I haven't played The Messenger or any of those so take that as a disclaimer. Feeling like NG or not, which I have no idea anymore what that exactly feels like anyway, this game is tight, fast and slick. Sounds like a nun's pussy on Christmas but no, it's the new Ninja Gaiden game.
Anyway. I liked this a lot and replayed the level twice. The boss was also a fun design mechanics wise imo. I also love Blasphemous and I think they nail that sweet spot between 16 bit and PS1 2D games like nobody else. It looked killer with the CRT filter.