Ninjas are as soon as once more dominating the online game area. However all of them by no means seemed nearly as good as Joe Musashi does pulling off all these superior ninjutsu strikes in Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance.

For individuals who have been enjoying video video games because the 80s (I simply aged the hell out of myself), Shinobi has been a fixture within the gaming area since 1987, first slicing his means into arcades earlier than heading to house consoles.

Zapping to the current day, Sega has handed the keys of the traditional franchise to Lizardcube (Streets of Rage 4, Surprise Boy: The Dragon’s Entice), and so they have delivered what may very well be one of the visually spectacular video games of 2025 with Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance.

Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance instantly shot to the highest of my listing when it was first teased in 2023 throughout a supercut trailer launched by Sega, highlighting all of the traditional IPs it was bringing again.

At Summer time Sport Fest Play Days, I used to be lucky to get hands-on with Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance, and I can say with out an inch of doubt in my soul, it was one in every of my favourite experiences at Play Days.

Being A Ninja By no means Felt This Good

Supply: Lizardcube / Sega / Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance

I bought to expertise half-hour of the yet-to-be-released title in a two-stage demo. For full disclosure, I didn’t play the second stage, which many different individuals who did play it describe as a mix of the sport’s fight and platforming mechanics, as a consequence of one other appointment.

Nonetheless, I managed to assemble as a lot data as I wanted about this sport within the first stage of the demo, which takes place at Oboro Village, the house of Joe and his clan, and serves as a reintroduction to Joe and his talent set.

You get a quick tease of the story, which options your typical villain, on this case, Lord Ruse—a brilliant villain in all senses—who has taken management of the planet. It’s as much as the legendary ninja to take him down.

Issues go left, and a peaceable second between Joe and his spouse is interrupted when Lord Ruse’s ENE Company burns down Joe’s village, sending him on his quest for revenge.

Within the preliminary stage, Joe is barely armed together with his legendary katana, Oborozuki, and kunai, however he does purchase a number of new expertise as I breezed by means of the stage.

Joe Musashi Has A Highly effective Ability Set

Supply: Lizardcube / Sega / Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance

Controlling Joe is easy as hell, pulling off strikes feels rewarding each time, and the combo system permits gamers to chain assaults, permitting you to really feel like a ninja like by no means earlier than.

Additionally, the sport is beautiful, I caught myself saying rattling throughout a number of moments of the demo, particularly when utilizing Joe’s Ninja and Ninjutsu stances which providing you with entry to highly effective talents.

Holding the shoulder button places Joe into completely different stances, permitting him to execute extra signature strikes. You’ll be able to stylishly take out staggered foes with the Shinobi Execution, which can bless you with further rewards.

Joe can even blast a robust fireball at enemies with a talent referred to as Hearth Ninpo. The Water Nimpo is a capability that’s extra defensive in nature, which places a water defend round him, permitting him to parry incoming assaults.

Supply: Lizardcube / Sega / Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance

Lastly, when Joe hits the Ninjitsu stance, he can carry out the Karyu, which is a devastating screen-clearing assault that engulfs all close by enemies.

General Impressions

Supply: Lizardcube / Sega / Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance

Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance isn’t a triple-A sport, and received’t price as a lot as one both, however it has the potential to be among the best video games of the yr.

It’s a stupendous, hand-drawn expertise that’s buttery easy and breathes new life right into a long-dormant franchise, and we’ve solely skilled only a style of this sport.

In a world the place video games like Murderer’s Creed: Shadows, the forthcoming Ninja Gaiden 4, and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound exist, Sega’s Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance can stand out from the bunch as a result of it has one thing these video games don’t: STYLE.

Shinobi: Artwork of Vengeance slashes its means onto PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Swap, and PC on August 29.