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[Ogbert]

Even the game itself does a pretty poor job explaining the combat mechanics.

At the start it literally says "pick two weapons" and you have no idea what difference they make or how some weapons are more or less effective against certain types of enemies. There's a weird multi-layered rock-paper-scissor mechanic going on with certain weapons but also with the combat arts of those specific weapons. The game gives a little prompt later in the game explaining this in three sentences but that's pretty much it.

I can't really discover a logic behind this mechanic, it seems kind of random. Ghost of Tsushima was extremely straightforward with its stances against specific enemy types, but here there's so much going on. Also switching not only weapon but also between combat stances on the fly in the middle of a hectic battle just sucks because you need to take your eye away from the enemy and look at the little menu thingy showing arrows going up or down. It should've been a slow-motion effect while you switch stances.

The game really needs a dojo or something like Hanbei the Undying from Sekiro where you can train and learn mechanics and game systems.

This is very valid. I actually found this with Nioh 2 too. I think Team Ninja are sometimes guilty of adding a little too much complexity to their systems.

I’m making a point of playing this how I want to play it, focussing on what feels enjoyable. I’ve dropped block, am using sparks for all forms of parry and chi pulsing at the end of each chain.

Simple but a lot of fun. I play these games for their sense of rhythm.

 

[fart town usa]

I’m at the point where I’m officially giving up on any form of review, even individual YouTubers.

The entire industry appears to have forgotten the fact that video games are supposed to be fun and that the mechanics of gameplay are the fundamental ingredient. Sincerley, if you’re so concerned with narrative, read a fucking book. Video game stories are barely above pornography for their depth.

This game absolutely has issues. The graphics are poor. Yes, at points it can look good, but the scaling and pop-in is pretty egregious. And some of the checklist activities are tired. But the gameplay is fucking ace. It’s a very enjoyable ninja simulator.

For those on the fence, I’d absolutely recommend it. Perhaps not at full price, but as soon as it gets a discount, give it a go.

Fucking reviewers. Complete clowns.

My thoughts too. I can't outright encourage my friends to buy it but it's also a game that I hope more people play because it is really good. 99% of reviewers are absolute trash though.

Also, here's my favorite track in the game so far. So hauntingly beatutiful.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

So I've just been clearing all the stuff in Yokohama city and I came across a ronin sleeping under a tree. The guy wakes up and whips out a huge greatsword. He starts spinning that thing around and it that catches my character and hurtles me a couple of yards! I die instantly.

Any of y'all come across this guy yet? Took me a couple of tries to take him down. That guy's moveset was pretty awesome and has me thinking of switching to a greatsword

 

[fart town usa]

So I've just been clearing all the stuff in Yokohama city and I came across a ronin sleeping under a tree. The guy wakes up and whips out a huge greatsword. He starts spinning that thing around and it that catches my character and hurtles me a couple of yards! I die instantly.

Any of y'all come across this guy yet? Took me a couple of tries to take him down. That guy's moveset was pretty awesome and has me thinking of switching to a greatsword

I haven't yet but fighting a Ronin is always in the back of my head when im wandering around Yokohama. The game mentioned the possibility of fighting wandering Ronin's, I'm sure I'll stumble on one in due time.

 

[Ozriel]

I’m at the point where I’m officially giving up on any form of review, even individual YouTubers.

The entire industry appears to have forgotten the fact that video games are supposed to be fun and that the mechanics of gameplay are the fundamental ingredient. Sincerley, if you’re so concerned with narrative, read a fucking book. Video game stories are barely above pornography for their depth.

This game absolutely has issues. The graphics are poor. Yes, at points it can look good, but the scaling and pop-in is pretty egregious. And some of the checklist activities are tired. But the gameplay is fucking ace. It’s a very enjoyable ninja simulator.

For those on the fence, I’d absolutely recommend it. Perhaps not at full price, but as soon as it gets a discount, give it a go.

Fucking reviewers. Complete clowns.

How does this differ significantly from the review consensus then? 77% IS supposed to represent a good game, trending towards ‘very good’.

Here’s an excerpt from GameSpot’s 7/10 review, for example.

It's not without some flaws, but I finished Rise of the Ronin with much more left to do, and even after 50 hours, I want to head back in to see what I'd missed and attempt to change history. The parts of the game that work more than balance out its weaker elements. And while it took a while to find the rhythm of Rise of the Ronin's combat, its speed, complexity, and intensity make for some phenomenal fights that always feel great to win. Rise of the Ronin is a game that might take a bit to get good, but the commitment is worth it.

