Whilst fans have only been able to catch a small glimpse of PlayStation's next exclusive title developed by Team Ninja, Rise of the Ronin promises an ambitious and vast open-world samurai experience. After a massively successful Ghost of Tsushima by PlayStation's Sucker Punch, fans have been awaiting any updates in regard to its sequel and how much of an improvement it will make to outdo its predecessor.
With there is still likely much more time left for a sequel to the beloved title, and the major comparisons fans made between Sucker Punch's huge title with Rise of the Ronin still present, Team Ninja's efforts on this occasion very much have the potential to provide a unique and possibly even better samurai experience that fans have ever seen.
5 Unique Sword Combat
Taking into consideration the aforementioned comparisons between Rise of the Ronin and Ghost of Tsushima based on their samurai focuses, fans will expect Team Ninja's combat development to be far more sufficient than ever before. Just as comparisons of similar titles such as Gotham Knights to the Arkham trilogy were destined to occur, the same is also present here.
Given the unique and accurate style of samurai combat present in Ghost of Tsushima, players will be anticipating a combat style that can stand up in competition to the different stances and immersive sword strikes that Sucker Punch's heavy hitter provides. Whilst it is clear the game's success will not and should not be defined by competition, especially since previous games are very much souls-like, it will largely benefit Team Ninja if Rise of the Ronin's combat can at the very least come close to what fans have now become accustomed to controlling Jin Sakai.
4 Expanded Customization
As extended levels of customization are becoming more of a prerequisite in RPG titles, Team Ninja developers would be doing fans a massive favor but doubling down on customization this time around. Titles such as Nioh and Wo Long Fallen Dynasty contained a good level of customization options for players, starting from physical appearance to characters' armor and clothing that could be found throughout their journeys.
Whilst there is still much that has already been done in the aspect of adjusting and tweaking characters' bodies and facial features, Rise of the Ronin must adhere to a greater variety of outfits and armor sets that are more appealing to players, especially within the context of samurai. Ghost of Tsushima pleased fans within this region even adding more outfits along with its DLC, so it would be great to see this title follow in the same direction.
3 Better Weapon Skins/Variety
Depending on how much Team Ninja intends to ground Rise of the Ronin in reality, this may potentially not be suitable, but the addition of special weapon skins serves as a great incentive for fans to play. With titles such as Monster Hunter World, players are heavily drawn towards its gear and loot system, as slaying different monsters and upgrading certain weapons even further, will change their appearance to ones more appealing than their base designs.
Despite weapons in previous Team Ninja games having a decent level of differentiation in terms of their attributes, styles, and appearance, Rise of the Ronin can heavily improve upon this, by providing players with more special weapon skins or designs, giving way to more variety.
2 Medium Sized Map
Considering the ever-growing disdain for open-world titles many fans are concerned with, especially with issues such as fetch quests or open spaces without much activity, the mention of Rise of the Ronin's open-world nature may leave some fans worried. As much as fans laud its counterpart Ghost of Tsushima, one of the biggest complaints was its side quests which felt very similar to Assassin's Creed's criticized fetch quests as mentioned.
Depending on the content Team Ninja will provide with side quests and exploration, it can either make or break the entire experience, but developers must ensure that the level of in-game content is equivalent to the size of the map, likely being much more medium compared to other titles.
1 Mature Story
With the context set during a period of war and high levels of tension, the chance to include a mature narrative and its sequences is most certainly suitable. Whilst this isn't directly similar to Ghost of Tsushima, the two stories appear to be very much aligned with two samurai one now a ronin, fighting against the threat of tyranny and invasion therefore including some mature tones and scenes.
As more of PlayStation's exclusive titles have gradually become more mature within a large majority of each game's region, more notably Square Enix's recent Final Fantasy 16, Rise of the Ronin should adhere to this and provide a narrative that touches on mature themes. With there still much more time left before release, and much more left to be revealed about what this title has to offer, fans will be anticipating a story that may outshine any of Team Ninja's previous games in fine fashion.
Rise of the Ronin is in development for a 2024 release, only on PlayStation 5.