I really wish this game wasn't Kinect only. I want to believe this will be the game to make me want to buy one but I'm not holding my breath. I've already been severely disappointed by Kinect Star Wars :(
Unfortunately, I think you will need a Kinect to play the game. I think it's the same case for the hybrid Steel Battalion. You're right though, the transalation is kind of muddled because consumers are being thrown 3 different phrases: Kinect only, Kinect/controller hybrid, and "Better with Kinect" (the last one only being optional).
I think MS only showed the Kinect part of Ryse's E3 presentation as "target gameplay", like Kinect Star Wars. They wanted to show Kinect's fluidity (unsuccessfully btw) with graphical detail not yet seen in a Kinect-required title.
I really wish this game wasn't Kinect only. I want to believe this will be the game to make me want to buy one but I'm not holding my breath. I've already been severely disappointed by Kinect Star Wars :(
As I hate playing games with motion controls or sensors, I'll just drop an "It's alive, it's aliveeee!" joke and run away.