RYU-LLY GOOD

The Blasphemous devs lighten up with NINJA GAIDEN: RAGEBOUND

- By Abbie Stone

Well, this is a nice surprise. Previous Ninja Gaiden games have been about as warm and welcoming as being booted down a flight of stairs. But Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has pulled off a fun revival that's far and away the most accessible Ninja Gaiden yet. And by 'most accessible', I mean 'it waits a few hours before repeatedly kicking you in the face'. Hey, it's a start.

The Game Kitchen has slammed an adrenaline shot into 2D Gaiden and made a game that's far more interested in keeping your murderous momentum up than just repeatedly killing you. Enemies leap on screen, and you're encouraged to slice them in two before they've even finished their intro animation. Ideally, you're doing this while sprinting forward and with your next target in your swords' sights.

You play as Kenji, a student of usual protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, who’s apparently too busy starring in the very first Ninja Gaiden to help out here. Kenji’s got a basic sword slash attack, throwing knives and a Sonic-esque bounce that both hurts enemies and lets him use them as handy makeshift platforms, so at least they don't die in vain.