Rise of the Ronin delivered a satisfying samurai combat system with plenty of extra mechanics to play with. If you’re looking for similar titles, I have some recommendations that channel the game’s theme, gameplay style, or both. Here are my top 10 games like Rise of the Ronin.
10 Games to Play If You Like Rise of the Ronin
Ghost of Tsushima
While not set in the same historical period, both Rise of the Ronin and Ghost of Tsushima immerse the play in the feudal Japan atmosphere. In Ghost of Tsushima, you’ll face countless foes with your trusty katana while employing some RPG elements. There are various stances, skills, and upgrades to employ that will break your enemy’s guard in various ways to then damage their HP.
Furthermore, the general ambience, story, and exploration are, in my opinion, much more immersive than Rise of the Ronin. Still, both are great games with satisfying combat systems. Plus, the game is a beautiful experience with some top-tier graphics, music, and voice acting.
Nioh and Nioh 2
Also by Team Ninja, the Nioh series is like Rise of the Ronin if it had even more Dark Souls elements thrown in. The combat is a tad slower and more tactical, switching from a spectacle fighting game to a highly stamina-dependent one. Furthermore, while the Feudal Japan feel we all love is there, there’s some epic fantasy thrown in as well. You’ll channel various spirit creatures to aid you in combat and boost your skills while even invoking them to perform powerful abilities.
Missions are instance-based, so you’re essentially going through several dungeons while progressing the story. The best part is the vast repertoire of different weapons and weapon types you have available to experiment with like in RoR to create different builds. Nioh goes hard on the RPG element.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
While Nioh slows down the Rise of the Ronin combat system with stamina management, Sekiro accelerates it drastically. If you haven’t played it yet, it’s fantasy Feudal Japan mixed with high-octane parry action, the likes of which you’ve never seen. This is more of a rhythm combat game where you’re learning boss patterns through parrying until it’s your time to strike back hard with reversals.
Furthermore, it has a similar traversal system to Rise of the Ronin where you’re getting various gear pieces to help you maneuver around the level. That said, my favorite combat mechanics are the numerous special moves you’ll master, like channeling elemental attacks from bosses and hitting them back. Lightning reversals are my favorite.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty swaps Feudal Japan for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms kind of theme, but there are demons. It’s a dark fantasy game with a fast-paced combat system where you’ll be battling horrors using various weapons and skills. If you’ve ever played Dynasty Warriors, it’s the same feeling but boosted by the supernatural and various RPG elements and special moves. Meet legends like Lu Bu and Guan Yu, where instead of fighting hordes of enemies like in DW, you’ll face monstrous bosses one on one with an arsenal of weapons and special moves.
Sifu
This might be a wild card but even if weapons aren’t a huge part of Sifu, the combat system is similar to Rise of the Ronin. You’re learning boss patterns and figuring out the best ways to block, dodge, and parry attacks with your martial arts. The numerous abilities you’re learning are also offering new ways to approach combat and tackle groups of foes more efficiently. Furthermore, the boss fights in Sifu have a similar atmosphere. Although there are only five, they’re some of the best martial arts boss fights I’ve ever seen.
The Soulsborne Series and Elden Ring
Straying from the visual aesthetics of Japan, we have the Soulsborne series, with great games like Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, and Bloodborne. Furthermore, Elden Ring is sort of a culmination of the series’ combat system, not counting Sekiro, and all of them take Rise of the Ronin‘s RPG elements and elevate upon them. If you’re playing RoR just for the combat system, then you’ll like Elden Ring and the Soulsborne series.
That said, if you enjoy Japanese-themed weapons like the katana or naginata, all of these games, especially Elden Ring, have a lot of armor sets and gear that channel that aesthetic. Elden Ring even allows you to start as a Samurai class. The worlds are vast, exploration is fun, and the lore is probably what will immerse you the most.
For Honor
If you want to use your Rise of the Ronin skills in PVP, I have to recommend For Honor. It has its lesser faults, but it’s an incredibly fun game with an in-depth combat system based around different weapons and factions. You can pick the Samurai faction and plenty of feudal Japan weaponry like the swift duelist style of katana-wielding Orochi or the two-handed Kensei.
There are even dual-wielding wakizashi options with Aramusha and a sword-and-sorcery one with Kyoshin. The unique dueling system in For Honor, while visually different, is essentially the same stamina-based combat loop that many modern games use, so you’ll feel right at home facing other players.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!
Now here’s a samurai game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I love it for that reason. While the setting of Like a Dragon: Ishin’s story is epic and relatively serious, Ryu Ga Gotoku introduces its own blend of action and comedy to make the experience memorable. You’ll be sword fighting through the story of Like a Dragon: Ishin, but you’ll also be doing some wild side quests and engaging in beat ‘em up fights.
While I enjoy the simplified combat of this game (it’s not as complex as Rise of the Ronin), the element that bought me is the story and exploration. Walking through the streets of medieval Japan and interacting with various NPCs while provoking fights in search of revenge is what this is all about. And you also get guns, which shouldn’t be anything new to RoR fans.
Lies of P
Lies of P’s setting and story are a far cry from Rise of the Ronin, yet there’s something in the combat system that just clicks in a similar manner. From intense boss fights and mastering your fighting style to various gear choices that provide new options, both scratch a similar itch. Lies of P is similar to Sekiro where parrying is extremely important, but it’s also a hack-and-slash game like Rise of the Ronin in the majority of combat situations. If you enjoyed the smooth and tactical yet fast-paced combat of RoR, I think there are a lot of similar elements to like in Lies of P as well.
Phantom Blade Zero
You have a sword and 66 days to live. Phantom Blade Zero isn’t out yet, but it’s definitely an action sword-based martial arts title to watch out for. Just from the gameplay trailers, we can see the incredibly fast-paced and fun combat system. It’s based on martial arts with weapons, and Rise of the Ronin also focuses on these weapon skills, so PBZ is just a sped-up version.
Both games make you feel like you’re watching an old-school sword-fighting movie, and both games do this quite well. I hope the game will have a diverse weapon selection like Ronin, but, for now, the combat mechanics look enticing. Still, with all the hype we’ll have to wait a while before we get to enjoy this spectacle fighter.
That’s it for our top 10 games like Rise of the Ronin. I hope you’ve found at least one or two titles of interest, and if you want more lists, check out our top RPGs coming in 2024 or my best Soulslikes of 2023.
