Ninja Gaiden 4 review: New ninja, slower pace, same adrenaline rush

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It feels like classic, fast-paced action games have been overshadowed recently by the popularity of ‘soulslike’ games, and frankly, many of us are getting tired of seeing the same thing over and over. Hopefully, this fatigue will encourage developers to be more creative again and bring back more challenging and exciting combat. That’s where the new Ninja Gaiden had a chance to shine – a collaboration between experienced developers Koei Tecmo, action game experts PlatinumGames, and Microsoft. While it has some good qualities, the game ultimately didn’t quite live up to its full potential, leaving me with mixed feelings about it.

Is it a crow? Is it a plane? No! It’s Yakumo!

Let’s dive into the details of Ninja Gaiden 4. The game expands the story by introducing the Raven Clan, a secretive group who have always worked behind the scenes, handling dangerous missions and quietly supporting Hayabusa. This is why you’ll play as a new character, Yakumo. He’s a skilled but arrogant young ninja, known as a ‘crow ninja,’ who fearlessly takes on any challenge. While similar to Ryu Hayabusa, Yakumo is more openly emotional, though he tries to appear cold and ruthless. Compared to the composed Hayabusa, Yakumo is fiercer and more impulsive, likely due to his youth and preference for aggressive ninjutsu. This results in incredibly violent and visually striking combat, with plenty of bloodshed on display.

So, I started this quest to take down this priestess who worships a seriously powerful dark dragon. But things got weird – we ended up teaming up! Turns out, we both needed to break these ancient magical seals that were holding something really old and dangerous locked away. Honestly, the whole story felt like an excuse for a crazy hunt across the land, chasing down those seals and battling the demons guarding them. And let me tell you, I, as Yakumo, didn’t pull any punches. I cut down hundreds of enemies, and it got pretty brutal – heads rolling, limbs flying. It’s not quite as over-the-top as in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, which came out around the same time, but it was still intense.

PROS:

  1. Enjoyable and spectacular combat;
  2. brutal, immersive gameplay;
  3. high level of challenge and additional trials;
  4. great and diverse arsenal of Yakumo’s weapons;
  5. challenge mode allowing missions to be played with any character.

CONS:

  1. Monotonous artistic design and average location design;
  2. lacks its own flair (it’s just a blend of PlatinumGames titles with NG elements);
  3. disappointing and marginal role of Ryu Hayabusa.

PlatinumGames strives to do what it does best

The combat in this game feels similar to recent titles from PlatinumGames, rather than the older games made by Team Ninja. This isn’t unexpected, as PlatinumGames was the main developer, something we’ve known for a while.

The game adopted features like parrying and perfect dodging—techniques that allow for powerful counterattacks—and integrated them into existing moves from Ninja Gaiden. It also included Bayonetta’s Dodge Offset, letting players seamlessly continue attack combos after dodging. A camera lock feature was added as well. However, these changes resulted in a loss of the game’s original precision, making combat feel more like a flashy, automated sequence with extended animations. While the visuals suggest otherwise, the fights felt noticeably slower to me. These updates will likely appeal to new players looking for a more modern experience, but longtime fans, myself included, might find them detract from the series’ original feel.

One of the biggest issues I have with Ninja Gaiden 4 is that it doesn’t quite feel like its own game. It borrows a lot from Platinum’s action titles, but loses some of what made the original Ninja Gaiden special. Luckily, I enjoy those Platinum games, so it’s not a major problem, just something I’ve noticed. I’m also not completely sold on the new bloody ninjutsu mechanic. While it adds a resource for powerful, unique attacks and opens up new combo potential, the attacks are becoming too predictable. They’re mostly used to break through enemy attacks signaled by a large red icon, briefly stunning them – which is a core part of boss fights. I think this unnecessarily slows down the action, turning fights into waiting for the right moment to counter. The developers did add a cool feature letting you switch weapons mid-combat to create more impressive aerial combos with your entire arsenal. However, enemies often have so much health that this quickly turns into endless juggling, reminiscent of Marvel vs. Capcom. It’s flashy and fun at first, but it gets repetitive and contributes to the game feeling slow, making some levels drag on.

Slower, different, but still… good

Honestly, even though the game isn’t super fast-paced and has some things that happen automatically, the fighting is still a blast. I really appreciate that it’s an old-school hack-and-slash – it’s simple and doesn’t try to be something it’s not. It’s all about just constantly taking down enemies, and there are fun little things like grinding on rails, quick challenges, and even side quests to find hidden gates with tougher fights. It’s a really intense, fast-moving game where I can really show off my own fighting style with all the different weapons and combos.

The game features a fantastic and unique arsenal. Beyond a standard katana, you can wield a massive drill, a staff that turns into a hammer, and even mechanical arms with claws. There’s also a box of ninja tools to play with! Each weapon has a special feature that makes it fun to use, and you’ll quickly find your preferred way to cause chaos. While the game can be quite difficult, that’s a big part of what makes it so rewarding. The combat system is generally enjoyable, despite a few flaws. I wasn’t immediately impressed, but as I progressed, I grew to appreciate its fresh approach. It offers enough depth to keep experimenting with different mechanics interesting. The combat in Ninja Gaiden 4 is still excellent, though it works differently than previous games and has been streamlined for modern players with some automated features. Ultimately, I really enjoyed the game, particularly the optional challenges where you face relentless waves of increasingly difficult enemies.

The cool vibe has somewhat vanished

As a fan, I’m a little disappointed with how the game looks. I was really hoping for a gritty, decaying Tokyo with a cyberpunk feel, something visually stunning. But honestly, all the bright techno neon gets overwhelming, and the environments started to feel repetitive and just… blurry after a while. There are a few standout spots – the boss arena with the first seal was gorgeous, and the fight in the Disco In Tokyo club was a lot of fun – but those are rare. It feels like they only used four different design ideas throughout the whole game, and some areas felt a bit rushed, like they could have been quickly put together. What really got to me was the color palette – everything was cool blues and turquoises, which made the whole campaign feel washed out and blend together. And honestly, the levels themselves weren’t very memorable either. It just feels… boring in that regard.

Ninja master exam passed at 80%

Ultimately, Ninja Gaiden 4 feels quite similar to the somewhat underwhelming Bayonetta 3, and I have mixed feelings about it. I wasn’t thrilled with the art style or some of the enemy designs, but once I started playing, I was completely engrossed until the very end – I even want to replay on harder difficulties! The core gameplay is fantastic; I’m really enjoying the fast-paced combat and pulling off impressive combos. It’s a true action game that delivers a real rush from overcoming difficult obstacles. Despite a few flaws, PlatinumGames has undeniably created a strong entry in a genre that’s been lacking attention, and they’ve successfully brought back a legendary series that fans have been waiting for a long time.

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2025-10-21 03:04