Ronin, the turn-based action-platformer, is now on Steam

Ronin

Devolver Digital has announced that the turn-based stealth-action-platformer Ronin is now on Steam Early Access. Tweaks to difficulty, controls, and other aspects of the game will be made during the final pre-launch phase, which is expected to last about a month, but otherwise it's "99 percent complete" and ready to play.

Ronin is an unusual thing. It's an action-platformer, in which you play as a modern-day ninja seeking vengeance against the heads of a powerful corporation, and it's turn-based, meaning that every move you make can (and must) be carefully planned to ensure you don't leave yourself overly exposed in one of the game's plentiful combat bits. A demo was released last month, but now you can leap directly into the (almost) full game.

"Ronin is a game of precision and timing so our team has worked with beta testers, other developers, and third-party testing studios to really test and tweak the near-final game," developer Tomasz Waclawek said. "Our goal is to extend this type of testing and iteration to a much larger audience to hopefully perfect Ronin, and Steam Early Access is the perfect method and forum for honest feedback."

In his March preview, Chris Livingston said it was sometimes tricky to determine what actually constituted a turn—something that will hopefully be addressed prior to launch—but described the game's combat as "fun and challenging." The Early Access release of Ronin is available for ten percent off the regular price of $13/£10 until June 3.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.