Ninja Gaiden has always been one of the most important games in the hack and slash genre and a symbol of how hard video games can be. It has always had a loyal fan base, and it has always delivered fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action that few other games can match. After 13 long years, a new game is here to bring back that same thrilling energy. This time, though, there’s a big twist: PlatinumGames and Team Ninja worked together to make it.
PlatinumGames is already in the hack and slash Hall of Fame for making great games like Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising. The two studios have teamed up with Team Ninja, another big name in the genre, to make a game that keeps the spirit of Ninja Gaiden while adding new features and improvements to make the experience even better.
This time, the story is one of the main things that sets it apart from the other games. You play as Yakumo, a ninja from the Crow Clan, who is on a mission to find and kill Ryu Hayabusa, the famous hero of the Ninja Gaiden series. Even though the story itself isn’t very original, it’s a big step forward for a series where the story has always been the least important part. Ninja Gaiden 4 really tries to improve how it tells its story. The cutscenes are better directed, the dialogue is stronger and more thought-provoking, and the supporting characters are better defined. This makes the story feel more polished and emotionally grounded than ever before.
But the gameplay is where Ninja Gaiden 4 really shines; in fact, it could be called one the best action games of 2025. You might think, “Well, these are mostly the same combos from the last game,” but that’s just the surface. The game has a lot of strengths, starting with the wide range of weapons and the way it slowly adds new ones to keep things interesting. This time, you’re using weapons that are completely new to the series, either because they never existed before or because there weren’t any similar ones in previous games. This adds a whole new level of combo design, makes combat flow more smoothly, and gives you a lot of cool finishers to pull off.
There are also a number of new systems and mechanics that make every fight more interesting and deep. Most importantly, Yakumo can now fight in two different ways: Normal and Bloodraven. To switch between them, all you have to do is hold down a button. This smooth change not only adds tactical variety, but it also makes every fight a thrilling dance of power and precision.
When you switch to Bloodraven Mode, all of your core actions, like blocking, dodging, light attacks, and heavy attacks, change a lot. The shape of your weapon even changes, so it feels like you’re using a whole new tool of destruction. Every weapon Yakumo has has its own Bloodraven form, with its own combos, animations, and finishing moves. All of these were carefully made to make every fight feel new and real.
The Berserker System is another new feature in combat. It works a little bit like the Rage mechanic in other hack-and-slash games like God of War. But what really makes the combat in Ninja Gaiden 4 stand out is how well all of these systems work together. Each mechanic works well with the others, giving you a huge number of options for how to fight. For instance, you can pick a weapon, turn it into a Bloodraven, and then use a fully charged heavy attack while in Berserker Mode. This will cause cinematic destruction. You can mix and match attacks, forms, and states in almost any way you can think of, so no two fights will ever feel the same.
Also, both Normal and Bloodraven modes have upgradeable abilities that you can buy in the game shop with a certain type of currency. Each weapon also has its own set of unlockable combos that you can buy with a different type of currency. Believe me when I say that the combat sandbox in Ninja Gaiden 4 is almost limitless. You can kill your enemies in any way you can think of in the game, including slicing, shredding, and destroying them.
Another big change that makes Ninja Gaiden 4 better is how the levels are set up and where the enemies are. Enemies are now placed, act, and attack in a way that makes much more sense and is more organized than in previous games. Encounters now feel more planned out than random, which makes the combat flow more smoothly and the level flow more strategically.
The bosses are also a huge improvement this time around. They finally feel like real boss fights instead of just tougher enemies with more health. Each one has a great buildup before and during the battle, with cinematic introductions and carefully planned phases that make each fight feel important and heavy. Their attack patterns are much more organized and tuned to algorithms, which makes each duel both fair and hard.
These bosses are almost like Soulslike games in terms of how they look and how they work. They combine the epicness and buildup of epic fights with the structured logic of well-balanced, skill-based combat. As a result, there are a lot of fights that are not only hard and rewarding, but also very satisfying and memorable.
At first glance, the graphics in Ninja Gaiden 4 might seem stylish and interesting to look at. This is especially true in the first few chapters, where a cyberpunk-inspired style with neon-lit cyborg environments grabs your attention right away. It looks beautiful from an artistic point of view, but if you look more closely, you can see that this isn’t quite the big step forward in technology that you’d expect from a real ninth-gen release. Some of the textures and lighting effects look old, and the game could have used more technical polish overall.
That said, there is one great piece of news for long-time fans: the camera problems that plagued every other Ninja Gaiden game are finally gone. The camera here is smooth, smart, and perfectly tuned to the game’s fast-paced combat. You won’t lose your character in a crowd of enemies or have to fight at weird angles in the middle of a battle.
The sound design is also very adequate. Every slash, hit, and explosion feels sharp and planned, which makes the fighting more intense. The electronic and alternative metal music fits the action perfectly, keeping your heart racing and your pulse in time with the chaos on screen.
In the end, Ninja Gaiden 4 is a thrilling return to a genre that has been slowly dying out in the face of all the action-adventures and Soulslikes that are out now. It’s a thrilling, skill-based game that reminds you of what makes hack-and-slash games so great. And the best part? You get to decide how hard the game is; it’s all up to you.
Score: 87/100
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