Without a doubt, of all the games to feature ninjas this year, I think Shinobi Art of Vengeance will stand tall above them. Developers Lizardcube have crafted a masterful controlling game, along with maybe one of the best-looking games in quite some time.
Joe Musashi is thrust into a journey of revenge as the evil ENE Corp. conducts their evil doings. It’s a fairly simple story, and it’s clearly not the focus. However, as we’ll discuss, the story still gets a special light shone towards it, with care not to overdo this legacy sequel for the SEGA franchise.
A sequence where Joe talks is simply him grunting and characters reacting to it. Dialogue is snappy and doesn’t bog down the game’s true strength, which is quite literally everything else. Where the story finds its stride is during the more cinematic moments, like riding a wolf into battle or one of the few chase sequences. Notice how they’re all moments that you, the player, will interact with?
I cannot stress how good it feels to play Shinobi.
Shinobi Art of Vengeance Gameplay
Art of Vengeance will seem fairly simple on the surface. 2D side scroller with enemies to beat up, or you’ll get beaten up.
What Shinobi does is very quickly and very easily gives you the tools to bully the various enemies that will try to outdo you. It isn’t long before I was pinging the lower-level ninjas across the screen, beating the tougher foes with the steady stream of abilities that it’ll bestow, and when I realised that these same tactics can be implemented in a boss fight? It’s so good.
It takes a few goes to get around how to use the various Ninpo and ensure that you don’t kill every enemy too quickly. After a certain number of hits and if the foe is stunned, you can do a finisher move when indicated, and there’s something special about doing it on a particularly tough fight.
Not only does the satisfaction of doing it at the end of a fight just hit the right way, but when I busted it out mid-fight to regain some health, I felt euphoria as I went on to topple a fight I was struggling with.
The game is filled to the brim with moments like this, because almost every big arena encounter feels like a massive showdown. Everyone is out for blood, and there will be no recourse. Of course, no recourse is in the boss fights as well. They’re not particularly brutal, but unless you’re some kind of action game wizard who can see the future, you’ll probably find yourself going through the ringer while learning what they do.
Here’s the beauty of it all, though. Getting put through that ringer doesn’t hurt all that bad. Sure, pride in failing a jump for the 10th time stings, but not having to sit around forever while the game loads is even better.
At no point did I ever feel like I was waiting too long for Shinobi to load back up, and what’s more, is that it’ll often smartly place checkpoints before a big fight to keep tempers cool when storming back in.
Metroidvania? More like Minivania
This is one of the five games that SEGA said it was seeking to reboot in some capacity, with four more mystery titles to be announced at 2025’s Tokyo Game Show.
While the original Shinobi games are very much sidescrolling action games, Shinobi Art of Vengeance pulls from Metroid and Castlevania instead, while still retaining some elements of its retro roots. You’ll still be moving to the left and taking out enemies while avoiding deadly pits, but it’s all done in a compact and interconnected map.
I’m a big fan of the small “minivania” levels too. It’s not a strict search-action game, but each level is clearly built like its own enclosed MetroidVania section. Back-tracking, different paths and secrets to uncover, as well as areas that you’ll need to find an item to access.
It’s all very elaborately laid out and isn’t shy about encouraging you to poke around with a fairly revealing map.
Splitting the map into smaller, interconnected segments, rather than presenting a full-on other entry into the genre, is incredibly smart. The game will then give you a percentage after clearing the stage to entice you back in. Thankfully, as I said, the map is very revealing. Hunting for the last bits to collect isn’t often the challenge here. Getting to them or through them, however? A roller coaster of emotions.
Shinobi Art of Vengeance is a Looker, Too
All this, and it has this gorgeous backdrop at any moment.
The game looks stupendous and has quickly become the one game I’ll use to show off an OLED panel for future tech reviews. On the Ayaneo 3’s screen, it was so rich and vibrant, there were segments where I just stopped and had a look for a while.
I wish there were ultra-wide support in some capacity, but I understand the art involved probably only got drawn to a certain scale. The dockyard level that moulds into a fight through a fish market would have looked spectacular.
I Can’t Get Over How Good This Game is
This Shinobi Art of Vengeance review was a pleasure to sink my teeth into, and I cannot recommend it more than enough.
While it pulls from some of the best MetroidVania games that are known for being a bit long in the tooth, Shinobi never outstays its welcome, even during its more head-pounding moments.
Quite a few ninja games are coming out or on the way, but again, I think that all the parts that make up Art of Vengeance will keep it head and toes above the competition in the coming months.
It looks great, it plays great, and honestly, what more could you really ask for out of a reboot of Shinobi? The game provides a fast-paced, expertly crafted adventure that never lets off the gas once it gets started.
5/5
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent artwork feels rich and vibrant, a real looker | Music isn’t all that |
| Expertly crafted combat system lets you bully enemies once you get your head around it | The story is there to give some context to the butt kicking |
| Never lets up off the gas once it gets going | |
| Compact “minivania” levels is such a smart choice |
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Developer: Lizardcube
Publisher: SEGA
Release date: August 26, 2025
