Rise of The Ronin reveals why graphics still matter for games with premium price tags

Sony has made jaw-dropping graphics a key feature of its $125 premium games. So when one releases that somewhat looks worse than a PS4 game, it raises questions.

Have you booted an old Nintendo 64 game recently? You are likely in for a shock. For some reason, our brains processes video game graphics with rose-tinted glasses, meaning we remember them looking a lot better than they actually do.

That’s especially the case now, where improving graphics in any game is actually quite tough. Further leaps in graphical fidelity often revolves the small things: tracking shadows, reflecting light or detailed rendering of tricky textures like water or fire. Almost every time I plug in a new games these days, I’m amazed at how far things have come. 

That is, until I booted up Rise of The Ronin. The game plays like open-world version of Team Ninja’s original title Nioh, and its feels best in its tense and detailed combat system. But as I moved out of the curated intro scenes and into the open-world component of the game, I started to question: Why doesn’t this game look better?

PS5’s Rise of The Ronin, released last week.

Maybe my graphics barometer is off I …