Rise of the Ronin, the fresh new IP from KOEI TECMO, brings an open-world experience filled with adrenaline-fueled combat, a slightly innovative travel mechanic, and interesting-enough characters to enjoy the game to an extent. Whereas the graphics may not be the most visually appealing compared to its rival titles of this generation such as Ghost of Tsushima, RotR does set itself apart by compensating with the old-school fun factor, prioritizing gameplay and questing over visuals above all else. Unfortunately, all of these ingredients do not add up to enough content to warrant calling the experience a masterpiece. In my personal opinion, it's what I would call 'filler' content.

World Building
Unlike most generic open-world games of this day and age, RotR's world feels lively, with NPCs running around, some even seemingly having lives of their own. The game fooled me into thinking they do, until I realized most of what I was doing and the world revolving around it were very well scripted in segments. Each section of the map seems to be scripted around quests, and there are many subquests to venture on everywhere you look. For the most part, the game does boil down to traversing the map and knocking out a list of things to do that appear at certain points in story progression, whether it be taking down bandits for new weapons and/or styles, doing a favor to unlock technology, collecting cats, or making new allies and enemies along the way. All in all, I'm reluctant to admit that this is the generic Assassin's Creed experience, with less obvious intent.

Customization Options
CaC is a big factor that allows for immersing oneself with the world. My rule of thumb: I only make male characters and make my hair black to be able to relate myself to a character. The clothing options and weapon transmutation are great additions to a game like RotR, wherein I am forging my own journey and making choices as if they were my own. On a side note, RotR gave me a throwback to the Way of the Samurai days, which most would agree are underrated gems of the PS2/PS3 eras.

Dialogue/Voice Acting
Both the English and Japanese voice acting are neither extraordinary nor subpar, but the characters were developed well enough to keep me interested in certain characters and their choices. Their deaths also had an impact - albeit briefly - and compelled me to respect RotR in the sense that the developers were not afraid to kill off certain characters to incite despair or keep the story moving along. The relationships with the various characters, though overwhelming and bothersome at times, gave an odd sense of satisfaction to having "yet another task to do", which confirmed that the world of RotR was indeed 'alive'.

Pacing & Choice (Lack thereof)
The entirety of the story, when seen as one entity, seems like filler content from the eyes of a wanderer who is not directly associated with the events of RotR. The story, as intriguing as the backdrop may be, felt drawn out and longer than it should have been. The best analogy: it felt like watching a 100-episode anime with 60 (maybe even 70) episodes of filler arcs. Meanwhile, the game provides two faction options (Pro-Shogunate and Anti-Shogunate) to assist, but none of the choices leading up to swearing fealty to either one feels organic. Everything is scripted up until two or three main quests, and at the end of the day, I felt conflicted as to which side I actually support; primarily due to the game "forcing" me into assisting a faction even when I wanted to ignore them altogether and be part of the EMPIRE.

Weapons, Loot, Progression
The combat is solid, almost as deep as the mechanics in Nioh, but not quite on par. Other than the well-executed parry mechanic in RotR, everything else falls short. The various weapon styles system seems complex and grandiose at first, but you quickly realize you're just getting different animations to execute the same damage-inflicting skills. Skills are disorganized (yet useful). Build potential exists, but why bother? You can just carry two main weapons and a sub weapon you enjoy, and just go around slashing enemies to gain "levels", which unlock even more animations to do the same thing over and over again. To what end? The number of weapons, martial arts, and skills in the game can be summed up to an ambitious, yet poorly executed project.

Final Verdict: 7/10 C
Like most of the mechanics in the game, RotR is an average game at best that falls under the Not Recommended category simply because there are better options out there for the same experience. I daresay this is not even a loss for KT since most games I would recommend over this one are KT games as well. Deep combat with diverse weapon styles? Nioh or Monster Hunter. Masterful storytelling with interesting characters? Dynasty Warriors or Ghost of Tsushima. Fast-paced adrenaline-filled combat with challenging difficulty? Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry.

If you haven't played the other games I mentioned yet, skip this one. If you've completed them like myself and are looking for something to kill your time with? Play RotR and support KT so they release Nioh 3 in peak condition.

Arguably the most down-to-earth, nostalgia-filled racing game release of the 2020s. This game can technically be considered a shadow drop depending on how unfamiliar you've been with the scene as of late, but one thing's for certain: there are people out there who wholeheartedly want to restore the soul of the racing genre. And TXR is the starting line. On one hand, you have the mainstream franchises that have been keeping racers "afloat" in the modern age: Assetto, Gran Turismo, Forza, etc. On the other, we've got the elusive group that is not as well-known but scratches the itch that many of us have had for decades, the itch to just get out there and red line it until our hearts burst from the adrenaline while blasting Running in the 90s: the likes of NFS Underground, Midnight Club, Wangan MMT3, Initial D, and of course TXR.

Congratulations, Genki. You brought back the soul of racing games with a soon-to-be beloved and cherished single-player game that will be respected, talked about, and supported by many in the years to come.

I thought the first of my "Project V" reviews would be dedicated to NIGHT-RUNNERS on full release, but it looks like Tokyo Xtreme Racer was one step ahead of the curve. Taking a snippet from my NIGHT-RUNNERS PROLOGUE review since these two games will be similar in so many ways when EA ends: "The old-school VHS vibe, waging money, and meeting up at the shady streets to go 1:1 against other racers bring me back to when owning a car MEANT something." Also, whoever designed the C1 Loop, you have my utmost respect.

Thank you for being there for us when we needed you most, Genki.

Current Verdict: 10/10 S
There's a plethora of content even in EA. I can't imagine how much more Genki will be adding on launch (more than double the current content, from what I heard), and that's exactly the kind of love this genre needs to survive in the new age. None of those live-service, MTX-filled, cash-grabbing blueprints here.. just the pure love & soul that many video game companies post-2015 seem to have forgotten are the main ingredients for the 'next project' to truly thrive.