The first real roadblock I faced in Ninja Gaiden 4 was a boss fight against a god-like creature named the Kitsune Courtesan. While I'd breezed through my playthrough up until that point, this boss was more aggressive than any enemy I faced before, punishing and heavily damaging me if I missed a single, critical block or dodge. To overcome the boss, I found myself going to the game's training mode to learn some useful attack combos and practice my dodge timing. Eventually, I was able to make my way back to the boss fight and overcome that challenge.

Surmounting such challenges creates Ninja Gaiden 4's best moments. I was just dragged back to reality when my reward for defeating that boss was more poorly performed story content I could not care about and more levels with repetitive obstacles and camera issues. That whiplash from thrilling highs to annoying lows exemplifies my experience with Ninja Gaiden 4. I had been eagerly anticipating this game ever since it was revealed back in January, but was ultimately let down by it.

Yes, PlatinumGames' action titles feel like few others, and Ninja Gaiden 4 is also more approachable than any other title in the series while still delivering quite a challenge. Unfortunately, if you're looking for anything beyond that in terms of an interesting narrative, combat variety, or general polish, you'll be let down. I'm now left wondering if the time required to learn the intricacies of this game is really worth it.

Price and Availability

Ninja Gaiden 4 launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on October 21. It'll be available both digitally and physically, as will be part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalog from day one. If you plan on purchasing the game digitally, there are two editions to choose from

• Standard Edition ($70): The base game. Pre-orders come with the Dark Dragon Descendant Yakumo skin.
• Deluxe Edition ($90): The base game, Traditional Dark Blue and Legendary Black Falcon Ryu skins, Divine Chimera and Raven Master Yakumo skins, the Blade of the Archfiend Ryu weapon skin, the Divine Chimera Yakumo weapon set, access to future content called The Two Masters, and the ability to start a new game with 50,000 bonus NinjaCoin and some other in-game items.

Don't play Ninja Gaiden 4 for its story

This soft reboot for the franchise isn't very compelling

Ninja Gaiden 4 is clearly trying to usher in a new era for the franchise. Its art style is more cartoonish, and like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, this game passes the baton to the next generation of ninja. Ryu Hayabusa is present but not the primary focus; instead, we follow Yakumo, a ninja from the Raven Clan working to dispel the Dark Dragon that looms over Tokyo and leaves it endlessly rained upon and infested by fiends.

Initially, Yakamo and his crew think the best way to resolve the situation is to kill the a priestess named Seori. But as Yakumo is about to kill her, Seori reveals that the only way to permanently get rid of the Dark Dragon is to work with her and destroy some shrines around Tokyo before ultimately taking on the Dark Dragon itself. That puts Yakumo at odds with Ryu, who is trying to keep the little peace there is in this version of Tokyo.

Unfortunately, nothing really gripped me beyond that initial premise for a few different reasons. First off, I really dislike Yakumo, whose personality and vibe echoes the worst parts of Shadow the Hedgehog and Raiden from the Metal Gear Solid series. He's edgy and trying to look and sound cool to the point of parody most of the time. All-around, I was definitely let down by the performances of the English voice cast. For a modern AAA game, I have much higher standards for voice acting, but Ninja Gaiden 4's out-of-sync, weirdly toned performances feel decades behind the times and make it hard to take any of what's going on that seriously.

That made it difficult to care about what was ever going on, meaning I felt nothing at the game's most climatic twists and moments or as the credits rolled. The pace of the story is also very repetitive, as Yakumo and even Ryu are essentially doing the same thing to cleanse different shrines around Tokyo over and over again. None of the locations visited stand out that much either, ultimately causing Ninja Gaiden 4 to leave a minimal lasting impression outside of its fantastic gameplay.