It reads similar to your own experiences, and they clearly recommend the game.

Is the problem not more with those unwilling to give games rated 75 - 85 a chance? And if this fails to get traction in the market, it will be with consumers who probably place premium value on fantastic visuals and set pieces. Days Gone was slaughtered by critics and yet sold nearly 10 million copies.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

How does this differ significantly from the review consensus then? 77% IS supposed to represent a good game, trending towards ‘very good’.

Here’s an excerpt from GameSpot’s 7/10 review, for example.



It reads similar to your own experiences, and they clearly recommend the game.

Is the problem not more with those unwilling to give games rated 75 - 85 a chance? And if this fails to get traction in the market, it will be with consumers who probably place premium value on fantastic visuals and set pieces. Days Gone was slaughtered by critics and yet sold nearly 10 million copies.

Yeah, I think it's usually below 80 where a lot of gamers freak out. I feel that way if im unsure whether to buy. I want to be fairly positive i will immensely enjoy the game if im spending 75$ day 1

For Ronin, I feel like when negative previews came out from Skill up and especially Fightingcowboy(the ultimate souls youtuber), I feel like a lot of journalists felt compelled to pile on. But open world games with good gameplay loops like Ronin or Days Gone are usually worth it, warts and all

 

[Duchess]

Could someone explain the whole two characters thing?

Do you swap between them at different points?

 

[SJRB]

Could someone explain the whole two characters thing?

Do you swap between them at different points?

Without trying to spoil too much, you start the game as a duo where you can switch but very soon you have to pick which one is your main, and the other will be "just" a story character.

However, considering the character creator is extremely robust, you can still "swap" at any point by just changing your character's appearance. You can change the appearance of your character and your blade twin at any time at your home base.

So for example I had a guy and a girl and chose to main the guy. But if I had second doubts I can't switch back but I can recreate the other character as my main, and effectively still swap characters.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

This is already 21% off on Amazon (IT) of all places (64€).

People may say what they want about how good it is, how the graphics are "not so bad" but, you can't expect people to shell out 80 fucking Eurodollars (it's even more expensive that Sony's 1st party games) for a game of unknown quality especially when the MC hasn't been all that favorable, shit, I'm a Team Ninja fan and I still wouldn't spend the initial MSRP that they're asking, it's just...too much for what it is.

Also : for a game with a good combat system (it's TN after all), the open world aspect isn't doing it any favors since if you want to experience it again (the combat that is) you'll have to start the usual NG+ and wade through the boring open world aspects all over again.No one's got time for that shit nowadays.
Personally speaking, I think that these games work better as linear, stage-based affairs as to have them being highly replayable since you can have your fun replaying 1-2 stages experimenting with new weapons/combos, turn it off and continue from there until you finish it again - just the thought of doing all that walking, running, horse riding, talking, go from point A to B to trigger missions and do all of the mundane tasks one more time is more than enough to turn me off, this is why I only play through open world games once.

Going to get this when it's gonna drop around the 25 Eurodollars mark which from what it seems, it's not gonna take long since it's obviously underperforming.

This has got to be one of the most tone-deaf releases of the last few years, the high MSRP, the mediocre graphics, lackluster performance and release date all point to that, maybe it's a shame but they only got themselves to blame for that (both TN and Sony).

 

[fart town usa]

Is the problem not more with those unwilling to give games rated 75 - 85 a chance? And if this fails to get traction in the market, it will be with consumers who probably place premium value on fantastic visuals and set pieces. Days Gone was slaughtered by critics and yet sold nearly 10 million copies.

For me it's both. Reviews tend to focus more on nit picks and not what the player enjoyed. The balance in critique vs praise seems to be always lopsided in favor of critique once you get a 7/10 or below.

I guess that makes sense because if a game scores higher, it's going to naturally be easier to praise. All the same, it just comes off as lazy to me and short sighted in the grand scheme of things. Too many reviews focus on what they wanted vs what the game actually is. Or something like, "it doesn't do anything new" who gives a F? Why does that matter considering most AAA games play incredibly similar to each other. It's always a bad thing until it isn't and these nit picks are always overlooked in massive games for reasons that don't add up. Then you call it out, "it's just my opinion, why are you harassing me?" These people acknowledge themselves as "influencers" and are willingly public figures. They want it all and don't want to be questioned.

