Needed

It’s been over a decade since the last numbered Ninja Gaiden game. While the precision-based hack-and-slash series was sleeping, most action games went one of two ways. They either morphed into sprawling RPG adventures full of bloat or tried to ape the obsession with Soulslikes, incorporating methodical hitbox dodging and disciplined stamina management. But one of the kings of 3D arcade action is awake again and ready to dispense with all of the popular trend chasing. Ninja Gaiden 4 is mostly a game about killing tons of guys by executing the most lethal combos and flashiest executions you can master, and it seems to be completely content with that. I am too.

I had a chance to play a recent build of the game at Microsoft’s campus (Xbox is publishing the game) during PAX West 2025 ahead of Ninja Gaiden 4‘s release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 21. The joint venture between Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja and Bayonetta makers Platinum Games appears to be going great. Rather than a disjointed sequel divided between two game design philosophies struggling with each other and the series’ infamous legacy, what I played of Ninja Gaiden 4 felt smooth, focused, and fun. Most importantly it exuded confidence about what it is: a high-skill action game that rewards diligent fans with satisfyingly gory thrills.

The story revolves around returning frontman Ryu Hayabusa and a new hero, the Raven Clan’s Yakumo, as they scale a cyberpunk-infused Sky City Tokyo infested with new daemon horrors and futuristic ninja soldiers. Each character has access to different weapons and skill sets, and which you play depends on the chapter your in. The option to replay any chapter as either one unlocks after you finish, and for demo purposes I opted to go with Ryu for old times’ sake.

Within seconds I was chopping off heads and staggering enemies with throwing stars. A perfect dodge gives you a small window to press the attack with a counter-strike that breaks through enemy defenses. There’s also a perfect parry that consists of attacking an enemy right as they’re about to attack you, but it’s an awkward window to exploit and doesn’t feel nearly as satisfying when you’re in the heat of combat (and for those who want a less crunchy experience, there’s an option in the settings menu to turn hitstop completely off).

Ninja Gaiden 4 thrives when you’re constantly moving and trying to combo light, heavy, and projectile attacks into a conveyor belt of carnage. Doing so builds up meter to unleash special attacks or enter a time-limited transformation that alters your moveset an also makes it more lethal, culminating in stylish new insta-kill animations that swap the screen to black, white, and red. The old obliterations are there too, letting you unleash geysers of blood as you quickly execute foes already suffering from severed limbs. The pulled-out third-person camera also performed well during the demo, rarely tripping me up with off-screen attacks amid the controlled chaos.

I only had time to experience the first layer or two of combat, and can see how two characters, a handful of weapons each, and all of the other secondary moves can add up into a combat system with enough depth to keep things interesting while never losing sight of the moment-to-moment satisfaction that propels a game like this forward and keeps you from rage-quitting once you hit a difficulty spike or two (there are three difficulty modes in Ninja Gaiden 4 that you can swap between at any time).

What I’ll be most curious to see from the finished game is whether its level design will feel equally refined or just like a means to an end. The early couple of sections I experienced included some wall running, wall jumping, and grappling hook swinging, both for platforming and combat. Ninja Gaiden 4 has collectibles and I encountered the occasional fork in the road to explore, while statues dotting the level offer checkpoints at which to buy items from and upgrade skills.

But most of the action was confined to flat arenas without many interesting features outside of some split elevations and grappling hook points. If Team Ninja and Platinum Games are able to imbue the later stages with as much drama in-between the big battles as during them, Ninja Gaiden 4 could be the return to demanding hack-and-slash action fans have been waiting for, perfecting the essentials and carving away the rest.

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