Rise of the Ronin

GoT was just a wonderful game, and it also did the Ubi thing better than Ubi do i.e. it didn't overegg the map pudding...er, as it were; at least nowhere near as much as AC or FC do.

I think there's little question in my mind that by most measures GoT is the more accomplished game. Yet there's so much that Ronin, flawed as it is as zisssou notes, gets right. Above all, the combat and the Nioh-like (well, it is Nioh in this respect) weapon an armour variety, as well as unlocking the different styles for each weapon, which operate with different levels of effectiveness against other weapons, and which have different martial skills: the martial skills don't get old, they are a lot of fun. I'm still nowhere near unlocking the 3rd and 4th for even my most familiar weapon; that's must be partly as I've really been trying out different ones as soon as a new legendary (epic - whatever the yellow colour indicates) drops. I played for about four or five hours yesterday and it was all about the Odachi - a weapon I never really got on with in Nioh but the particular one I have right now is devastating with some excellent moves. 

And - again - countersparks: I still haven't fully got the parry down, and I basically just dodge when enemies do their unblockable strong attack (the red flashing one that requires a perfect parry to counter) but normal parries are successful most of the time and it destroys their ki. 

One thing that's become clear re: all the activities you do to complete an area: they're not only meaningful in terms of increasing your bond with the area and reaping item and skill point rewards when an area is complete, they also have a corresponding NPC - some of whom have only just unlocked for me as I've been taking the main missions slowly. For instance, there's a cat lady who you can purchase rewards off depending on how many cats you've petted; a government official who does the same but for tracking down and killing fugitives, a photographer for taking photos etc. So there are genuinely meaningful outcomes for completing these - so long as you have the silver coins (one of the currency types) to buy them. 

Then there's a tonne of other stuff I've just got to - the skill trees, Igashichi and his inventions / upgrades (hello flamethrower!), the pro- and anti-shogunate factions, bonding with NPCs / bond missions etc. There's a lot going on, which may or may not be a good thing depending on what you are looking for but I'm starting to really appreciate the interlocking systems. 

I don't see how this is a 15-20-hour game. This may be true if you mainlined the story quests but then presumably you would be limited in terms of combat styles, moves, equipment...and would miss out on a lot of good stuff. 

If you've found any of our points about Rise of the Ronin appealing, give it a go - at least when there's a price drop if you are unsure.

I can't imagine anyone who likes Nioh or GoT or maybe even Wo Long not enjoying it. Nioh's DNA is all over it - even if it is very different in many key ways.  

And once more: the combat is just great fun. I'm itching to get back to it after work. 

Exactly - I've completed four or five areas and have a couple more unlocked after about ten hours. I have been doing as much "hoovering" as I can before advancing the quest but even so. It's hard to tell for sure from the map how many other areas there are but I doubt this is less than 25-40 hours long. 

And for sure there is plenty of replayability built in for obsessives, naming no names. 

I started with the dual swords as my default build was dex-based - love them, but I still haven't found / unlocked any other combat styles for them and I'm sorely tempted to look up how. I do want to go back to them. 

I've tried out those, the katana, the odachi, the spear, the sabre. Dual swords and the odachi are my favourites right now.  I haven't given the polearm a go yet and there are others I've not even come across as far as I'm aware - greatsword, oxtail blade, bayonet.  

I've just found an oxtail, it's pretty cool. Basically Chai Xianghua out of Soul Calibur move set.

JuniorFE Fair enough.

Again, I'm not knocking the combat - that'd be massively unfair of me, not having played the game and all - but it does appear to be shallower than its predecessors from what I've seen so far (which is, I admit, very early in the game).

Yeah, both games have a very fun style of gameplay, where you have to plan your attack. I think RotR is perhaps a little more tactical I've found so far, as there's a lot of different stances/weapons you can apply, than in GoT. 

A lot of the reviews got this completely wrong imo. Either they weren't arsed by it, or what. Not that it really matters, as some games that haven't had the universal praise has gone onto become some of my favourites. 

I think the combat reminds of the first Nioh the most. I liked Nioh 2 but it felt a bit like they'd pulled to much stuff on for the sake of it and the combat felt a bit more messy because of it. This is back to being a bit more considered, timing and distance based. I'm really, really digging it.

And parrying definitely isn't essential if anyone's worried about that.

I'm also glad it's being enjoyed. It's moving further up my "to buy" list.

It's the Dark Souls 2 of Team Ninja games. 

That is all. 

Shouldn't have gone and done that.

I agree. You can chip away at health with the secondary weapons, or do a bit of stealth. For the 'boss' fights, you can easily get away with cheesing some of them, without having to parry all the time. Of course parrying does really help reduce a tonne more health.

Ended up buying this - combination of every single person playing it being positive on it and the combat in the DF video convinced me. The Easter weekend coming up also played a part!

It certainly explains why I don't always get my parries down   

But, yeah, different weapons and styles is the right way to look at enemy variety in this game rather than how many types of oni there are etc. (spoiler: none, though there are big boars).