However, gamers that write off games and dog pile them, without having played said game, is what annoys me the most. It happens every damn time and then these same people act like there's nothing to play. Just absolute sheep mentality. I don't understand it.

I just wish people would give less weight to scores, and that gamers who haven't played such and such game would shut up and avoid dog piling. Poisoning the well is all it is and it really does prevent quality games from succeeding.

 

[fart town usa]

This is already 21% off on Amazon (IT) of all places (64€).

People may say what they want about how good it is, how the graphics are "not so bad" but, you can't expect people to shell out 80 fucking Eurodollars (it's even more expensive that Sony's 1st party games) for a game of unknown quality especially when the MC hasn't been all that favorable, shit, I'm a Team Ninja fan and I still wouldn't spend the initial MSRP that they're asking, it's just...too much for what it is.

Also : for a game with a good combat system (it's TN after all), the open world aspect isn't doing it any favors since if you want to experience it again (the combat that is) you'll have to start the usual NG+ and wade through the boring open world aspects all over again.No one's got time for that shit nowadays.
Personally speaking, I think that these games work better as linear, stage-based affairs as to have them being highly replayable since you can have your fun replaying 1-2 stages experimenting with new weapons/combos, turn it off and continue from there until you finish it again - just the thought of doing all that walking, running, horse riding, talking, go from point A to B to trigger missions and do all of the mundane tasks one more time is more than enough to turn me off, this is why I only play through open world games once.

Going to get this when it's gonna drop around the 25 Eurodollars mark which from what it seems, it's not gonna take long since it's obviously underperforming.

This has got to be one of the most tone-deaf releases of the last few years, the high MSRP, the mediocre graphics, lackluster performance and release date all point to that, maybe it's a shame but they only got themselves to blame for that.

No offense but that's a lot to say for someone who hasn't played the game. Price point isn't indicative of overall quality. I've bought several $70 games that I consider to be laughably bad. Such is life. I still will pay the cost to try a game I'm interested in. Inflation and overall production costs are the biggest factor for the $70 standard. I really have a hard time understanding why some people can't accept the $70 price point. 3 quality chicken breasts cost me $20+ at the grocery store. Things are expensive in 2024, it sucks but that's the way it is for the foreseeable future.

Nothing wrong with waiting for a sale but poo pooing a game you haven't played as justification for waiting on a sale is lame. Just wait for the sale, it could be a 10/10 for you when you get get around to playing it. Acting like it's a tone deaf release is just poisoning the well. Team Ninja tried something new and it's a good game. The visuals are the biggest thing that's triggering people and they aren't that bad. The performance issues? Yea I guess if you watch a DF video but playing the game myself, it's fine. Ronin is just another example of people allowing themselves to be triggered by reviews.

Just play the game or don't.

 

[fart town usa]

Without trying to spoil too much, you start the game as a duo where you can switch but very soon you have to pick which one is your main, and the other will be "just" a story character.

However, considering the character creator is extremely robust, you can still "swap" at any point by just changing your character's appearance. You can change the appearance of your character and your blade twin at any time at your home base.

So for example I had a guy and a girl and chose to main the guy. But if I had second doubts I can't switch back but I can recreate the other character as my main, and effectively still swap characters.

Duchess

You can also take friends with you in main missions and can play as them by pressing L1 and Up on the D-Pad. It's maxed out at 3, you and two side kicks.

Combat system is wild, so much stuff going on but it manages to work and not feel overwhelming. Granted, it might at first but the game does a good job of easing you into things and once you toy around with it, it all makes sense.

 

[fart town usa]

Just dropped.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

fart town usa c'mon man, that's pure hyperbole ("poisoning the well"?), there's no need defending a specific purchase, heck, I've bought my fair share of mediocre games and I've never felt the need to defend my purchases (Wanted dead and Robocop most recently).

Now brother, since you've mentioned food :
It's like going to a nice, well-known steak house and having the option between a 25 Eurodollars 200gr beef tagliata and a 60 Eurodollars 1Kg bistecca Fiorentina, you've tried and enjoyed them both but when you're really hungry and in the mood for some real meat you're gonna opt for the 1Kg Fiorentina and not the 200gr beef Tagliata, correct ? Now, imagine the restaurant introducing a 60 Eurodollars (still 200gr) tagliata just 'cause they've put some rocket and grated parmiggiano on top of it and saying "this is actually good, wonder why people don't order it" - does it mean that the dish/meat is bad ? no, it just means that - in most cases, for most people - people won't find it to be a good proposition, that's all...

