Ninja Gaiden 4 First Hands-On Impressions: It’s Faster and Bloodier Than Ever

Does Ninja Gaiden inactive enactment successful 2025, successful a satellite wherever soulslikes predominate the high-skill enactment crippled subgenre? I played Ninja Gaiden 4 for the archetypal clip past weekend, and my reply is unequivocally, yes, absolutely, 1000%, Ninja Gaiden not lone inactive works successful 2025, but it is simply a high-speed, stylish enactment of caller air. It was my favourite happening I played amongst each of the games I covered astatine this past weekend’s assorted showcases, and arsenic idiosyncratic who considers Ninja Gaiden Black the finest enactment crippled ever made, I near incredibly happy.

A specified 25 minutes of hands-on clip with Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t remotely capable to marque a judgement telephone connected wherever PlatinumGames and Team Ninja’s sequel volition acceptable into the hierarchy of the franchise, but it was capable to marque maine consciousness similar a badass sidesplitting instrumentality and inactive situation maine successful the process. Which means Ninja Gaiden 4 is disconnected to a bully commencement successful presumption of dialing successful that ever-so-special Ninja Gaiden feeling arsenic PlatinumGames takes the lead, with Team Ninja guiding them. “The crippled is fast,” said PlatinumGames shaper and manager Yuji Nakao. “We wanted to marque definite it feels similar a modernized precocious velocity game…while staying existent to what Ninja Gaiden is.” He added, “We are going against the trend” – meaning, soulslikes.

I played arsenic young Raven Clan subordinate Yakumo successful Chapter 1, which isn’t the precise opening of the run – that grant goes to a tutorial conception – but for each intents and purposes it is. It’s acceptable good aft Ninja Gaiden 3 (shh, we don’t speech astir that one!) successful a near-future Tokyo amidst the instrumentality of the Dark Dragon. Sadly, I didn’t get to play arsenic Ryu Huyabusa, but I can’t hold to bash so. I didn’t caput excessively overmuch successful my demo though, due to the fact that I was having truthful overmuch amusive arsenic Yakumo.

See, Yakumo has immoderate of Ryu’s classical tricks – Izuna Drop, anyone? – portion besides unleashing his ain successful the signifier of Bloodraven attacks, which are deployed by holding the near trigger and past pressing X oregon Y. These are ample country of effect violative maneuvers, but they instrumentality longer to upwind up and execute. It was my aged habits and not being speedy capable to follow these caller moves that doomed maine successful the ample brushwood adjacent the extremity of my 25-minute hands-on session. I won’t marque the aforesaid mistake adjacent time. And unluckily it means I didn’t get to look disconnected against the Chapter 1 boss, who you tin spot successful enactment successful the video astatine the apical of the page.

If you’ve played Ninja Gaiden games before, you should consciousness beauteous comfy close away, adjacent though determination is surely plentifulness of caller worldly to larn and get utilized to: Tapping close trigger astatine the close infinitesimal to artifact an incoming onslaught and acceptable up a counter. Wall-running and tapping Y to instrumentality the caput disconnected of a low-level enemy. Holding Y with Blood Essence – seemingly successful spot of Ninpo, astatine slightest for Yakumo – inactive uncollected connected the battlefield aft your erstwhile termination truthful you tin usage them to powerfulness an Ultimate method connected the foe inactive live successful beforehand of you; it’s each inactive here. Oh, and don’t hide to assassinate enemies softly erstwhile you get a chance.

If anything, Ninja Gaiden 4 feels faster than ever. Even Yakumo’s moving velocity feels faster than Ryu’s did successful the older games. It’s besides someway adjacent bloodier than ever. Things started to get gory successful Ninja Gaiden 2, but present the crimson fountains spray each which way, perpetually coating Yakumo successful a Carrie-like coating of plasma. Arterial spray gets everyplace erstwhile slicing and dicing a fistful of foes. It’s similar a vampire’s imagination travel existent retired there. Let’s each beryllium backmost and ticker this awesome series for the adjacent infinitesimal and a fractional oregon truthful – which I punctual you again is lone from the archetypal due level of the game!

Oh, and here’s much bully news: the camera is really beauteous bully now! It’s surely evolved implicit the years, but thankfully successful 2025, it nary longer seems to beryllium a detriment oregon distraction to the player. Certainly a batch much clip volition beryllium needed to verify this archetypal impression, but the camera didn’t annoy maine erstwhile successful my full hands-on session.

Difficulty modes, meanwhile, tin beryllium adjusted connected the alert if, say, you’re playing connected Hard and privation to driblet it to Normal for a peculiarly pugnacious boss. An casual mode is here, too; it’s called Hero mode, but I didn’t get to trial it retired to spot conscionable however forgiving (or not) it mightiness beryllium – I spent my clip connected Normal difficulty. Also, baked into Normal, astatine slightest (and presumably Hero arsenic well, but I’m not definite astir Hard yet), is simply a diagnostic that offers you a adjuvant point if you’ve failed a peculiar brushwood a fewer times. On that past large rumble I was excessively dilatory to bring Yakumo’s caller attacks into, I was fixed a ample healing elixir to assistance maine connected my adjacent attempt.

Ninja Gaiden 4’s checkpoint strategy present takes immoderate accent retired of trying to find a prevention constituent with ample wellness and supplies. A red-eyed raven tin besides beryllium approached, which triggers a sojourn from a person who tin unlock combat skills successful speech for the in-game currency you’ve accumulated. You tin besides spell into a signifier mode from present excessively that lets you get acquainted with your moves (which I didn’t discarded clip doing during my abbreviated demo).

And yes, determination are collectibles to look for arsenic well. They’re called Gourdys, and they’re small adorable creatures that you person to implicit a quick-time lawsuit series successful bid to secure. I recovered 1 Gourdy and it was lone 2 rapid-succession fastener taps to container it; we’ll spot if the QTEs get much analyzable and hard the deeper into the run you get. I’m not definite yet if collecting them volition output immoderate benignant of greater reward.

I’ll beryllium honest: I came into my archetypal hands-on league with Ninja Gaiden 4 with highly precocious expectations. If PlatinumGames and Team Ninja screwed this up, I would’ve been precise vocal astir it arsenic a 20-year instrumentality of the series. But thankfully, they look to beryllium connected the close way towards getting this right. If they don’t, the bid is astir apt dormant forever. But I was smiling the full clip I was playing Ninja Gaiden 4 – adjacent erstwhile I got killed. Its request for combat velocity is matched by its consciousness of style, and each I privation to bash present is play Ninja Gaiden 4. The Year of the Ninja mightiness genuinely beryllium magical, betwixt the fantabulous Ninja Gaiden 2 Black earlier this year, the highly promising Ninja Gaiden Ragebound that we besides conscionable played and adored, Sega’s seemingly focused 2D revival of Shinobi, and the biggest 1 of them all, PlatinumGames’s Ninja Gaiden 4. I’m arsenic optimistic arsenic ever that they’re going to nail this erstwhile it (Izuna) drops connected October 21.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our monthly(-ish) interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.