Mark of the Ninja: Remastered

Genre: Action-Platformer / Stealth

Players: 1

.

Review:

Mark of the Ninja is an Action-Platformer that has you playing the stealthy sneaky variety of ninja, with the game’s focus being on mostly avoiding direct confrontation with enemies and instead either killing from the shadows or even avoiding enemies entirely.

The game gives you a good selection of tools to this end, allowing you to cling to walls, use a grappling hook, toss throwing stars for distraction or to take out lights or stun enemies. The levels are also designed to frequently give players multiple ways of approaching problems, although there are also frequent bottlenecks that require players to get past a specific area. Thankfully, the number of different tools and techniques in your arsenal means you’ll rarely feel like you’re deprived of finding your own way to get past obstacles in your way.

Visually, the game takes on a cartoonish style something akin to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series or Samurai Jack, with simple, expressive character designs and good animation. It’s not the most unique presentation in the world, but it looks good, nevertheless.

If I had one complaint, it’s that early on in the game, it feels like players don’t have many good options if they’re caught, especially if they’re on a stretch of the level without any good corners to turn, and even more so if there are multiple enemies nearby. However, the game thankfully lets you dive right back into things when you’re killed, making the frustration from these situations short-lived. Also, there are times when the action in the game can feel a bit repetitive, though thankfully the game introduces new elements at a pretty steady pace.

This version of the game has remastered visuals and sound, and includes the previously-released “Dosan’s Tale” DLC and developer’s commentary. It also runs just about as well on the Nintendo Switch as it does anywhere, meaning you can argue that this is the de facto definitive version of the game.

In the end, Mark of the Ninja is an excellent stealth game, and the Nintendo Switch version of the game has done pretty much everything right. If you’re a fan of stealth games, you should have this game on your Switch.

tl;dr – Mark of the Ninja is a stealthy ninja game that does just about everything right, and this version of it is comprehensive. While I have a few complaints about repetitive gameplay and frustrations about getting caught, for the most part this is exactly what you want in a stealth game on the Nintendo Switch.

Grade: B+

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}