Ninja Gaiden 4

The Ninja Gaiden franchise from Koei Tecmo lay dormant for a long time, with over 7.5 million copies of its games sold by the end of 2024. Now, however, three games from the series have been released in one year. These are Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (a remake/remaster) released in January 2025, and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (a side-scrolling game) released in July 2025. The main focus is on the new fourth instalment of the main series: Ninja Gaiden 4. The new game is being developed by Team Ninja in partnership with PlatinumGames and Koei Tecmo Games, and published by Xbox Game Studios Publishing. PlatinumGames' involvement is immediately noticeable in the fast-paced, spectacular and bloody combat system, especially since the game uses the Platinum Engine rather than the Unreal Engine 5 used in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

"An endless rain of miasma hangs over a near-future Tokyo in the wake of an ancient enemy's resurrection. The fate of the city lies in the hands of young ninja prodigy, Yakumo. Fighting his way through cybernetic ninja soldiers and otherworldly creatures, Yakumo must reconcile a destiny he shares with the legendary Ryu Hayabusa himself and free Tokyo from the ancient curse that brought the city to its knees," that's the background to the story. It revolves around the new protagonist, Yakumo, and Ryu Hayabusa also makes a guest appearance. Don't expect anything other than a solid story; the focus is on fast and precise combat action, which is typical of the series. The game offers several weapons with different strengths and weaknesses that the player can switch between and whose move sets can be expanded using unlocked points. The ability to switch between Yakumo's base and Bloodraven forms, along with the devastating Bloodbath Kill technique that can be unleashed under specific conditions, adds depth to the combat system. However, even without these options, players can still fight through the enemies using basic attacks.

The battles are bloody and intense, and often very challenging. There is a particular focus on precise blocking, dodging and timing, and the impressively orchestrated boss battles stand out once again. Essentially, the game relies on quick reactions and precise timing rather than RPG elements or excessive progression systems, and in this sense it is very much in line with its predecessors. Nevertheless, the fluid combat system feels very much like a PlatinumGames title, setting it apart from older Ninja Gaiden games and giving it a contemporary feel. Sometimes it's also a bit reminiscent of Devil May Cry.

A major new feature is the adjustable difficulty level. There are three primary modes: Hero, Normal and Hard. Hero mode makes the game easier by providing automatic evasion and defence mechanisms (including Auto Evade, Auto Block, Auto Assist and Auto Heal), which makes the game more accessible for newcomers – after all, the original games were notorious for being difficult. These options, and the accessibility options in general, are excellent. A dedicated training mode ensures that every player can hone their skills at their own pace. Meanwhile, veterans can increase the difficulty level for a real challenge, and then there's the Master Ninja difficulty — the ultimate challenge in Ninja Gaiden 4 — which is locked until players have completed Story Mode at least once.

In an interview with Xbox Wire, Yuji Nakao, producer and director of Ninja Gaiden 4, said: "I'd say the hardest part was the character movement system - what you might classify as movement-related actions. We put the most effort into fine-tuning the responsiveness of these elements. In past Ninja Gaiden titles, there were many movement-based actions, ranging from running, jumping, canceling out of attacks - including the Reverse Wind Technique - and more. Each of these had a very human, tactile grip to them. That solid, grounded feeling emphasized the game’s weighty and linear movement style, but to aim for even faster, high-speed action, we had to significantly enhance responsiveness. That said, improving responsiveness while faithfully inheriting that unique sense of grip the series is known for, and ensuring it still feels good for newcomers picking up Ninja Gaiden for the first time, meant we had to strike a very delicate balance between two differing needs."

At least as impressive and satisfying as the outstanding combat, which keeps players motivated throughout the game, is the engine's smooth performance. While the game doesn't quite match the visual quality of other titles, especially in terms of character models and lighting, smooth gameplay is much more important for a game like this. Apart from combat, the largely linear and sometimes generic (and dark) levels feature rail-style interludes which lighten the mood somewhat and provide a break, but they are nowhere near as strong as combat.
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"Ninja Gaiden 4 welcomes all challengers, meets every player where they stand, and drives them toward new heights. Take up your weapon beside Yakumo and Ryu and carve your own paths. You, who aspire to reach limitless heights, are the Master Ninjas of a new era." - Xbox

Ninja Gaiden 4 was released on 21 October 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, ROG Ally handhelds, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Steam, and PlayStation 5. It is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, available on day one with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. The standard version costs €69.99. The Deluxe Edition is available for €89.99. It includes the future gameplay content 'The Two Masters', multiple skins, additional in-game items and 50,000 bonus NinjaCoin.

Conclusion

Ninja Gaiden 4 is an exceptional hack-and-slash action game with a versatile difficulty level that focuses almost entirely on fast, stylish and dynamic combat. However, apart from combat, the game is somewhat lacking. Nevertheless, it's a great comeback for the series and one of the best action games of the year.

Features

• Spectacular, bloody action with an excellent combat system
• Numerous difficulty and accessibility options
• Overall, a very successful return for the franchise