Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review thread - Sega’s comeback continues

I'm pleased for the gaming world. Sega pulled their finger out and decided Sonic wasn't their only IP, found people to put some effort in, and we all win.

I'm still worried about SOR5 being rubbish 3D nonsense after the masterclass that was SOR4, but for now I will just celebrate the recent wins we're getting in the 2D space.
 
Solrac said:
Did they mention the length? I don't remember where I read it, but some previews mentioned 3–4 hours for the main story.
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I've only watched Gman's review and he mentioned spending 10 hours with it. So, I guess it's really a YMMV kind of thing. I figured for the type of game it is that somewhere between 7 - 10 sounds pretty standard.
 
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Men_in_Boxes said:
A demo isn't enough of an experience to fully assess a product.

I'm sure you've all watched a trailer to a movie and said "Eh, looks decent. I might see it."

Same concept applies here.
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You can get a feel for mechanics though, most important aspect of the game.

Also, the tone, if its combat oriented, story based, metroidvania, rogue like etc …

None of this is covered in metascore. Unless you start scouring the written reviews. Which can also be misleading depending on lot of things.
 
Soodanim said:
I'm pleased for the gaming world. Sega pulled their finger out and decided Sonic wasn't their only IP, found people to put some effort in, and we all win.

I'm still worried about SOR5 being rubbish 3D nonsense after the masterclass that was SOR4, but for now I will just celebrate the recent wins we're getting in the 2D space.
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Has there been anything else about that new SoR game at all? It was announced alongside this new Shinobi game in that SEGA trailer ages ago, and I feel like I haven't heard one thing about it since.
 
vaibhavpisal said:
You can get a feel for mechanics though, most important aspect of the game.
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It may be the most important thing, but it's not everything.

The mechanics were good, but not great imo. Those other aspects were going to pull me through to purchase if they were good enough.

vaibhavpisal said:
Also, the tone, if its combat oriented, story based, metroidvania, rogue like etc …

None of this is covered in metascore. Unless you start scouring the written reviews. Which can also be misleading depending on lot of things.
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I think for you, the demo sold you on the game. For me, it put it in the "maybe" camp.
 
Ristifer said:
Has there been anything else about that new SoR game at all? It was announced alongside this new Shinobi game in that SEGA trailer ages ago, and I feel like I haven't heard one thing about it since.
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Not that I know of. Maybe they saw the reactions everywhere and decided to scrap it. Or maybe they will turn it into Fighting Force 3 and work on a real SOR5 later!
 
Tried the demo and it was ace 👌 got the classic limited edition pre-ordered. Can't wait to play the full game.
 
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Men_in_Boxes said:
A demo isn't enough of an experience to fully assess a product.
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A demo is there to give you a demonstration of the gameplay and give you an idea of what the game is like. It's not there to give you the full experience or else, why would you buy the game for? Either that or waste your money on a sub service and play the full game for a fee... I'd rather a demo.
 
Men_in_Boxes said:
A demo isn't enough of an experience to fully assess a product.
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Strongly disagree. Just played through the demo and it told me everything I need to know about the game. It's a really strong vertical slice. Instantly preordered.
 
According to one review the soundtrack in the game isn't exactly Yuzo's best, maybe his attention was more focused on Earthion (the other stellar 2d title..)
 
RetroGamingUK said:
Let's see how the new Golden Axe turns out

I have faith in this new Sega.
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Exactly.

I mean... Shuji Utsumi even managed to put on the right track the Sonic Team with Shadow Generations.
He even successfully did the external studio/in-house transition of Sonic Racing (from Sumo Digital to Initial D Team).

The rest of the internal studios developing the revivals are given a lots of time to reach new standards of quality. (JSR has been announced in 2023...it won't be rushed for 2025 Xmas, for instance).

New Era Sega is ambitious.

Sonic Crossworlds's second open beta is coming in a few days by the way (Initial D team/New Era Sonic Team is really polishing the game until the end...)
 
