Ronin (video game)

Ronin

Logo of Ronin

Developer(s)| Tomasz Wacławek
Publisher(s)| Devolver Digital
Designer(s)| Tomasz Wacławek
Programmer(s)| Tomasz Wacławek
Artist(s)| Łukasz Piskorz
Writer(s)| Tomasz Wacławek
Composer(s)| Patryk Karwat
Engine| GameMaker: Studio
Platform(s)| Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4
Release| Microsoft Windows
30 June 2015
OS X, Linux
15 October 2015
PlayStation 4
1 November 2016
Genre(s)| Action, platform
Mode(s)| Single-player

Ronin is a turn-based action platform video game developed by Polish indie developer Tomasz Wacławek, designer at Polish indie studio Flying Wild Hog, and published by Devolver Digital. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 27 May 2015 into Steam Early Access and left it on 30 June 2015. A later update for the game introduced builds for OS X and Linux on 15 October 2015. A PlayStation 4 port of Ronin was released on 1 November 2016.

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 2 Plot
* 3 Development and release
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
* 7 Features
* 8 History
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Gameplay

Ronin has a stealth-based business complex level design, which the designer Tomasz Wacławek described as a rip-off from Tom Francis' Gunpoint.[1] The player needs to avoid being seen by the guards and use the surprise moment for silent kills. Once in a fight situation, the player has to dodge the guards' attacks and get the right angle to defeat them. The player can also throw their sword at enemies.

The player can hang from the ceiling in a level. This allows them to attack guards without being seen. The guard must be directly under the player and they must not be an elite guard. This attack kills the guard instantly.

Wall climbing is also a mechanic in the game. The player can slide down walls, stick to them, and launch themselves off the wall toward a guard. This also allows the player to reach the ceiling or another area. This gives surprise moments for silent kills.

## Plot

Ronin is about a young girl, known as the "Rōnin", who has lost her father for unknown reasons and the only thing she has left is a photo of five former associates of her father, responsible for his death. The Rōnin is now in charge of self-justice by taking revenge upon those five persons, one at a time.[2]

## Development and release

Ronin was originally created for the itch.io "Cyberpunk" Game Jam, it was submitted under the user name teedoubleu in March 2014.[3] Although it didn't get any high ratings, the highest being place #88 in the category "Relevance", it won the Developer's Showcase and Jury Award at the World of Gamedev Knowledge Conference 2014 (WGK) in Gdańsk, Poland.[4][5] After having gained a new artist, Łukasz Piskorz, the game's graphics were polished up from pixel art to high-quality 2D art. This change was done not only to make it look better, but also to distinguish it from Gunpoint. Piotr Iwanicki, creative director of Superhot and part of the WGK award jury, gave Wacławek then the idea of handing Ronin over to Devolver Digital, and so he did.[6] Their first public collaborative announcement was the release of Ronin's reveal trailer.[7]

After a longer silent development phase, Wacławek released an updated version of the original Ronin game jam entry, using the new graphics, soundtrack and functions of the full game, to its itch.io page on 20 April 2015, therefore recalling the page from "RONIN" to "RONIN Demo".[8] The game was initially released onto Steam Early Access on 24 May 2015 for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, however, the OS X and Linux versions were taken down due to their instability. The game left Early Access on 30 June 2015 for Microsoft Windows only.[9] On 18 June 2015, it was announced that Ronin would be ported to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.[10] On 15 October 2015, update #9 for the game introduced builds for OS X and Linux.[11] On 1 November 2016, the port of Ronin for PlayStation 4 was released.

## Reception

Reception

| Aggregate score

Aggregator| Score
Metacritic| (PS4) 71/100[12]
(PC) 70/100[13]
Review scores
Publication| Score
4Players| (PS4) 67%[14]
(PC) 63%[15]
Destructoid| (PC) 4.5/10[16]
Game Informer| (PC) 7.75/10[17]
GameSpot| (PC) 7/10[18]
GamesTM| (PC) 6/10[19]
GameZone| (PC) 8.5/10[20]
Jeuxvideo.com| (PC) 16/20[21]
PC Gamer (UK)| (PC) 74%[22]
PC PowerPlay| (PC) 8/10[23]
Shacknews| (PC) 7/10[24]
The Escapist| (PC) [25]
National Post| (PC) 6.5/10[26]

The PC and PlayStation 4 versions received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[12][13] Reviewers praised the PC version's overall design concept and the alikeness with Gunpoint. Though, people still differentiated them, where Phil Savage of PC Gamer stated that Ronin is "the schlocky B-movie to Gunpoint's more cerebral stealth-puzzling".[22] Something that was not as well received was the repetitiveness of some levels, as Matt Porter of Hooked Gamers wrote: "Each of the five people you have to kill are in the same type of boring office building."[27] Ronin's lowest review rating was given by Steven Bogos of The Escapist, who said, "Ronin is a remarkably average game. When it works, it's kind of fun, but there just isn't enough here to maintain interest, and it has nothing that we haven't seen before."[25]

