Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is the long-awaited return in Sega’s ninja-centric Action-Platformer series, the first new game in the franchise since 2011’s Shinobi on Nintendo 3DS. Art of Vengeance, released in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, follows series protagonist Joe Musashi as he seeks vengeance on Lord Ruse, the leader of an evil organization who… I’m sorry, hold on. Lord Ruse? Seriously, that’s what we’re going with here? Okay, I guess.

Anyway, after Mister Sinister Dick Dastardly Dr. Evil Lord Ruse attacks Joe Musashi’s village because Joe is the last one who can threaten his empire so of course Ruse wants to piss the guy off, Joe heads off to take on Ruse’s army of demonic oni, military personnel, and futuristic technological contraptions, heading up the chain to take on Captain Evil Scheme himself.

While the story in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is absolute Saturday morning cartoon garbage, the rest of the presentation is exceptional, with a blend of well-animated hand-drawn 2D artwork and subtle 3D elements, with tons of nice detail and some absolutely inspired art design. In one early level, you’ll be racing through a white wheatfield atop a rideable dog while a Neon Genesis Evangelion-style mech stomps in the background, and in the next you’ll be making your way through a stunning lantern celebration taking out enemies on the rooftops while presumably unaware people a few streets over go on with their celebrations. All of this is joined by some decent voice acting and energetic music that, while not especially memorable, works well for the gameplay.

And when it comes to that gameplay, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a solid Action-Platformer with a strong combat system, additional moves and abilities you can unlock throughout the game, and just enough hidden secrets to make the platforming interesting, with some really fun and creative set pieces, and some well-crafted boss battles.

I do think there are areas that could have been tweaked a little bit better – your weak attack seems a smidge too weak, your strong attack seems a smidge too slow, and I’ve been repeatedly frustrated by dashing and attacking only to find that the game didn’t register the direction I was attempting to attack in. In addition, a lot of the moves here require two-button or three-button combinations that can be a bit much to remember. Also, on Nintendo Switch I did notice framerate drops in some places, which didn’t greatly affect the gameplay, but they did mar the otherwise great presentation.

Despite these flaws, overall I think Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an excellent Action-Platformer, and a strong entry in the franchise. In fact, this is probably my favorite game in the series. If you’re a fan of either the genre or this series specifically, I think you’ll find this game to be a superb feat of ninja magic.

tl;dr – Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an Action-Platformer where players battle a cartoonishly evil organization as the survivor of an attack on your ninja village. This game definitely has its rough spots, but overall this is a beautiful, fun, and varied Action-Platformer that’s sure to please fans of the genre and especially fans of the Shinobi series.

Grade: B+

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