One of two PlayStation console exclusives announced during the PlayStation State of Play Stream, Rise of the Ronin is a new open-world action RPG coming from Team Ninja. The game is expected to release for PS5 in 2024.
Rise of the Ronin is set at the end of the 300-year long Edo Period ‘Bakumatsu’. This is the late 19th century where western influence is forcing itself into a country where the Tokugawa Shogunate is defending itself in a civil war with anti-Shogunate factions.
Within this setting, you play as a Ronin that is not tied to any side and able to align yourself as you see fit. There will be a story and characters that seek to add depth to the setting, giving you the opportunity to see how they view the world and decide whether or not you’ll take their side. It’s also a historically inspired game that will let you combine combat using Katanas and other traditional Japanese weapons with new guns that have been imported.
Having already been in development for the past seven years, Rise of the Ronin will be arriving at a time where gamers have been able to deeply invest themselves in Japanese historical adventures. The closest counterpart in terms of the historical setting will be the newly announced Like a Dragon: Ishin remake, while there’s the mythology-infused battling of Nioh by Team Ninja as well, but for a grand open-world adventure, you’d look to the US-made PlayStation exclusive hit Ghost of Tsushima. That game was set some 600 years before Rise of the Ronin, with a distinct period of Japanese history that could easily whet people’s appetites to explore more and different settings.
Writing on the PS Blog, Team Ninja President Fumihiko Yasuda said, “By harnessing all the skills and knowledge we’ve gained over the years we really wanted to take things to the next level by attempting to thoroughly portray the most critical revolution in the history of Japan including the darkest and ugliest chapters that many will shy away from. This is undoubtedly the most ambitious and challenging project for Team Ninja Studio to date. Yet we will allow our experience in creating samurai and ninja action games to guide us through this journey.”