## References

1. ↑ Francis, Tom (12 August 2014). "It's Time I Did Something About This 'Gunpoint Ripoff'". https://www.pentadact.com/2014-08-12-its-time-i-did-something-about-this-gunpoint-ripoff/.
2. ↑ "RONIN". Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/274230.
3. ↑ Wacławek, Tomasz. "RONIN Demo by teedoubleu for Cyberpunk Jam". Itch Corp. http://itch.io/jam/cyberpunk-jam/rate/4256.
4. ↑ SUPERHOT Team [@SUPERHOTTHEGAME] (9 September 2014). "Ronin won Developers Showcase on @KonferencjaWGK. It's the same place we started last year!". https://twitter.com/SUPERHOTTHEGAME/status/509344109551943680.
5. ↑ World of Gamedev Knowledge [@KonferencjaWGK] (17 September 2014). "Ronin won Jury Award and Warlocks Audience Award at WGK this year. Support the game here:". https://twitter.com/KonferencjaWGK/status/512208126532403200.
6. ↑ Devolver Digital [@devolverdigital] (22 January 2015). "Introducing RONIN, a turn-based action platformer coming to PC in 2015. Watch the trailer and follow @RONINGame!". https://twitter.com/devolverdigital/status/558250622097453056.
7. ↑ Devolver Digital (22 January 2015). RONIN: Turn-Based Action Platformer. YouTube. Google. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
8. ↑ Wacławek, Tomasz. "RONIN Demo by teedoubleu". Itch Corp. http://teedoubleu.itch.io/ronin.
9. ↑ Nunneley, Shephany (30 June 2015). "Ronin slices and dices her way out of Early Access onto PC, Linux and Mac". Gamer Network. https://www.vg247.com/ronin-slices-and-dices-her-way-out-of-early-access-onto-pc-linux-and-mac.
10. ↑ Priestman, Chris (18 June 2015). "Ronin's Turn-Based Stealth Killing Is Coming To PS4, PS Vita". Gamurs. https://www.siliconera.com/ronins-turn-based-stealth-killing-is-coming-to-ps4-ps-vita/.
11. ↑ Lowrie, Nigel (15 October 2016). "Mac + Linux and Update 9". Valve. https://steamcommunity.com/games/274230/announcements/detail/121953928401842111.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "RONIN for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/ronin/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-4.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "RONIN for PC Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/ronin/critic-reviews/?platform=pc.
14. ↑ Schmädig, Benjamin (10 November 2016). "Test: Ronin (PS4)" (in de). 4Players GmbH. https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PlayStation4/Test/36363/82216/0/Ronin.html.
15. ↑ Schmädig, Benjamin (1 July 2016). "Test: Ronin (PC)" (in de). 4Players GmbH. https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PC-CDROM/Test/36363/81263/0/Ronin.html.
16. ↑ Hancock, Patrick (30 June 2015). "Review: RONIN (PC)". Gamurs. https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-ronin/.
17. ↑ Miller, Matt (30 June 2015). "Ronin Review (PC)". Game Informer (GameStop). https://www.gameinformer.com/games/ronin/b/pc/archive/2015/06/30/ronin-game-informer-review.aspx. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
18. ↑ Woolsey, Cameron (30 June 2015). "Ronin Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ronin-review/1900-6416177/.
19. ↑ GamesTM staff (1 September 2015). "Ronin review (PC)". Future plc. http://www.gamestm.co.uk/reviews/ronin-review/.
20. ↑ Miller, Daniel R. (30 June 2015). "RONIN Review (PC) [date mislabeled as "June 26, 2015""]. https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/ronin-review-juii/.
21. ↑ iplay4you (3 July 2015). "Test: RONIN : De l'action à la sauce samouraï" (in fr). Webedia. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/test/432321/ronin-de-l-action-a-la-sauce-samourai.htm.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Savage, Phil (30 June 2015). "Ronin review". Future plc. https://www.pcgamer.com/ronin-review/.
23. ↑ "Review: Ronin". PC PowerPlay (Next Media Pty Ltd) (244): 64. August 2015.
24. ↑ Wong, Steven (30 June 2015). "Ronin Review: Bitter Revenge (PC)". https://www.shacknews.com/article/90264/ronin-review-bitter-revenge.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Bogos, Steven (3 July 2015). "Ronin Review - Lacking in Ninja-like Precision (PC)". Gamurs. https://www.escapistmagazine.com/ronin-review-lacking-in-ninja-like-precision/.
26. ↑ Sapieha, Chad (3 July 2015). "Ronin review: Ninja action with a curious turn-based twist (PC)". National Post (Postmedia Network). https://financialpost.com/technology/gaming/ronin-review-ninja-action-with-a-curious-turn-based-twist?r.
27. ↑ Porter, Matt (30 June 2015). "RONIN (PC): That extra badassery". Cutlass Isle. https://www.hookedgamers.com/pc/ronin/review/article-1500.html.

## External links

* MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

## Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

## History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

## See also

* IGDB - game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/.
2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/.
3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1.
4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521.
8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media.
9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned.
10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner.
11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames.
12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games.
13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/.
14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/.
15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/.
16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/.
17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames.
18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628.

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