Rise of the Ronin PC review: an engrossing action-RPG plagued by technical issues
The PC version should be the best place to enjoy Rise of the Ronin, but sadly it falls short
🏆 Review Score: 3.5 out of 5
Pros:
✅ Great combat system
✅ Beautiful recreation of 19th century Japan
✅ Fast and fun traversal system
✅ Discounted price on PC
Cons:
❌ Visual shortcomings
❌ Poor performance
❌ Huge file size
Editor’s note 03/11/25: As promised, I returned to Rise of the Ronin to test the game’s performance after installing the day one patch. The patch was 2.3GB in size, but I didn't notice any performance boost and VRAM usage remained extremely high. The same issues I encountered in my review sadly remain. This means the game is best played on standard to low settings for now, even if you have a capable graphics card and CPU that exceed the game’s recommended specs.
Developer Team Ninja has also released the following statement on its website:
“When set to the "Ultra" preset, there are instances where the following issues occur, regardless of PC specifications:
FPS drops and slow performance
Model rendering issues
Changing the preset to ”High" or "Standard" may resolve these issues.
Game runs in slow motion when "FPS Limit" is set to 120
Changing "FPS Limit" to 60 may resolve this issue.“We are currently preparing a patch, which will be released soon, to fix or improve some of these issues. We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences that you may have experienced.”
You can read my original Rise of the Ronin PC review below.
The Shortcut Review
Rise of the Ronin’s release was largely eclipsed by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Stellar Blade last year. However, the once PS5-exclusive is now available on PC with all the usual bells and whistles we’ve come to expect.
Players can enjoy far higher frame rates than on PlayStation 5, DLSS, XeSS and FSR upscaling, ultra wide support, ray tracing, and frame generation. The settings menu also provides PC players with a satisfying amount of options to tune the game to their liking.
You'd think, then, that this would make Rise of the Ronin on PC the definitive version. In reality, though, it’s immediately obvious that the game isn’t as optimized as PC players expect.
Inconsistent performance was present no matter what settings I selected, leading to head-scratching frame rate drops, persistent stuttering, noticeable slow down, and muddy textures. While it's difficult to determine exactly what's at the root of these issues, it ultimately takes the shine off what is a fantastically realized recreation of feudal Japan. It's also a solid action RPG that I'm looking forward to playing more of, if performance can be fixed.
Editor’s note 03/06/25: A few hours before the review embargo lifted, I received the following message from Koei Tecmo’s PR: “A day one patch is planned for launch and will fix additional bugs. If you are still experiencing some issues, we are recommending that you wait for the day one patch that will be deployed on the main branch.”
There’s a chance then that Rise of the Ronin’s performance issues could be ironed out with the day one patch. However, I can only review what I have available at the time of writing, therefore my opinion remains unchanged. I will provide an update at the top of this review once the day one patch goes live, though, to see if things have improved.
Rise of the Ronin's performance issues didn't stop me from enjoying the game.
If I had to guess what the main culprit was, it seems like Rise of the Ronin issues on PC stem from heavy VRAM usage, which fluctuates wildly. Even though my Nvidia RTX 4070 Super is equipped with 12GB of VRAM, the game regularly required close to the maximum 11GB or so available. This occurred even when the graphical settings were lowered significantly and the resolution was reduced. That shouldn't be the case, so clearly there's something wrong here. Those with cards that have 16GB of VRAM may fare better.
That being said, Rise of the Ronin's performance issues didn't stop me from enjoying the game. The game's combat system, which relies on parrying (called Counterspark), dodging and managing your stamina (called Ki), makes every encounter compelling. Every fight also feels refreshingly fair, which isn't always the case in Souls-like games.
Platform: PC, PS5
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Price: $49.99
Install size: 149.19 GB
Release date: March 11, 2025
I also enjoyed settling into the gameplay loop of vanquishing enemies to restore order to an area and then exploring the world for stat-boosting loot. Increasing your character's stats to unlock new abilities is also rewarding, as the game grants you new traversal techniques, speech options, and combat styles that keep things fresh.
While Rise of the Ronin can't compare to the immaculate presentation of Ghost of Tsushima, it can still look beautiful at times.
Rise of the Ronin's gameplay loop resembles Assassin's Creed 2 at times, which was the last game in Ubisoft's long-running series that I look back on fondly. However, it’s prone to the usual open-world bloat. Be prepared to perform the same tasks repeatedly: like finding cats to pet to earn silver, or praying at shrines to earn skill points.
While Rise of the Ronin can't compare to the immaculate presentation of Ghost of Tsushima, it can still look beautiful at times. The game boasts impressive draw distances and a dynamic day, night and weather system that makes the world feel more alive. It's just a shame you'll often be pulled out of the moment by an ugly texture or unexplained frame rate drop.