Ninja Gaiden 4's combat is the best in the series

It's both approachable and a joy to learn to master

Ninja Gaiden 4 offers a near-perfect blend of what made classic 3D Ninja Gaiden titles stand out with what Bayonetta and Nier: Automata developer PlatinumGames does best with their action games. It's fast, fluid, and stands out within a modern action game landscape dominated by Soulslikes. The camera does sometimes get in the way of showing the action properly, but when it's not an issue Ninja Gaiden 4 is absolutely thrilling.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is a combo-centric action game, with Yakumo's moveset slowly expanding over time as he acquires new weapons and buys new moves with NinjaCoin. While many action games reward button-bashing, playing Ninja Gaiden 4 on higher difficulties actually feels more like playing a fighting game. It requires players to memorize the button pressing required to pull of a special move and heavily rewards those who can string those moves together into gnarly combos. It's the rare action game where I actually felt encouraged to use the training room.

That flow is directly pulled from Team Ninja's games in the series, and feels just as rewarding to master in 2025 as it did in 2004. PlatinumGames shakes things up for this fourth entry with its own mechanics, like Yakumo's Bloodraven form that adds a whole new suit of attack and finishing move options and a great emphasis on dodging. Those who enjoy mastering difficult action games will be more than please with what Ninja Gaiden 4 has to offer.

Ninja Gaiden 4 isn't just for the hardcore action gamer, though. It features some excellent accessibility and difficulty options, which make enemies much easier to defeat and can even do moves like dodging and blocking automatically for players. If you've never played a Ninja Gaiden game before and are intimidated by the difficulty, this is the one to start with. You may be disappointed by anything outside of combat, though.

Ryu feels like an afterthought in Ninja Gaiden 4

He's emblematic of some of the game's biggest problems

Many of my issues with Ninja Gaiden 4 are exemplified by the parts of the game that have to do with Ryu. To start, Ryu and other cameo characters like Ayane feel like afterthoughts in the main narrative, only there out of obligation. But more importantly, once players actually get to go hands-on with Ryu, a fatal flaw of Ninja Gaiden 4 is exposed.

About two thirds into the game, players get to control Ryu for a string of missions leading up to the finale. While I'd hoped the switch to Ryu would reinvigorate the game, which had already gotten a little repetitive by that point, it only made things more stale. All of Ryu's missions reuse the level design and boss fights from prior Yakumo levels, barely changing anything outside of Ryu's unique moveset.

While the game is only about 12 hours long, this makes the adventure feel like it's running out of Steam by the eight or nine-hour mark. When I played Ninja Gaiden 2 Black earlier this year, I constantly found myself excited and impressed by each new level I came across. That sense of novelty and wonder is nowhere to be found in Ninja Gaiden 4, which has boring and repetitive level designs.

In general, Ninja Gaiden 4 feels dated. Camera issues that most action games overcame a console generation ago persist here, and its concepts for level design and mechanics like rail-grinding feel derivative and uninspired. Getting the chance to play as Ryu once more did not do anything to prevent those from still being problems. In fact, it exacerbated the fact that Ninja Gaiden 4 is a one-trick pony with its fancy and flashy gameplay.

Ninja Gaiden 4 isn't a bad game, but a disappointing one

There are things I love about the game, but there’s also a lot I don’t enjoy

I had high expectations for Ninja Gaiden 4. I loved Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, have waited over a decade for a new 3D entry in the series, and thought Xbox Game Studios' backing could give Team Ninja and PlatinumGames the necessary resources to make something truly special. Instead, what's on offer is an action title that feels great to play, but not much else.

Weirdly, Ninja Gaiden 4 has a behind-the-times, budget game feel to me. While I was hoping it'd match PlatinumGames greats like Astral Chain or Bayonetta 3, it instead feels more similar to the solid if unimpressive licensed games the studio worked on, like Transformers Devastation or The Legend of Korra.

There are moments, specifically during flashy boss fights or particularly tough levels, where Ninja Gaiden 4 shines. Unfortunately, a lackluster story, repetitive content, and a general lack of polish on important gameplay elements like the camera make the series' grand return anticlimactic. I expected more from such an eagerly awaited revival.