Assassin’s Creed Shadows is huge, jam-packed with regions to explore and targets to assassinate. It’s a great entry in the long-running franchise and appeals well to gamers who love the series’ RPG turn as well as those who preferred its stealth-first roots. Shadows has proven to be a hit with critics and audiences, enjoying an 81 metascore on Metacritic and a 90 player rating on OpenCritic.
If you’ve finished the game and are left wanting to spend more as a warrior in Japan, don’t fret; we’re in a great age of samurai- and shinobi-starring video games. From Triple A, big-budget hits to indie gems, if you’re in the mood for a game starring a samurai or shinobi, look no further.
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5
Ghost of Tsushima
Sucker Punch made Assassin’s Creed in Japan before Ubisoft did
Fans wanted Ubisoft to take Assassin’s Creed to Japan for years, and it only took nearly two decades for the gaming giant to listen. In the interim, Sly Cooper and Infamous developer Sucker Punch Productions essentially beat Ubisoft to the chase with 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, which told the story of a samurai struggling with his personal honor during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Its open world and assassin-like gameplay felt very similar to an Assassin’s Creed title and delivered what fans had always wanted.
Ghost of Tsushima is, in some ways, an improved version of Ubisoft’s open world formula. Its collectibles feel organically discovered, like the way foxes lead you to Inari Shrines. Instead of a mini-map and endless markers on-screen, the guiding wind feature makes sure you always know how to find your destination while enjoying the breathtaking environments. Ghost of Tsushima’s side stories, while not quite The Witcher 3 level of writing, are also much more engaging than what you’d typically find in an open world game; following the journeys of Yuna and Ishikawa–and especially his student, Tomoe–really stood out from the game.
Gameplay is a balance between exploration, stealth assassinations, and samurai sword fighting. I’m particularly fond of Ghost of Tsushima’s standoff feature where Jin Sakai can cut down enemies with one strike. The combat overall outclasses Shadows, though the real draw of the game is fully embracing becoming the Ghost as Jin. Ghost of Tsushima received critical acclaim, both from western publications and Japanese media, and hopefully Sucker Punch delivers another knockout with 2025’s Ghost of Yotei.
4
Rise of the Ronin
Explore the twilight of Japan’s Edo period
Rise of the Ronin hails from Team Ninja, makers of the Nioh and Ninja Gaiden series (also great samurai and shinobi games worth checking out). While it has some soulslike elements, like some of the developer’s recent games, Rise of the Ronin is more forgiving for the mere presence of difficulty options. Being an action RPG, it places a heavy emphasis on exciting gameplay and a variety of weapons with finishers that rival the brutality of those in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The story is a real draw of Rise of the Ronin and reflects the title well; it takes place during the Bakumatsu period of Japan in the mid-19th century when the country was undergoing several transitions and changes, including diminishing the standing of samurai. Rise of the Ronin places plenty of choices in the players’ hands, like choosing who to support and who to assassinate, allowing you to determine the path of your customizable ronin. Initially a PlayStation 5 exclusive, Rise of the Ronin came to PC in March 2025.
3
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
FromSoftware’s most unique soulslike
While FromSoftware first burst onto the scene with Demon’s Souls and reached the mountaintop with 30 million copies sold of
Elden Ring
, one of the studio’s more overlooked games is also one of its most unique: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It includes no cosmetic customization or character creator, only a singular weapon, and more straightforward storytelling than most FromSoft games are known for. Sekiro also places a focus on stealth, much like an Assassin’s Creed title, and features even more boss fights, like mini-bosses, than the already boss-heavy FromSoft titles.
The defining feature of Sekiro, however, is its parry system. Instead of whittling down an opponent’s health, you instead break their posture with precise parries until they leave you with an opening for a mortal blow. While plenty of games (like Assassin’s Creed Shadows) incorporate a stance and parry system, few do it as well as Sekiro. Its exhilarating gameplay is one of many reasons why Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice went on to win a handful of game of the year awards.
2
Trek to Yomi
A playable Kurosawa film with supernatural flair
Director Akira Kurosawa is synonymous with samurai movies; his decades-long career spawned hits like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Kagemusha. His films are known for their exemplary cinematography and cinematic aesthetic, and the indie side-scroller Trek to Yomi takes heavy inspiration from them. Each level is full of highly staged, epic shots that wouldn’t be out of place in a Kurosawa film. The entire game is in black and white too, making it look like an old samurai movie.
Where it differentiates itself is in its latter half and the titular trek to Yomi, the afterlife. The player character Hiroki must travel through the afterlife to return to his village and save it. Though the gameplay isn’t always the best–its parry system can be clunky and frustrating–the presentation and story are interesting enough alone to make Trek to Yomi worth checking out.
1
The Spirit of the Samurai
Stop-motion samurai
Whereas Trek to Yomi takes visual inspiration from black and white movies, The Spirit of the Samurai leans into a different cinematic style: stop-motion animation. You’ll defend your village from Oni, who look especially frightening with the game’s stop motion animation style. The animation provides a unique charm to The Spirit of the Samurai, and its metroidvania-lite levels can often look like dioramas.
The Spirit of the Samurai sits with a “mixed” rating on Steam as its gameplay can’t quite match its style. However, much like Trek to Yomi, that style is just so unique and captivating that it might be enough to convince you to try out the game. Plus, The Spirit of the Samurai mixes things up by having you play as a cat and a kodama. Who knew those adorable tree spirits from Princess Mononoke could be so deadly?
Other samurai & shinobi games to check out:
- Nioh & Nioh 2
- Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
- Like a Dragon: Ishin!
- Fate/Samurai Remnant
- Onimusha: Warlords
- The Messenger
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