Highlights
- Rise of the Ronin looks to be a worthy successor to Sekiro, drawing inspiration from its fluid gameplay and innovative mechanics.
- The gameplay in Rise of the Ronin showcases important elements of the Soulslike genre, such as parrying and backstabbing, while also teasing a variety of play styles for customization.
- Rise of the Ronin innovates on Sekiro’s traversal mechanics with the introduction of a grappling hook and glider, allowing for more exploration and satisfying traversal options in the game’s open world.
Soulslike fans have a lot to look forward to in 2024, including the latest game from developer Team Ninja, Rise of the Ronin, which received a new trailer at The Game Awards 2023. Rise of the Ronin appears to follow in the footsteps of past games from Team Ninja, like the Nioh series and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, combining Soulslike elements with innovative world traversal and combat maneuvers. However, it’s obvious from this latest trailer that the game that Rise of the Ronin appears to be taking the most inspiration from is FromSoftware’s GOTY-winning title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Although the Soulslike genre is growing every year, no game has been able to truly capture the feel of 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which elevated FromSoftware’s Soulslike formula to new heights with its smooth and fluid gameplay unlike any past Soulslike game before. While the innovative mechanics and usual polish of FromSoftware games earned Sekiro the Game of the Year Award at The Game Awards 2019, there hasn’t been a sequel in the years since, leaving the door open for other developers to carry on the game’s legacy. Now that more has been revealed about Rise of the Ronin, it’s looking more like a worthy Sekiro successor.
Rise of the Ronin’s Potential Setting Explained
The upcoming action-RPG Rise of the Ronin takes place in Japan, towards the end of the 300-year-long Edo period, during a time of great change.
Rise of the Ronin Could Be the Next Sekiro
Rise of the Ronin Looks to Have Solid Soulslike Gameplay
Team Ninja has a history of delivering some of the best Soulslike experiences outside FromSoftware games, and Rise of the Ronin looks to be on track to continue this success. The gameplay seen in the The Game Awards’ trailer showcased several of the genre’s important elements in the context of Rise of the Ronin, including the game’s parry and backstab mechanics. While there were no details about the game’s RPG elements shown, the game teases the presence of a variety of play styles, making it likely that players will be able to customize their experience to their liking.
In addition to its Soulslike combat, Rise of the Ronin boasts an open world and rich narrative at its heart, setting it apart from past Team Ninja games. As such, it seems like Rise of the Ronin will be drawing inspiration from several of FromSoftware’s titles, including Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring. Mechanics present in Team Ninja’s past Soulslike titles will also be present in Rise of the Ronin, such as firearm combat and the ability to use different types of melee weapons.
Rise of the Ronin Innovates on Sekiro’s Traversal Mechanics
Fans of Sekiro likely noticed right away the clear similarities Rise of the Ronin shares with the FromSoftware title. The most iconic way Sekiro innovated on the Soulslike formula was its introduction of the grappling hook, which allowed for more vertical traversal and combat options for players in tackling the game’s challenges. Rise of the Ronin looks to be building on this mechanic by introducing a grappling hook of its own that was shown to allow players to zip above buildings, which could allow for even more exploration potential within Rise of the Ronin‘s open world.
Rise of the Ronin appears to take these movement mechanics to the next level, as the player is shown to be able to activate a glider after launching themselves with the grappling hook. This mechanic echoes Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom‘s paraglider but adapts it for a Soulslike title as the player is then shown pulling off a backstab on an enemy from the air. To top off these unique gameplay maneuvers, Rise of the Ronin‘s new trailer even shows the player using their sword to propel themselves up and over a boss, demonstrating the game’s commitment to interesting and satisfying traversal in its gameplay.