No, I haven't played it yet but I will, know why I haven't yet ? 'Cause I never buy games day1 for all the obvious reasons - go take a look at the Dragons dogma 2 topic, there's many users saying "I'll shelve it for the time being until it gets some patches" - why get it day 1 then ? what's the fooking point ?

By the time I'll decide to get this, and after 2-3-4 patches, the game will be A) in a better state and B) much cheaper.

I don't really care about anything else, I don't owe companies nothing, I don't have to shell out 80 fucking Eurodollars on a mediocre product just cause you spend 20++ for some chicken or I 40+ for a steak, it's just a silly analogy man, we have the freedom to spend our hard earned cash however we want, correct ?

No hard feelings, still love you bro

 

[rhodesianshepard]

fart town usa c'mon man, that's pure hyperbole ("poisoning the well"?), there's no need defending a specific purchase, heck, I've bought my fair share of mediocre games and I've never felt the need to defend my purchases (Wanted dead and Robocop most recently).

Now brother, since you've mentioned food :
It's like going to a nice, well-known steak house and having the option between a 25 Eurodollars 200gr beef tagliata and a 60 Eurodollars 1Kg bistecca Fiorentina, you've tried and enjoyed them both but when you're really hungry and in the mood for some real meat you're gonna opt for the 1Kg Fiorentina and not the 200gr beef Tagliata, correct ? Now, imagine the restaurant introducing a 60 Eurodollars (still 200gr) tagliata just 'cause they've put some rocket and grated parmiggiano on top of it and saying "this is actually good, wonder why people don't order it" - does it mean that the dish/meat is bad ? no, it just means that - in most cases, for most people - people won't find it to be a good proposition, that's all...

No, I haven't played it yet but I will, know why I haven't yet ? 'Cause I never buy games day1 for all the obvious reasons - go take a look at the Dragons dogma 2 topic, there's many users saying "I'll shelve it for the time being until it gets some patches" - why get it day 1 then ? what's the fooking point ?

By the time I'll decide to get this, and after 2-3-4 patches, the game will be A) in a better state and B) much cheaper.

I don't really care about anything else, I don't owe companies nothing, I don't have to shell out 80 fucking Eurodollars on a mediocre product just cause you spend 20++ for some chicken or I 40+ for a steak, it's just a silly analogy man, we have the freedom to spend our hard earned cash however we want, correct ?

No hard feelings, still love you bro

By all accounts, Ronin is a very solid game with 50+ hours of content. Many gamers deem that to be worth 75$. And they would rather not wait 1-2 months when it's 20$ off, like in your case

 

[Clear]

The mentality that every team needs to be best-in-class across every category of execution to justify price-point is just nutty to me. If you set standards that high you're reducing your choices to almost zero.

 

[JRW]

How about a 4 of 10 rating? lol ok I haven't played it yet but thought it was funny hearing someone's long rant after beating the game last night on stream.

Link starts at end credits (Spoilers!)

He loved Nioh 1 & 2 and played through both (again) on stream prior to Ronin release.

 

[fart town usa]

How about a 4 of 10 rating? lol ok I haven't played it yet but thought it was funny hearing someone's long rant after beating the game last night on stream.

Link starts at end credits (Spoilers!)

He loved Nioh 1 & 2 and played through both (again) on stream prior to Ronin release.

I'm curious what he has to say but can't listen due to spoilers. Could you maybe expand a bit on his critique? Honestly just curious and not trying to 'correct the record' or anything like that.

If his main gripe is the story, I feel like even people who are enjoying the game would agree. Some missions have been quite goofy where others have been thoughtful. It's definitely exaggerated when it comes to historical context. It reminds me the John Woo epic 'Red Cliff', it's rooted in history but is by no means accurate. Heavily stylized, etc. Ronin gives me the same vibe as that movie.

 

[Thief1987]

How about a 4 of 10 rating? lol ok I haven't played it yet but thought it was funny hearing someone's long rant after beating the game last night on stream.

Link starts at end credits (Spoilers!)

He loved Nioh 1 & 2 and played through both (again) on stream prior to Ronin release.

Who is this and why anyone should care?

