Most of us in all probability anticipated Group Ninja’s follow-up to the Nioh sequence, Rise of the Ronin, to be taught essentially the most from the studio’s earlier motion video games. Whereas this will but show to be true once we get our palms on it, what we’ve seen to this point makes it as an alternative look increasingly like an expanded model of FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Extra particularly, the slice of gameplay we acquired handled to final evening throughout Sony’s State of Play livestream had a few moments that positively turned heads.
Rise of the Ronin is Group Ninja’s largest recreation but. It’s the developer’s first open world title (like Elden Ring was for FromSoft), has a number of methods of traversal, and a story that includes NPCs you don’t simply watch in cutscenes. Primarily based on all the things we’ve seen, it’s a contemporary online game.
Nevertheless it’s additionally a Group Ninja undertaking, so all the things seems to be to be constructed on strong gameplay foundations, lots of which have advanced from what you might be acquainted with from the Nioh sequence. That is the place I assumed it will settle, however my impressions have themselves have advanced after watching the current gameplay video.
To be blunt: there’s an terrible lot of Sekiro in Ronin, which is totally a very good factor.
Let’s begin off with the grappling rope, which seems to work in an analogous option to the one in Sekiro. Sure, you need to use it to rapidly attain rooftops and get to vantage factors, nevertheless it additionally enables you to shut the space on enemies. Later within the video, we see the protagonist even do the ‘very Sekiro factor’ of grappling in the direction of the enemy to capitalise on a bonus, and outright use the rope to drag a sentry in the direction of them (although this in all probability solely works with weak items).
The identical grappling rope will also be used for stealth, in one other homage to Sekiro. And the way about that tall grass? Now, clearly Sekiro didn’t invent this mechanic, however one thing about rising out of tall grass to grapple into an enemy/rooftop seems to be very Sekiro to my eyes.
Certainly, Group Ninja has by no means actually dappled in stealth, a lot in the identical manner Sekiro was FromSoftware’s first time implementing a stealth system. I’ll say, nonetheless, the radar displaying enemies as crimson dots could also be a bit a lot. Not precisely a part of the rogue samurai fantasy, is it?
Nioh’s posture system makes a return, too, nevertheless it seems to lean extra within the course of Sekiro this time, with good parries rapidly depleting the enemy’s posture. Enemy posture can recuperate, too, so you might want to interrupt it greater than as soon as to outright kill them.
At 1:30 within the trailer, we get one other direct homage to Sekiro; this time to one among its enemies. Bear in mind the Lengthy-arm Centipede Giraffe mini-boss? Properly, the one in Ronin has similar-looking claws, and assaults about as quick – doubtless additionally used to show you tips on how to parry quick assaults. Talking of parrying, the developer confirmed on the PlayStation Weblog that you just’ll be capable of deflect rifle photographs! One thing I am certain we have all wished to do since Mitsurugi’s wonderful introduction in Soul Calibur 2’s blazing intro film.
All of that may be very a lot welcome, particularly since FromSoftware doesn’t look like doing something with Sekiro. I’m sure there are lots of nuances in Rise of the Ronin I’ve missed, and I can’t wait to get my palms on it and discover out simply how very like Sekiro, if in any respect, it performs.
Rise of the Ronin arrives March 22 on PS5.