There’s potential for Rise of the Ronin to become a fine open-world action RPG on PC, but we’ll have to see whether developer Team Ninja puts in the effort to fix the performance issues I encountered ahead of release. Read my full Rise of the Ronin PC review below for more.
How I tested Rise of the Ronin 🧪
I had access to an early review code for Rise of the Ronin on Steam. The game was played on a Windows 11 PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D processor, Nvidia RTX 4070 Super graphics card, and 32GB of RAM. The game was installed on a WD_Black SN850 SSD.
I mostly played the game at 1440p resolution using DLSS balanced mode with the settings mostly on high. However, I also experimented with lower settings and 1080p in an attempt to overcome the game’s performance issues.
Rise of the Ronin recommended specs:
Processor: Intel Core i5-10600K or better, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X or better
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super (VRAM 8GB) or better, AMD Radeon RX 6700XT (VRAM 12GB) or better
A PC review code of Rise of the Ronin was provided by Koei Tecmo.
What I loved about Rise of the Ronin ❤️
🤗 The combat system offers plenty of variety. Rise of the Ronin lets you wield a variety of weapons such as katanas, spears, odachis, sabres and firearms. There's also a breadth of combat styles available, which you'll need to switch between to gain an advantage against certain foes. The plethora of weapons and styles mean you can get creative when encountering enemies, and stealth is a viable option, too.
One of the game's biggest strengths is how well it portrays mid-19th century Japan
🗡️ It's always fun to fight. I never shied away from a duel in Rise of the Ronin, as pulling off a well-timed counter, only to unleash a string of devastating attacks always felt immensely satisfying. The Counterspark system takes a while to master, but beating more powerful enemies without damage is an exhilarating experience.
🇯🇵 A convincing recreation of 19th-century Japan. One of the game's biggest strengths is how well it portrays mid-19th century Japan. You'll come across real historical figures like Ryoma Sakamoto, and the recreation of densely-packed cities like Yokohama is a sight to behold. It combines historical accuracy with fiction.
💨 You can get around the world quickly. Getting to your destination is painless in Rise of the Ronin. You'll gain access to a horse and a wing glider early on, and your grapple hook lets you reach higher areas easily. Even sprinting lets you cover the ground quickly, as you don't have to contend with a stamina bar. It helps that the world around you is gorgeous to inhabit, but I didn't feel the urge to fast travel as much as in other open world games.
🤝 The bond system is a nice addition. You won't always go it alone in Rise of the Ronin. You'll befriend certain characters you meet along the way, and you'll need to improve your bond to unlock new abilities and items. This can be done through answers you give in conversations, giving gifts, or by completing missions. It's an added element that makes secondary characters feel less like generic NPCs and helps keep you engaged with the story.
💰 Discounted price. We're generally used to seeing games released for less on PC, and publisher Koei Tecmo isn't charging the same $70 as it did on PS5. You can get Rise of the Ronin on PC for $49.99.
🎮 DualSense controller support. Those using a PS5 DualSense controller on PC can enjoy adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, just like on Sony's console.
What I disliked about Rise of the Ronin 💔
😬 Visual short comings. There are times when Rise of the Ronin looks like a current-gen title, but lacks the same polish and visual quality we've come to expect. Character models are unimpressive, and the textures could be clearer. The same can be said about animations, which aren't always the smoothest with enemies clipping or getting stuck in the environment. The game just feels janky overall.
It's not easy to get Rise of the Ronin on PC to run smoothly
📉 Poor performance. It's not easy to get Rise of the Ronin on PC to run smoothly. The game uses up a lot of VRAM, which means those with 12GB cards may run into issues at higher settings. The game's frame rate also fluctuates wildly, leading me to choose a 60fps lock instead of targeting 120fps.
🤷♂️ Huge file size. Rise of the Ronin takes up a whopping 143 GB of storage, which is an enormous amount, even for a modern-day title. It's also unclear why it requires so much space, considering it doesn't deliver the highest resolution textures available.
👉 Suffers from familiar open-world game problems. Rise of the Ronin relies heavily on an open-world formula that can become repetitive. The gameplay loop follows Ubisoft's overused blueprint, which may turn some players off. However, the amount of things to do never felt as overwhelming as in games like Far Cry 4. Also, the beauty of the world and excellent combat help mitigate this issue somewhat.
Should you buy Rise of the Ronin? 🤔
Yes, if…
✅ You’re already a fan of the Souls-like formula.
✅ You have a keen interest in Japanese culture and history.
✅ You’re looking for a game that offers many hours of enjoyment.
No, if…
❌ You’ve had enough of open-world, collect-a-thon style games.
❌ You’re a stickler for good performance and visuals.
❌ You have a graphics card with only 8GB of VRAM.
First published: March 6, 2025
Last updated: March 11, 2025
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.
