Shinobi: Art of Vengence Review: The beauty in vengeful ninja combat

Ovewr the years, Sega has released a variety of series that span far throughout its history of consoles. One series of games that has been dormant for a long time is the Shinobi series. Originally started as an arcade game in 1987, Shinobi underwent many changes over the decades, starting as a 2D action-platformer and eventually becoming a 3D action game on the PlayStation 2. The series eventually made a return to its 2D roots on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, before taking a long hiatus for the next decade. Fans were wondering if Sega would ever revisit the series in a big way after pledging to revitalize many of their classic franchises for modern consoles.

Luckily for everyone, Sega had Shinobi in mind for a new game that would fit within their plans. This brings us to Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, the thirteenth entry in the series since the franchise began in 1987. This time, Shinobi fully embraces its 2D action roots by bringing in developer Lizardcube, who previously worked on Sega's Street of Rage series. The result is a game that brings together beautiful hand-drawn animation and colorful visuals with a fiercely challenging gameplay that will have you reacting quickly and punishing foes that slip up for a moment. It's a tough experience for players of all skill levels, but an incredibly satisfying one that happens to look very good as well.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance was purchased by our team for review after release. The game was played and reviewed on PlayStation 5.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance price and availability

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is available for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. There is a standard digital version and a deluxe digital version that can be purchased via the online store for every platform. The deluxe version comes with the game, an alternate outfit, a bonus Sega Villains stage, and a digital art book.

• Standard Edition: $29.99
• Deluxe Edition: $39.99
• Deluxe Upgrade (for standard): $11.99

The art and majesty in combat

This ninja looks fantastic

Without question, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a very pretty looking game. The hand-drawn visuals look incredible on a large monitor, with tons of great detail put into the backgrounds and characters that populate them. The animations of every enemy, monster, and the Shinobi himself are rendered incredibly well. Small movements can indicate the types of attacks that enemies will ready themselves to execute, giving you a moment to react to their attacks and strike back with your own. And in some cases, they will telegraph when an incoming attack that is unlockable and should be avoided. When you have the moment, and distance, to really look at the foes that block your path, you can appreciate the little details that Lizardcube put into every kind of enemy you encounter throughout the game.

But the various stages you run through will make you feel like you're traversing the canvas of some very beautiful paintings. The colors and stylized look of everything in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance feels like they were pulled from a Japanese ink wash painting. Every strike and movement from the shinobi and the surrounding foes looks dramatic, and has an impact that can be felt with each blow that lands. Even when enemies are slain, there's an element of beauty to how they fall with the colors of blood and magical effects surrounding them. Simply put, this game looks gorgeous in every way.

Unfortunately, there are a few moments in various stages where bugs or glitches can get in the way of the eye candy. Some stages with very dramatic lighting can sometimes accidentally darken out entire layers of characters and parts of the background, making it hard to see where you're moving. Other times, projectiles from enemies might get lost in the background and be tough to spot on screen, which can lead to getting hit and possible death. These kinds of problems don't happen frequently and can be remedied by reloading a checkpoint, but they can be annoying when they happen. And yet, they don't take much away from the great visuals that do appear throughout the majority of the game.

Simply put, this game looks gorgeous in every way

Gameplay over deep story

This ninja can fight very well

The story of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance follows Joe Musashi, as he has become the leader of his Oboro ninja clan. While his wife is expecting a child, his clan is viciously attacked by an invading force from the ENE Corporation. They're led by Lord Ruse, who uses monsters and hi-tech weapons to fuel his goal of world domination, which starts with the decimation of Joe's clan. In order to avenge his fallen students and allies, Joe sets out to confront Lord Ruse and take vengeance on him and his army of supernatural beings.

The plot is very simple overall, and may feel shallow to most people who never played any previous Shinobi games from Sega. It's enough backstory to get moving and narrative to string players along each stage, but it never becomes a highlight of the whole experience. We're only given enough details to know why Joe is on the warpath against ENE Corp. and the new allies he discovers along the way, but the story takes a backseat to the gameplay. If there's one thing about Shinobi: Art of Vengeance that makes everything worth it, it's how good it feels to play.

The colors and stylized look of everything feels like they were pulled from a Japanese ink wash painting.