RAIDEN1 said:
According to one review the soundtrack in the game isn't exactly Yuzo's best, maybe his attention was more focused on Earthion (the other stellar 2d title..)
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I won't blame him for putting all his heart on his own game... 🤩

At least, Revenge of Shinobi will remain king in that area 😛
 
StreetsofBeige said:
Why does every attack move have a weird slo-mo freeze animation? That choice of artistic looking attacks looks bad. Old Shinobi games werent like this.
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Sakurai can field this question:



Short answer is that they add impact and heft to hits. Personally, I'm a fan; there are lots of games (action-RPGs mainly) that feel like I'm hitting the enemy with a feather because there's no reaction or even damage animation in some cases.
 
Rran said:
Sakurai can field this question:



Short answer is that they add impact and heft to hits. Personally, I'm a fan; there are lots of games (action-RPGs mainly) that feel like I'm hitting the enemy with a feather because there's no reaction or even damage animation in some cases.
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I have mixed opinions on things like hitstop. It can add weight, but I'm currently playing Monster Hunter World and I find it much more enjoyable with a no hitstop mod because it makes everything faster and smoother.

You can still convey heft through sound and animation. Dark Souls 2 is horrible to play IMO in part because of how they ruined 1's sound and animation design. Nothing feels good to use.
 
Dacvak said:
Strongly disagree. Just played through the demo and it told me everything I need to know about the game. It's a really strong vertical slice. Instantly preordered.
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Agree. I played the demo and instantly pre ordered through Steam. It was a no brainer and the reviews/impressions are showing it was a wise choice.
 
Ristifer said:
Has there been anything else about that new SoR game at all? It was announced alongside this new Shinobi game in that SEGA trailer ages ago, and I feel like I haven't heard one thing about it since.
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Golden Axe was also announced back then at the 2023 Game awards and hasn't been shown since. I was hoping after SOR4 that Lizardcube would be doing the new Golden Axe but of course they were put on Shinobi instead.
 
Ristifer said:
Has there been anything else about that new SoR game at all? It was announced alongside this new Shinobi game in that SEGA trailer ages ago, and I feel like I haven't heard one thing about it since.
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We thought it was made by an external studio but some SOR banners were spotted for job listing within Sega in house game Divisions. (it will be at least co-developped by Sega of Japan)
 
adamsapple said:
I should try the demo.
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demanding do it GIF
 
Played the demo on Steam. Fun game but there's just too much coming out this week and in September for me to buy it now. Adding it to my wishlist, and I'll pick it up on sale at a later date.
 
ReBurn said:
I'll try the demo first. If it's too painful I'll probably get it on Steam if I can play at 60 on Steam Deck. Just feels like it would be a fun portable experience.
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I played the demo tonight and it's 60fps on Switch 2. The image is a little fuzzy but plays great.
 
I'm genuinely surprised to see such a positive response. I wasn't expecting much from the game from the early footage, but I'm more than happy to check it out if the game actually delivered. I'm not going into it expecting it to be a Shinobi game, just... a 2D actioner with ninjas.
 
Giallo Corsa said:
And again, no switch 2 native version (the S1 one looks shite due to the low res).

At this point, I seriously don't know what the fook Nintendo is doing, yet another game that I have to buy on my PS5...
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The Switch 2 dev kit sutuation is infuriating and one of the worst blunders ive seen in recent times. Inagine spending over $500 for the Switch' successor and then having to watch all these anticipated games release with sub 720p resolution at 30 fps....

What a joke ...and yes, im pissed. First Ragebound now this. This is how gamers are rewarded these days though for supporting a company. Same thing has happened with the PS5 Pro. Big money console with very little in the way of real upgrades to show for it. Perhaps the Switch is even more egregious though because it's a mainline, next gen console.

Where are the games that use DLSS? Where are all the upgrades to Switch 1 games? But for games to release months after Switch 2 launch not to have a Switch 2 version? Unbelieveable.
 
No OT yet? Also apparently the demo was pretty generous in terms of accessing certain areas and what not. The actual game strips some of that access back from what I was reading on Era.

Gonna buy the deluxe edition tomorrow.
 
Solrac said:
Did they mention the length? I don't remember where I read it, but some previews mentioned 3–4 hours for the main story.
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I think I was hearing the skillup review saying it took them 12 hours and that's without getting all collectibles and what not.

3-4 hours sounds incredibly low.
 
Just finished the first 3 levels until you meet Ankou.

It's honestly a mixed bag. The issue I think is having played other games lately that are similar that play better.

