Stellar Blade is an Incredible Experience Whilst Rise of the Ronin Languishes, But the Reality Is Very Different Between the Two; and that Stats Prove It
Team Ninja's game isn't that much worse than Shift Up's title.
Sony is on a roll this year, with huge releases like Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin being launched just a month apart from one another. However, the perception of both of these games has been different from each other, despite some of their similarities. Aside from the titles ShiftUp and Team Ninja being PlayStation 5 exclusives, there is one aspect that shows that they may share more in common. So, why is one being considered a hit while the other is being portrayed as a flop?
Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin Aren’t Drastically Different
Both games had to go through their own challenges leading up to their releases. ShiftUp’s title caused controversy because of Eve’s character design. Team Ninja’s game faced issues in South Korea due to some comparisons that Fumihiko Yasuda made. But even with these obstacles, the games saw light of day on their scheduled launch dates without any problems, and it turns out that they both turned out to be great gaming experiences for the players.
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Rise of the Ronin has an 8.7 user score on Metacritic, which shows that most of the players gave it “generally favorable” reviews. But Stellar Blade has joined titles like The Last of Us in becoming one of the highest-rated games on the site, with a user score of 9.2. However, even with a negligible score difference of 0.5, the two games are being treated differently, with ShiftUp’s title being considered a generational success and Team Ninja’s game being perceived as an inferior Ghost of Tsushima.
Why ShiftUp and Team Ninja’s Games Aren’t Being Considered Equal
A potential reason why Rise of the Ronin didn’t receive the due attention could be because of its overlapping release with another gaming behemoth. Capcom unleashed Dragon’s Dogma 2 on the same day as Team Ninja, and considering the anticipation that followed the former, it was natural for a new IP to get overshadowed, despite being a solid effort.
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The comparisons it had to face with Ghost of Tsushima didn’t help either, and there’ve been reports of Team Ninja’s parent company, Koei Tecmo, revising its financial forecast after the game underperformed.
On the flip side, Stellar Blade was shaping up to be the game that’s overcoming cancel culture, and the controversies piqued more interest in it. That resulted in ShiftUp’s game being sold out on Amazon Germany before release, as gamers wanted to witness the controversial elements for themselves. Sure, it wasn’t launched uncensored like it was being portrayed, but it became an unapologetic hero.
Regardless, both games have fanbases that appreciate them, but it’s unfortunate to see that the two titles aren’t being treated as somewhat equal.
