describe as maso-core games. On that end, they have successfully escaped the marginalization of being known as only the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive devs. There’s no doubt they’re up to the challenge of making this one another certified banger.

Rise of the Ronin is exclusive to the PlayStation 5. It is planned for release in 2024.