PlayStation recently posted a gameplay clip of Rise of the Ronin's traversal on its Twitter page, and with it highlighted a lot of problems with modern gaming. Obviously, there are quite a few problems we may need to be aware of at this present moment, but Rise of the Ronin points to something beyond the discourse and subcultures and the unchecked animosity, and into our expectations for gaming itself. There is a simple question being asked - does Rise of the Ronin look any good? The answer is 'kinda', but gaming doesn't deal well with grey areas.

The clip in question looks a little janky and dated. As the protagonist swings on ropes, rather than watching every sinew of their body realistically tense and relax as they climb up onto a ledge, they just pop over it, changing direction in midair. Some members of the gaming audience have been trained to have unassailable expectations, and have decided Rise of the Ronin looks awful. Laughable. Unplayably bad. Like a PS3 game. They're wrong about this last point, and exaggerating about the rest, but there is an undercurrent of truth - PS5 exclusives (and many PS4 exclusives) look better than this.

On the flipside, you have people defending Rise of the Ronin and telling you there is nothing wrong with it. It's perfect. It looks like every other PS5 game. I am proud to call this game cutting edge. They're wrong too. Worse, they're lying - even they don't believe this slightly goofy animation looks as good as The Last of Us Part 2. I understand why they're doing it. They don't care as much about moment to moment graphics, don't feel a suboptimal animation ruins their experience, and are aware of the problems that come with chasing graphical realism.

They understand that it's a choice to either have games look indistinguishable from reality and be technical marvels but take a decade to make, or have games like Rise of the Ronin in less than half that time. I think the choice there is easy. But I also recognise that it is a choice, and not a cake I can both have and eat.

It's Basically Rise Of The Ronin Or Nothing

'I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I’m not kidding', that's the phrase. It's not 'I want games to be as long as they are now with the same graphics they have now but also make them quicker and pay people more'. It's a trade-off. Games like Rise of the Ronin are crucial to the industry's ecosystem. I haven't played it, so I can't speak to whether it is good. But the trailers and the previews have me intrigued, and there's nothing in the recently posted clip that puts me off. I don't think the animation looks good, I just don't care that it doesn't when the rest of the game does.

Obviously it was not the best slice of marketing to show us questionable parts of the game that invited this reaction. PlayStation is asking its followers to judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. But at the same time, Ronin is leaning into a more 'gamified' approach to movement that values speed and action over realism. It looks a bit like the middle Assassin's Creed games, post-Ezio but pre-open world, at least through nostalgia goggles, and we had no problem with them at the time, but now consider it to be beneath us.

How Real Do You Want It?

It's reasonable for players who were sold an expensive new console based on its graphical power to take issue with games that don't maximise its potential. But it's also unreasonable to expect every game to be made on the bleeding edge and still expect a regular flow of affordable titles. Just look at this year - aside from Ronin and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Sony currently has no confirmed first-party titles because they take so long to make. You can’t have it both ways.

My colleague Tessa Kaur recently wrote about this phenomenon in Dragon's Dogma 2, where the cooking animations are real-life video recordings rather than graphical renders. That points to an admission that photorealism has hit a ceiling and has become too expensive, and we may see other studios cease the relentless march to catch up with the budget and manpower of The Last of Us to instead create something with a more unique, timeless, and considerably cheaper art style.

Rise of the Ronin looks fine. Not outstanding, not embarrassing, fine. We might need to get used to games looking just fine if we want to actually play them more than once every eight years. Realism is not the only direction for gaming to take, and if that's all you want, you won't get many games at all.

Your Rating

close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10

Your comment has not been saved

Like Follow Followed

Rise of the Ronin

Action RPG Adventure Open-World Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 76/100 Critics Rec: 63% Released March 22, 2024 ESRB Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence Developer(s) Team Ninja Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Engine Proprietary Multiplayer Online Co-Op
Where to play Close

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

An action-adventure game from Team Ninja, Rise of the Ronin takes place during the final years of Japan's Edo period. In the midst of the country's turmoil, you play the titular ronin on a journey of your own making. 

Platform(s) PC, PlayStation 5 Powered by Expand Collapse