Character motion single-player games are one thing of a dying breed or moderately solely one thing a handful of builders excel at, typically feeling at odds with up to date expectations of options or content material. That is why the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 is such welcome information, nevertheless it’s the shock shadow drop of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a current-gen remaster of Crew Ninja’s 2008 Xbox 360 title, that makes you really understand that they honestly do not make them like this anymore.
Overview information
Platform reviewed: PS5
Out there on: PS5, Xbox Collection X|S, PC
Launch date: January 23, 2025
It isn’t simply right here to whet your urge for food for the upcoming sequel that is being co-developed by motion sport extraordinaire PlatinumGames, however goes some strategy to addressing criticisms over the sport’s earlier remaster in 2021’s Ninja Gaiden Grasp Assortment, which was primarily based on the PlayStation 3 Sigma 2 port that purists think about to be inferior.
Arguably, the unique 360 sport was additionally unbalanced and a bit damaged with an absurd enemy rely that may infamously have the body charge dipping into single digits, so Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is extra like the most effective of each worlds, with Crew Ninja doing its finest to remain near the unique’s imaginative and prescient of gushing, dismembering ultra-violence whereas nonetheless retaining options launched in Sigma 2. In different phrases, it is as near a definitive version of the sport as you may get right now.
Old skool of exhausting knocks
There may be, nevertheless, a distinction between a definitive and modernised expertise. Essentially the most trendy factor you may say about Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is nevertheless its gorgeous visuals up to date in Unreal Engine 5.
But regardless of the spectacular trendy lighting and results, there’s one thing uncanny about how stubbornly old-school all the things else stays, from its linear degree design to Crew Ninja’s obsession with cleavage, a reminder that that is the staff that gave us the Lifeless or Alive sequence. You typically hear how a brand new sport is described as being like a PlayStation 2 sport, nevertheless it actually places issues into perspective when enjoying a model spanking new-looking sport that controls precisely like one from the Xbox 360 period.
Fairly actually, I believe it could flip gamers who’ve been accustomed to the smoother controls of Bayonetta (by the way additionally a 360-era sport, albeit launched a 12 months after Ninja Gaiden 2). There are occasions Ryu Hayabusa appears annoyingly sluggish simply attempting to get him to show to face the right enemy whereas dodging additionally requires holding block whereas shifting the management stick. Or the way in which your assaults can get simply interrupted by a relentless mob of enemies with the identical nuisance of being out-jabbed in a combating sport.
The worst factor is a digicam that you simply’re supposed to have the ability to freely transfer with the correct stick, solely till it would not. Typically you are being ambushed from all sides however unable to accurately get the digicam behind you whereas there is not any possibility to focus on enemies, which you’re taking as a right as of late.
Greatest bit
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black depends on intricate combos and no quicktime occasions however the coolest strongest assault you may pull off is the Final Method, which merely requires holding down Y/Triangle after which releasing to unleash a lethal flurry of strikes that requires no additional enter. It is also troublesome to drag off principally as a result of enemies come at you quicker than you may cost it up. The very best half then is that this can be executed by leaping within the air after which urgent Y/Triangle simply as you land.
Taking part in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black then requires a little bit of psychological rewiring. But when you push via it, there’s loads to understand. Already a hardcore sport, it isn’t truly as overwhelming as its fame offers off.
The absence of a scoring and rating system within the regular marketing campaign offsets any efficiency nervousness, whilst you’ll additionally routinely regain well being exterior of fight, apart from crimson injury that impacts your most well being. Then there are the deliciously gory cinematic finishers you may carry out on any enemy that is already had one in every of its limbs lopped off, requiring nothing greater than a single enter.
There’s nonetheless depth within the completely different weapons you may unlock and the completely different combos you may execute, although as soon as I remembered methods to pull off the Izuna Drop that simply grew to become my go-to. However there’s additionally one thing so pure to its motion – no fast time button-mashing, no parry or stagger mechanics, no indulgently prolonged cinematics, no bosses with a number of well being bars and phases – it truly feels refreshing.
Ninja unlocked
Like different comparable character motion video games, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black‘s marketing campaign solely takes round 10-12 hours to finish nevertheless it’s the extra challenges that add to its enchantment, and that does not essentially imply solely for many who wish to end on probably the most punishing Path of the Grasp Ninja problem.
Sigma 2‘s Tag Missions make a welcome return right here, which within the absence of the unique’s on-line co-op performance merely means that you can decide two characters after which swap between them on the fly with a button press. Higher but, the mode’s roster of feminine characters you may decide moreover Ryu are all unlocked at first, whereas finishing the story as soon as unlocks all of the missions so you may soar forward to the hardest challenges in the event you want.
Gamers who do care about how effectively they play are additionally catered for with Chapter Problem, which acts like an equal of New Recreation Plus the place you may play any mission with all weapons and spells totally upgraded and the place you’ll obtain a rank, with UI flashing as much as let you recognize what high-scoring methods you’ve got simply executed.
Nitpickers could bemoan that not each factor reduce within the Sigma 2 port is restored however in the event you’re an Xbox proprietor that unique is not less than nonetheless accessible to you. For everybody else, that is nonetheless the easiest way to play a traditional motion sport both on Recreation Go or at an inexpensive worth level. As an motion sport, I do not suppose it is a reduce above Bayonetta, nevertheless it’s additionally so uncompromisingly singular that it is in a category of its personal. Carry on Ninja Gaiden 4.
Must you play Ninja Gaiden 2 Black?
Play it if…
Do not play it if…
Accessibility options
Though the unique sport has a fame for being probably the most troublesome video games ever made, subsequent releases have offered simpler problem choices. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black provides to this with a ‘Hero play fashion’ possibility that prompts the Hero Gauge when your well being bar is extraordinarily low. On this state, you will routinely block or keep away from enemy assaults till the gauge runs out or your well being is restored.
Elsewhere, you may flip off blood and dismemberment results, subtitles will be turned on and off, and their dimension will be adjusted between giant, customary, and small with a slider. The sport’s audio choices are English or Japanese, and there are, sadly, no colorblind choices.
How I reviewed Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
I performed Ninja Gaiden 2 Black for 15 hours on my PS5 Pro, finishing the sport as soon as on the default problem setting, in addition to spending a while replaying some missions within the ranked Chapter Problem mode and enjoying as completely different characters in a few of the Tag Missions.
I performed on an LG C2 OLED TV, which allowed me to play the sport in 120 frames per second, with the default TV audio system and a DualSense Edge controller.
First reviewed February 2025