Running and jumping through obstacles and different environments looks and feels great. The solid controls are easy to pick up and get into the action. Timing jumps and dashes right can get you though some very complex level design filled with hazards and traps, but it looks so good when doing so. It can sometimes be a little confusing about where to go in some areas, but never enough to completely derail the momentum of going through stages. There are many abilities that Joe can pick up along the way, ranging from throwing kunai, fancy ninja movements, and using Ninpo magic to take down enemies. But Joe's trusty sword is what you'll frequently use to slash enemies and execute combos to bring down tougher foes. Fighting with the sword is great, especially when you unlock more attacks to chain together and moves to transition into other stronger attacks. Before you know it, Joe will be dancing and dashing his way through groups of enemies that are brought down by his sword.

The challenging part of the game comes from enemies that will have shields and unbreakable attacks. This is when things get dicey, and you're forced to rethink your approach. Instead of dodging away or around them, you'll have to completely avoid the attack by jumping away before you counterattack. This can be easy at times, but will aggressively complex when you start fighting enemies on small platforms or when surrounded by environmental hazards, not to mention projectiles from nearby enemies. Dealing enough damage can open foes to an instant execution, which is key to clearing the area and getting a nice boost in health to keep going. Staying aware of what's around you and staying vigilante against foes is the key to victory, but it's not always easy. The various upgrades that Joe unlocks from buying them in the shop will greatly expand his arsenal of attacks and make him a one-man army against groups of baddies.

Boss fights are where the game gets truly chaotic. Some battles are easy and require you to just slash away at them to achieve victory. Others might require a lot more finesse, such as attacking a nearby structure to open them up to attacks, or avoiding massive projectiles that are launched at you. Finding the patterns and striking when the opportunity opens up can help destroy them, but some bosses will take more than a few tries to get things right. Some attacks from bosses can feel a little cheap with how much damage they deal when hit, but some of those attacks are also fairly easy to avoid if you spot their telling animations for them. It looks very cool to use an assassination move when a boss has enough health drain, which yields a bonus reward and a cool animation of them being destroyed.

Hidden goodies are very interesting

This ninja has many secrets

Each stage that you traverse has its own collection of hidden collectibles and secrets to uncover. Most of them you won't be able to obtain the first time around, so revisiting stages later on has its benefits. The game does make it very clear when you can go a certain direction, and the map from the menus will keep a record of where you can go back to later on. At the same time, most collectibles aren't always easily obtained, often requiring you to go through treacherous obstacles or fight a tough group of enemies to get them. Depending on how many new abilities you gain or extra moves you unlock, these battles can range in their difficulty. You may have to avoid a bonus fight against an elite group of troops until you can gain some attacks that make certain foes much easier to deal with.

Staying aware of what's around you and staying vigilante against foes is the key to victory, but it's not always easy.

But are the collectibles you get worth the trouble? Without a doubt, they are very much worth the effort, and frustration in some cases. New outfits for Joe can be unlocked when you purchase or find them in stages, which offer just a new look for his shinobi outfit. Other bonuses like new passive abilities, new attacks, and additional upgrades to your health and kunai stash are great perks to find while exploring new areas. Getting as many upgrades as you can before the game's tough challenges is definitely a smart idea, but you may not always be able to get the ones you want until progressing further with the story. Going back to previous stages just before the final battle, or completing the game, can definitely make revisiting most areas vastly easier.

Some of the best collectibles you can get require a lot of effort. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance does a great job of rewarding players who put in time to explore places they missed the first time in a stage. A new sword for Joe can be unlocked when gathering all the Dark Blade items, as well as some very strong Ninpo abilities with powerful effects. Some abilities you find can totally change the way you approach certain obstacles and boss fights that may have been trouble initially, while others will give you a nice boost at each checkpoint you reach within a stage. You don't need all of these things to finish the game in any particular way, but they're very helpful if you manage to get your hands on them.

Mastering the way of Shinobi

As a triumphant return to a long-running series, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an experience that fans will really enjoy diving into. It has beautiful visuals that make every aspect of its action-packed journey feel epic, while also challenging players with some classical-inspired platforming and combat. While the plot of the game may not resonate with everyone who plays, there was definitely a lot of time and care put into every aspect of the story that compliments the gameplay and presentation that will draw the most attention. It's been over a decade since we've seen Shinobi in action, but this ninja is still just as poised and ready to deal out vengeance as much as he did back in 1987. Only now, the combat we see is even more beautiful than it ever has been before.