Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, & PC)

Innovation often means completely refurbishing the old, and in most cases, it works to transition a classic into the new world order. Or developers may shy away from taking big risks and only go as far as to splash a fresh coat of paint on what works, and in turn, miss the opportunity to truly awe fans. 

After Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, I’m met with a sigh of relief that the gaming industry still got it. Lizardcube, in particular, which, in fairness, comes as little surprise after Streets of Rage 4. Always the trifactor it seems: new mechanics, ravishing art style, and bomb ass soundtrack, all culminating in a truly unforgettable experience for both newcomers and veterans. 

Still, a few areas remain in desperate want of perfection, as otherwise, it’s combat and visuals that thrive above all else. If platforming and level design had equally reached the same heights, this truly would have been a remarkable experience. 

Do tag along as we break it all down in our Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review below.

Dish Best Served Cold

Joe Musashi is back, better than ever. He kicks off Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, taking a break from the chaos and frenetic life of a ninja warrior. Instead, resorting to a laidback livelihood, a pregnant wife, and training ninja rookies for sport. 

And well, it all comes crashing down when Lord Ruse and his troops of the ENE Corporation completely demolish your home. Your Oboro Clan is left in ruins, sending you on a fit of rage, wanting vengeance. Thus, your hunt after the ENE Corporation goons begins, wiping out all who stand in your way to enact revenge.

There’s good behind your quest, too, as you’ll eventually stop ENE from world domination. However, it’s all relayed in the typical rush-over way of 2D sidescrollers. This isn’t going to be a profound story that blows your mind, whether in any surprising twists and turns, or in the compelling dialogue or writing that it’s told. You don’t even get animated cutscenes, but rather still images with voice-overs. 

And it’s all well and good as far as servicing the story is concerned. Musashi’s grunts are comical, though, at least in the early stages when it’s all he does in dialogue sequences. Then, it gets all worn out at the buildup of the boss battles and restoring world order, and you’re wanting him to take his mission a little more seriously. 

A Mile a Minute

Thankfully, you never have the space or time to worry about the story, not when there is a flurry of enemies and platforming obstacles storming your way. While you won’t access all of the versatile moves and attacks Shinobi: Art of Vengeance has to offer right off the bat, your starter toolkit is pretty decent. And quite, in fact, wealthier than 14 years ago Shinobi.

Joe Musashi, indeed, moves around a lot, and in plenty of cool ways, whether double jumping, dodge rolling, mid-air dashing, or wall running, with the freedom to string them all together. And when it all blends smoothly and frantically over the bottomless pits of death and spinning saw blades of doom, it feels all too good to put down. 

Unfortunately, it’s not always that Shinobi: Art of Vengeance feels tight and precise, with quite a bunch of frustrating sections you’ll have to stomach your way through. Countless deaths will likely be imposed on you, purely based on the flaws in the level design, or imperfections thereof. Certainly, far from the tightness of Celeste are many of the solely platforming challenges. 

Juggling Combos

Fortunately, it’s made all the more forgivable by the exhilarating combat system Shinobi: Art of Vengeance adopts. Not simply precise one-shot kills, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, instead, demands mastering strings of combos to dispose of enemies. It’s your everyday mix of light and heavy attacks, whether by your slash and dash katana or kunai dagger throws. 

Mix it in with your versatile traversal moves, and you’ve already unlocked a host of cool and flashy ways to decimate enemies. Your environment will play ball, too, with its ton of unique variety. Every one of the fourteen or so levels is different. At one point, you’re juggling enemies on a speeding train, and the next, it’s a lava stage or fish market.  

The burst of color and bold brush strokes looks utterly stunning, with a step away from retro pixel art to a modern take on stylish design. Top it off with thrilling hand-drawn character design and animations, and you enjoy a truly beautiful labor of love from Lizardcube. Add to that the fact that missions and objectives vary, whether hostage rescues or dramatic chases, and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance hits the bullseye on replayability to a satisfactory standard.

Level Up

Even when Joe Musashi feels pretty powerful at the start, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance has lots of surprises ahead. You’ll unlock new abilities and moves as you progress. There’s the grappling hook, perfect for swinging over pits. But also the ninja claws for wall climbing. And with these new moves, you can return to previously locked areas to explore for more secrets and rewards.

Kind of like a Metroidvania, except Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’s levels aren’t interconnected. Still, some of the areas you’ll visit on your main quest will remain locked until you have the moves and abilities required to access them. They are entirely optional. So, no pressure to return to them, unless you’re looking to hit 100% completion. Plus, you can use checkpoints as fast travel spots, thus minimizing backtracking. 

A lot more is in store, though, like the Ninpo and Ninjutsu abilities. The former charges up after successful damage outputs. And once filled, it grants you four customizable slots to access powerful special moves like breathing fire and aerial bombing. The latter, on the other hand, charges up after damage intake. And once filled, unlocks even more powerful attacks like wiping out the whole screen with summons or restoring massive health. 

Ninjutsu fills up slower than Ninpo. So, you have to be smart about when to unleash its power. Even with the light and heavy attacks, and the amulets granting active and passive boosts, they correspond with enemies’ attack patterns and weaknesses in different ways. You have to be smart about which attacks to string together to break down heavy-armored enemies, whittle down huge health bars quicker, or avoid getting overpowered by waves of foes. 

Nonstop Action

Despite how complex Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’s combat system might sound, all new abilities and moves are unlocked steadily. And at a convenient enough pace to master them. Plus, they are tied to simple button presses whose combos you only have to learn at the beginning. And then enjoy pulling off slick maneuvers around a decent bunch of enemy variety. 

By the time boss fights spring up, you’ll have a firm grip on the controls, studiously fluid and responsive. You’ll have a keen grasp on the combos to unleash at certain enemy types, timing them at the right moments of weakness. But none of all that fun and rewarding combat matches the mastery of the executions. 

You can essentially whittle down enemy health bars just low enough to execute a finishing move that kills them in an instant. Ideally, it’ll take chaining combos that break down armor and shields, and chuck just enough health to fill up the enemy’s execution gauge. 

If you can fill up multiple enemies’ execution gauges, all the better, as once you punch in the Shinobu Execution mechanic, all enemies with their gauges filled up will instantly die in a pool of blood, while spitting out tons of in-game currency and health boosts.

Verdict

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is, evidently, a job well done, rebooting a classic that has long evaded us for 14 years. With the unexpected return comes quite the innovative take on the core Shinobi formula. Under the hood, the systems remain familiar, and definitely singing praises for the classic’s way of action-platforming. 

But Joe Musashi, on here, is much faster, stronger, and unstoppable. He’s pretty slick with his flashy moves and combo attacks that play out stunningly well on screen. Combined with the beautiful hand-drawn art style, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance truly looks and feels exceptional.

It’s certainly imperfect when you analyze the platforming sections with a fine-toothed comb. Obstacles could certainly have more tight and precise ways to evade them. And overall, match up to the steamy sections of combat. Platforming and level design fail to meet the level of satisfaction combat achieves. 

Yet, the disappointment doesn’t even begin to compare to how exceptional combat feels. And for that, you can’t help returning to previously locked areas or enjoying the endgame content. The Arcade mode is certainly going to attract lots of returnees, trying to hit that high score. 

As is, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is definitely worth playing. However, a sequel might be the treat we need to finish up the touch-ups needed to take Shinobi: Art of Vengeance to the height it deserves.