Alright, folks, grab your popcorn ’cause I’ve got some news that’s as exciting as it is messy. So, what’s the deal? Dotemu and The Game Kitchen—yeah, you probably heard of them if you’re into games—just spilled the beans about NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound hitting PlayStation and Nintendo Switch pretty soon. Next month, to be precise! I’ve been daydreaming about this since, oh, an hour ago when I found out. Anyway—oh, right—there’s a trailer or something, but first, prove you’re old enough to see it. ‘Cause, rules.
Jumping into the nitty-gritty, the clever minds behind Blasphemous (ever played it?) are back at it by smashing together the old-school ninja action of NINJA GAIDEN with some fancy modern flair. Imagine if your childhood favorite got a sleek makeover, yet kept that peculiar charm—as if it’s trying too hard and yet not at all. Sound intriguing? Good.
The tale kicks off with our ninja dude, Ryu Hayabusa, off to America for… reasons his dad thought important. What could go wrong? Apparently, everything—demons bust through and Hayabusa Village spirals into chaos. Right on cue, a newbie ‘ninja’ (never met him) Kenji Mozu decides to step up. And the way they explain it, he kinda teams up with the Black Spider Clan, the baddies, because, you know, desperate times and all that convoluted jazz. This could be legendary—or an epic catastrophe. Your pick.
So, let’s talk gameplay: if “retro but make it snazzy” means anything to you, then you’re in luck. They’ve managed to keep that old pick-up-and-play vibe alive, only adding layers (layers of frustration? Maybe). You got Kenji, and then there’s Kumori, the assassin (naturally), and they’re somehow always calling the shots together. It’s all about the ‘Ninja Fusion’. I don’t entirely get it, but it sounds intense.
Here’s a visual treat: the pixel art throwback is nuts. In a good way. You might think you’re staring at a moving art exhibit. Every battle feels like a vintage spectacle that went and got itself a 2025-filter. I swear, even the demons look like they’ve been to the salon.
Anyway, here’s the question: do you dare to see if you can become a ninja master? Not to be dramatic, but what do you have to lose? Other than hours of your life, which, to be fair, you were probably going to spend gaming anyway.
