Ninja Gaiden 4

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC

Seconds into Ninja Gaiden 4's story, you'll find yourself running atop a speeding train while effortlessly carving through swarms of heavily-armored, steel-wielding cybernetic super soldiers. As you pinball between the baddies at a breakneck pace, liberally painting the environments with their spurting viscera, the battle pauses… for the "Dismemberment & Obliteration" tutorial.

With the ability to decapitate and lop limbs added to your already capable arsenal, you'll take a moment to, er, sharpen these skills on a fresh, eager army of doomed marks. But before the new targets' severed parts can tumble off the side of the hurtling locomotive, the relentless slaughter takes another brief breather so your even more powerful "Bloodraven Form" can be introduced.

The gore-soaked, lightning-quick combat that kicks off the campaign rarely lets up...

Needless to say, Ninja Gaiden is back in a big way.

The gore-soaked, lightning-quick combat that kicks off the campaign rarely lets up, only occasionally subsiding – as mentioned above – to school you on even more imaginative ways to eviscerate your enemies. But more than simply supporting the satisfying swordplay and cinematic style, your continuously evolving skills complement a deep, layered system that ensures the action remains rewarding and challenging even late into the game's 15 or so hour campaign.

And while you'll feel like an unstoppable force for the first few chapters, Ninja Gaiden 4's difficulty indeed ramps up – especially when facing its more formidable boss baddies – to match your own growing skill set and selection of weapons. The result is a sometimes punishing, yet delicately balanced action-fueled romp that feels like a breath of fresh air in the face of all the soulslikes that have become the default "hard" games.

While Team Ninja and PlatinumGames killer collaboration serves up a fast-paced, adrenaline-packed experience the likes of which we haven't blistered our thumbs on since  2019's Devil May Cry 5, its blissful ballet of blades is somewhat lessened by uninspired level design and lackluster storytelling. These elements are more than serviceable in supporting the stellar action, but it's also clear they didn't receive the same attention as the incredibly polished combat.

Following a disappointing third installment released over a decade ago, Ninja Gaiden 4 sees one of the medium's most revered action franchises return with a vengeance. And while some of its edges aren't quite as sharp as Ryu Hayabusa's iconic Dragon Sword, its endlessly engaging combat easily overshadows its shortcomings.