Is Rise of the Ronin a Soulslike?

A Rise of the Ronin Soulslike experience would make sense knowing the developer Team Ninja has worked on the popular Nioh series before. However, is that what you should expect from this new PS5 title?

Will Rise of the Ronin be a Soulslike?

When gamers put the Rise of the Ronin disc into their PS5, they shouldn’t expect a Soulslike experience. The game is much more forgiving with multiple difficulty options. The story is more present than most Soulslikes. “See the story unfold in different ways depending on the choices you make and the characters you ally with along the way,” says the official PlayStation page. “Face critical mission decisions, like whether to assassinate or protect key figures, and shape the course of history through a rich multi-choice system.”

Part of the identity of a Soulslike is that the environment tells the story, not a script. The official PlayStation page also says that there’s “deeply engaging yet accessible combat with layers of complexity suitable for any playstyle.” The Dark Souls series isn’t necessarily known for its “accessible” gameplay.

Furthermore, a gameplay segment from a trailer shows the enemy dying quickly with one slash and a gunshot to the head. The game’s stunning Japanese open world brings back memories of playing Ghost of Tsushima. Hopefully it brings a similar experience to those who love that game.

Is there character customization?

Rise of the Ronin has deep character customization, similar to many Soulslike games. “You can freely customize your character’s visual features, including elements like their face and body shape, hair, voice and more,” says the PlayStation page.