Ronin is published by Devolver Digital who is known for the best and most exciting indie
games. �They really know how to handpick up and coming devs to create the right games.
This game is very reminiscent of Mark of The Ninja, a stealth action game that came out
a few years ago, but Ronin has it�s own style. It's a stealth action game that actually
features turn based combat. But is the game any fun and does it have enough substance
to keep players interested? Let's find out in the Ronin game review.
-Story Your mission is to assassinate five different
targets. There isn't a lot of story or any cutscenes for that matter. It's very straightforward
and this is one area where the game is lacking. I feel like the setup and the style give you
a strong idea of what the devs wanted to convey, but it's just missing storytelling. The only
cutscenes are these images with text overlayed. The game is more about strategy, action, and
your approach. So let's move on to the gameplay. -Gameplay
Ronin is a stealth game with turn based strategy. �The game is based around jumping and slashing
at your opponents. �It seems incredibly simple upon first impression, but the simple
design is actually what causes you to think critical. �During combat you can�t move
forward or backward, only jumping. �You take a jump or a slash and the enemy shoots
their firearm. �The red laser indicates the enemy�s line of sight and potential
shots. �So it�s a matter of timing and evading enemy fire while positioning yourself
for attack. �And the intriguing part is not how you deal with a single enemy, but
how you deal with groups of enemies in each scenario. �There are also small features
in the environment that can make your attacks more challenging and dynamic. �Breakaway
glass windows and lights that expose your presence make you have to really plan and
think out scenarios. �Even though combat is turn based, it can move very fast and feel
very active. Although it's stealth oriented, it's not the type of game where you can complete
a level without any kills. The intention is actually to kill every enemy in every mission.
Controls Controls are tight, but they take some getting
used to. �Jumping is positioned with the analog stick. �You point at your target
if you want to knock them over or point next to your target for an attack. �When you
release the stick your character moves to the location. �You also have limit breaks
which build up when you chain attacks together. �This gives you additional moves to perform
such as shuriken stuns and dropping decoys. �I didn�t try mouse and keyboard controls,
but my impression is that this game was intended to be played with a controller. The only really
annoying aspect about the controls was the grappling hook. It allows you to swing on
surfaces either for evasion or to break through glass. Breaking through glass can be very
frustrating at times. I just never really got the hang of it. Getting a perfect swing
seemed to be luck.
Each level has 3 bonus objectives that claim to be optional, but they�re actually very
necessary to make progress. �Finishing all three bonus objectives in each stage give
you skill points which you need for new skills. �These include shuriken stunners, decoys,
and more moves to help with combat. �And combat starts to get very difficult with a
high number of enemies. �So these so called optional objectives are actually quite necessary
because you need the advanced skills to survive.
The game is surprisingly challenging seeing as it appears so simple on the surface. �But
the difficulty quickly ramps up after the first few levels. �There are special enemies
and high enemy counts in each room. �Then the game adds in dynamic elements like breakable
windows and now you�ve got some very complex scenarios. �There are some moments where
the difficulty becomes unfair. �Where it seems like every attack choice will lead to
your death and you have to repeat the same room multiple times. �This is a highly frustrating
part of the game. However, the plus side is that there are very frequent checkpoints so
the game doesn't make you restart the whole level unless you've really screwed up bad.
It does have a load screen when you load every checkpoint which is annoying when you're stuck
at a really hard segment and you just want to try your new strategy immediately.
Graphics Ronin has very simple graphics, but it uses
them very efficiently. �The look is very clean so it lets you focus on the enemies
and the points of entry. �The color scheme doesn�t have a ton of variety, but it�s
enough to highlight important targets and your own character. �I wish there were options
to zoom in and get a closer look at the environment, but there isn�t. �You can however look
all over the level using the D-Pad. �There�s almost no options for adjusting the graphics,
but since it's so simple it should run well on most computers. ���It has fullscreen,
vsync, and anti-aliasing. �But it doesn�t even have a resolution option even though
it appeared to be running at the same as my desktop.
Ronin is fun, intelligently designed, and interesting to play. �Even if it�s a bit
frustrating at times, it�s definitely a game worth trying. It's also really lacking
in story elements which is a shame because there's definitely a background to the game.
There�s over 15 different missions and completing all three bonus objectives is almost essential.
It feels like they just didn't have enough time or resources to develop cutscenes and
voice overs. So I'm going to say.. TRY IT. I can recommend you check this game out if
you enjoy stealth action and strategy. It will definitely be a bit of a brain teaser
and getting those assassination kills is rewarding. Let us know what type of stealth action games
you enjoy in the comments. Subscribe to the skilled youtube channel for more game reviews.