The year of the ninja continues on with another resounding success of a return for a classic ninja franchise. This time it’s Sega returning with the first entry in their classic Shinobi franchise in almost fourteen years. When Sega announced back in 2023 that they were bringing back a multitude of of their dormant classics, people were skeptical.  Now, with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance being on the horizon, fans should rejoice as this is one of the strongest action platformers of the year.

The premise of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a simple one. Series protagonist Joe Mushashi is enjoying his life with his pregnant wife and little puppy alongside the rest of his clan. However, the evil ENE Corp.  ransack the village and almost completely wipe out the entire Oboro Clan. Thus, Mushashi must seek his titular vengeance on ENE Corp. by teaming up with some unlikely allies and stop whatever dark plans ENE Corp. and their leader Lord Ruse have.

While the premise is a simple one, the combat of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is anything but that once it gets going. It may start out simple giving you access to just light and heavy attacks as well as kunai to throw for range. Enemies have a normal health gauge along with an execution gauge that builds up as you deal attacks. Once that gauge is full, you can unleash an instakill execution despite how much health they have, and the more enemies that you execute at once the more rewards you get from killing them such as extra health or kunai refills.

Then, as you progress you start to unlock a plethora of abilities that make combat so much more satisfying and engaging. Mushashi’s arsenal combat moves allows you to build up some devastating combos to unleash upon your foes. You can be engaging with one enemy and then jump up and do a dive kick onto another and then finish it with a spinning kick before stringing together your next move, and it all feels so fluid and fun to do. That’s not all Mushashi can do either as you unlock Ninpo skills that can provide an extra damaging attack at the cost of one Ninpo bar. Then, you have his Ninjutsu which can range from dealing massive damage to all enemies on screen to giving you a massive heal when in a pinch.  You can also equip two separate types of amulets a passive one and a combo one. The passive one allows for things to automatically happen such as healing orbs giving you more health or a regenerative shield. Combo ones on the other hand, only activate once your combo meter hits a certain threshold and will stay active until you lose the combo once you get hit. Better ones require longer combos needed, so you better get good at dodging attacks for those.

Outside of the combat, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance also shines when it comes to the levels. Each level, and then game overall, is visually striking with each level being distinct from the others. I was enamored throughout by the art direction this game has. Levels are these sprawling areas with multiple hidden paths and areas to discover as you carve your way through the droves of enemies you encounter on your way to the boss at the end of the level. Levels are meant to be come back to throughout the game as you unlock new abilities as you progress that will allow you to access areas of a level you couldn’t get to during your first run of the level.

Each level also has a variety of secrets to find as well including Oboro Orbs that unlock new items in the shop, Secret Chests that could give you a health boost or new Ninpo among other things, and ENE Corp combat challenges that will put your fighting prowess to the test. There’s also hidden rifts that will take you to a new level that is all about overcoming an insanely difficult platforming challenge. I can tell you that I was trying some of these for hours until I was able to beat them, but still had so much fun. Once you have beat the game, you unlock an arcade mode with the aim being to get the highest score and a boss rush mode to see if you can take out all the game’s bosses one after another.

Overall, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a magnificent return of one of Sega’s beloved classic franchises. From the eye catching and stylish art style to the fluid and fun combat, anyone who is a longtime fan of the series or action platformers in general is sure to have a blast with this game. While the story itself isn’t the most complex, it sets up a quest for vengeance adequately for all those involved.  Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is another shining reason 2025 is the year of the ninja.

Score: 9 out of 10

Reviewed on PlayStation 5