The demo for this may be the next final fantasy 16 level bait and switch… I hope I'm wrong.

My issues:
-Built up break meter on enemies to do the sick finisher for extra rewards! Sick I'm in… everything pretty much dies before I can even get them to that health blip. Even enemies with tons of health you don't get to do it on… they needed to not let you overkill enemies or give the damage to health ratios a total do over. My hope here is this is just "easy mode" and when I beat the game I can play a harder difficulty to actually make use of this mechanic.

-Why the fuck can't I slash upwards? Christ…

-You are very limited on wall jumps. It feels awkward AF to play a ninja so handicapped he can't jump off the same wall repeatedly to go up. Once you do one jump it has to be a new wall to keep going up.

-The game wants to be fast but the level design just doesn't permit it. It's constantly grinding you to halts. Walk a few feet and the walls stop you advancing to fight a battle arena of enemies. And a lot of the levels you want to flow and go fast to the right but exploring makes it so you slow yourself down.

-Permanent level committal on where you go. Fork in the road not the secret treasure way? Too bad. You gotta use the map to reload that section rather than just creating levels that allow the player to go back. "Oh fall down cliff no go back uppy sorry."

——-

That's a decent list for people to look at and possibly question a purchase.

What's good? The art style of course, and it handles very well. Precise control of Musashi. The combo capability is here but the game doesn't allow me to do it because again everything dies so fast. If it didn't it would be so sick chaining all this stuff together.

If ever a game needed to let a player pick hard mode from the jump this was it.
 
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Most of the reviews with the lowest ratings (<80) talk about what I didn't like about the demo: overly easy combat and poor level design (some platforming was frustrating).

GameWatcher said:
Not everything is polished. Some parts of the level design, menus and UI don't live up to the heights of other aspects of the game (80)
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Jeuxvideo.com said:
Pleasant to pick up and fun to play thanks to its multiple moves, it's such a robust action game that the platforming aspect seems more timid in comparison. Sure, the Metroidvania-lite aspect offers large levels to explore, but it doesn't transcend the experience. (80)
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Gameblog.fr said:
However, the lifespan is artificially inflated by limiting the player to the main story and adding unnecessarily frustrating phases. (80)
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Gamekult said:
Lizardcube delivers a slick comeback for Joe Musashi, with sharp attacks and ninja techniques, somewhat brought down by inconsistent level design and a few technical issues. (70)
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DBLTAP said:
The combat is fun and has a strong sense of flow, but it isn't particularly challenging, and the complexity doesn't scale well. The platforming tools make for enjoyable and satisfying challenges, but the game infrequently uses them to their full potential. (70)
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IGN Deutschland said:
Sadly, it is held back by its bloated structure and repetitive fights that never quite manage to challenge you up until the very end. (70)
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GamesRadar+ said:
Unfortunately, the level design can't keep up with the quality of the basic gameplay, stretching a great core to its breaking point. (60)
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Kotaku said:
Unfortunately, the unfulfilling exploration and so-so platforming keep the game from hitting its full potential. [...] like spending time with someone who wants to be everyone's friend, the experience feels a little too shallow for its own good.
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I'm waiting to see what players think, it's not like there aren't other games to play in the near future (all those late August/early September releases have to contend with the new POE2 season starting this weekend).
 
Man, I don't know if I can go back to Ragebound after this one. When I learned of these two games, I thought Ninja Gaiden would be the one to hook me. This is exactly what I needed.
 
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Went mostly black out after after LC started dropping those development vids. Had to resist the demo too. Been a long time fan since the beginning. Can't wait for this Friday!
 
Dacvak said:
Strongly disagree. Just played through the demo and it told me everything I need to know about the game. It's a really strong vertical slice. Instantly preordered.
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Would you still have bought the game if the demo was 1/3rd of the final product and the rest of the game just reused assets from the demo? IE, no new art or enemies?
 
I liked the demo. Thinking of buying it but not sure if it will wait. Saw some review of Ninja Gaiden it seems good but don't like the art. Also read that it's linear. Haven't played Street of Rage 4. Will add it to the wishlist.
 
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Was planning on getting it. But ended up pre-ordering a physical copy today, Friday is going to be insane with Shinobi and Lost Souls Aside being delivered. Can't wait
 
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