 

[havoc00]

Just beat the drunk dude at the pleasure district, im super early still but having a blast

 

[Zuzu]

I bought this the other day and the combat system is so much better than any Assassin’s Creed game.

 

[fart town usa]

Game has a 4.32 on PSN with nearly 5k reviews. 8.5 user score on MC.

40+ hours in. Now in the 2nd area and the narrative is getting quite engaging.

 

[Zheph]

Decent!

 

[fart town usa]

Can't find the OT in the search.

AC Shadows is guaranteed Sweet Baby Trash bump.

Approaching 100 hours in Ronin. Do not sleep on this game if you want a feudal Japan focused game! Seriously, Ubisoft. Come on Gaf...get your head out of your ass.

Ronin is hands down my GOTY so far, nothing else comes remotely close. I'll see it through to the end with the current story route I'm on. Will probably chip away throughout the year with other routes. I'm really curious how big a role Matthew Parry plays, one of the major decisions I made early on mostly took him out of the story. And then there's this female European assassin who played a role in some good side missions, I'm curious what her full story is. And then there's Rutherford Alcock, not somecock, I'm talking ALCOCK. This game is effing massive.

I honestly believe that 99% of the gaming public doesn't grasp how much content is in this game. I don't even grasp it myself, lol. A lot of it is completely hidden from sight but simply playing the game keeps unlocking missions, etc. I think it was in development for 9 years? It makes complete sense to me now. It's staggering to me how big this game is.

Who is still playing Ronin?

 

[tommib]

Can't find the OT in the search.

AC Shadows is guaranteed Sweet Baby Trash bump.

Approaching 100 hours in Ronin. Do not sleep on this game if you want a feudal Japan focused game! Seriously, Ubisoft. Come on Gaf...get your head out of your ass.

Ronin is hands down my GOTY so far, nothing else comes remotely close. I'll see it through to the end with the current story route I'm on. Will probably chip away throughout the year with other routes. I'm really curious how big a role Matthew Parry plays, one of the major decisions I made early on mostly took him out of the story. And then there's this female European assassin who played a role in some good side missions, I'm curious what her full story is. And then there's Rutherford Alcock, not somecock, I'm talking ALCOCK. This game is effing massive.

I honestly believe that 99% of the gaming public doesn't grasp how much content is in this game. I don't even grasp it myself, lol. A lot it is completely hidden from sight but simply playing the game keeps unlocking missions, etc. I think it was in development for 9 years? It makes complete sense to me now. It's staggering to me how big this game is.

Who is still playing Ronin?

I got the platinum and did everything I could in it. It’s a delightful game. I’ll wait for the PS5 Pro to do a new game + with the unlocked Quality mode at (hopefully) 60 fps.

 

[fart town usa]

I got the platinum and did everything I could in it. It’s a delightful game. I’ll wait for the PS5 Pro to do a new game + with the unlocked Quality mode at (hopefully) 60 fps.

Nice. I just made it to the final area last night. Finishing up a main mission, awesome mission too; quelling the uprising at the capital. I'm pro-shogunate. Final area hasn't completely unlocked yet, real curious to see what the landscape is like. I'll probably platinum it too, been 100% everything so far.

 

[Zheph]

I started it but season 4 of Diablo is taking my time right now, I have a bad addiction to hack'n'slash loot

 

[tommib]

Nice. I just made it to the final area last night. Finishing up a main mission, awesome mission too; quelling the uprising at the capital. I'm pro-shogunate. Final area hasn't completely unlocked yet, real curious to see what the landscape is like. I'll probably platinum it too, been 100% everything so far.

It’s an easy platinum when you find out that for the allies you can just select them all one by one at the “bonfires”. The last map for me was the most gorgeous. You’re in for a treat.

Currently my GOTY.

 

[fart town usa]

Rise of the Ronin Update 1.005 Slices Out This May 22 (Update)

Team Ninja has released Rise of the Ronin update 1.005 today for the PS5 console. Check out the details of the patch.

mp1st.com

Random update that added more content, new difficulty level, some QOL tweaks, balancing, etc.

This game right here is following the strict policy of ABAP.

 

[touchfuzzy]

I grabbed it over the weekend with a Costco gift card and it’s fantastic. Did a 3 hour single session (which is very rare for me these days).

I’m just playing on “easy” setting cause I suck at Souls-like and it’s perfect difficulty for me. Feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface. But also feels like it’s been severely overlooked this year.