Summary
Rise of the Roninmarks a bit of a departure for developer Team Ninja in a few key areas. Previously, the studio established itself by focusing on titles geared towards intense Soulslike experiences, often in tighter linear level design, and with spiritual/supernatural aspects baked into its gauntlet of increasingly elaborate and deadly enemies. Compared to some of its earlier entries like theNiohseries and last year’s highly-receivedWo Long: Fallen Dynasty,Rise of the Roninis fully open-world in a more grounded setting, and is relatively less demanding in many of its gameplay components while containing a scope of difficulty settings.
With the grandfather and codifier of the genre,Dark Souls, and its kinusually held up as the model to emulate, Soulslikes have seen a spike in popularity since inception. However, as more games were produced, a crucialdistinction between Soulslikes and Soulslitesemerged; with the latter, as implied, having a much lower general barrier to entry and related learning/difficulty curves in terms of grasping an array of sometimes complicated mechanics and interlinked (or vaguely explained) design features.Rise of the Roningoes above and beyond having just difficulty sliders for its samurai action gameplay, though, offering gamers a variety of settings and accessibility features that allow for a range of skillsets and other helpful options for those who may need to adjust certain aspects to their positions and preferences.
Rise of the Roninalso offers an increasingly standard toggle between performance or graphical fidelity, as well as a co-op mode.
Rise of the Ronin’s Accessibility Suite Should Set the Bar for Other Games in the Genre
Rise of the Ronin Extends an Olive Branch to Newcomers to the Genre
While the topic of intentionally designed difficulty in Soulslikes has drawn heated debates and sometimes negative exchanges over the validity and “vision” of how they affect the game experience, it nevertheless remains a large part of the genre’s identity. One immediately noticeable inclusion in this area is thedifficulty options inRise of the Ronin. Breaking from traditional Soulslike standards, it allows players to adjust this parameter via three levels– Dawn, Dusk, and Twilight, translating to Easy, Normal, Hard respectively. Not particularly unusual in the grand scheme, but for a game that wears its influences on its sleeve, it is a bigger step toward welcoming players who may be less familiar or interested in the gameplay of Soulslikes and adjacent titles, but intrigued by the narrative on offer.
In terms of its core gameplay,Rise of the Ronin’s various combat stances, while extensive, are also streamlined, requiring less intense precision and nuanced understanding, but still being robust and complex enough to provide a substantial challenge. Some of the settings work both ways, with players able to make battling enemies and other elements more daunting if they wish. The choices are broad, and fans of varied mindsets will likely find the balance that works best for them withinRotR’s options.
Rise of the Ronin’s Additional Settings and Options are Robust and Inclusive
There is also a host of other items, like auto-looting, companion behavior, audio/visual output, and more that can be adjusted. As accessibility options are becoming more widespread in gaming in general,Rise of the Ronincontinuing this trend is a positive move, and an encouraging sign that Team Ninjahas decided to be heavily inclusive in this regard as well.Rise of the Roninis a more choice-driven storytoo, with RPG elements and a collection of companion characters as some of its highlights, and letting fans experience the engrossing tale while being able to mitigate any possible frustrations is an excellent decision.
With the wealth of accessibility options providing a buffer to potentially aggravating aspects, the studio has laid out a solid line between producing a title adhering to what many fans would expect given its history, but also catering to those players who might have been hesitant about jumping into what is normally an intimidating genre.Rise of the Ronin’s encompassing array of optionsand convenience sliders give players the ability to tailor it for the smoothest experience relevant to them, allowing each to enjoy it on their own terms, and should become more of the norm for the industry.
