I came into Ninja Gaiden 4 with the conflicted hype only a veteran of the series can feel. I cut my teeth on Black, survived Ninja Gaiden II’s Test of Valor, and—like most of us—pretended Yaiba never happened. After an eleven-year drought, PlatinumGames and Team Ninja’s reunion could have gone either way: a triumphant return to razor-sharp action or a nostalgia-soaked misfire. Fourteen hours on Xbox Series X’s Normal (plus Hard runs and a spin on the ROG Ally) convinced me of this: Ninja Gaiden 4 is a fast, bloody, often brilliant brawler that occasionally trips over its own ambitions—and then flips off a neon billboard and keeps slicing.
Series X on a 120Hz VRR display, performance preset; ASUS ROG Ally in 1080p with FSR Balanced and high object quality. I’m a parry-dodge junkie—speed first, style second, camera snags second rate. With that in mind, let’s dive into neon-drenched streets and kinetic carnage.
The premise is pulpy: supernatural rain floods Tokyo’s cyberpunk alleys, demons emerge like glitching holograms, clans pull unseen strings. Visually, it’s a knockout at first—rain hammers, neon smears across puddles, chrome shafts glint with menace. But by hour eight, the city feels surprisingly claustrophobic. You’ll run the same flooded blocks, steel caverns, sterile labs, and techno-shrines over and over. Photo mode is dead simple (perfect for mid-air decap shots), but you’ll soon be capturing the same palette dressed in slightly different geometry. It’s never ugly, but it rarely surprises.
The whole game bows to its combat, and thank goodness it delivers. Light/heavy chains, launchers, air juggles, evasions that truly matter, and enemy types that keep you guessing. The Blood Raven system is the star: drain a dedicated gauge to enter a cursed stance that shatters shields, cracks armor, and adds a ruthless sheen to your attacks. Weapon swapping is mapped to the D-pad and stays snappy even mid-combo—flow matters more than menu fiddling.
By chapter two, I had a rhythm: dash-in slide (that Vanquish-style ground slide is a joy), launcher, mid-air juggle, grapple yank, and a Blood Raven finisher that spams foes across wet concrete like sacks of meat. When it clicks, it becomes violent choreography—more Bayonetta arena logic than early Ninja Gaiden’s “block, punish, reset.”
Then there’s Berserk: deal and take damage to fill a meter, then unleash steroid storms and a “mass massacre” finisher. It sounds like a panic button, but it’s tuned just shy of easy-mode cheese. In one stretch, I popped Berserk, wandered off for a hidden shrine, and watched the meter evaporate. Lesson learned: Berserk is for bloodlust, not sightseeing.
Yakumo’s toolbox includes grappling lines, wall runs, slides, rails, glides, even liquid surfing on acid rain. Threading a downward rail into a sideways wall-run for a juggling entrance made me grin like a fool. Unfortunately, most rail sequences feel like corridor dashes—spam RB, pray the camera behaves. A couple late-game mashups tie traversal and combat beautifully; we need more of those and fewer “avoid the neon train while camera fights you” moments.
You carry four core weapons (plus a late-game surprise), each with unlockable skill trees. The D-pad switch is instant, keeping momentum tight. Missing are the kaleidoscopic arsenals of earlier entries—no monster-crusher like Enma’s Fang or Kusarigama’s wild coverage. But that four-weapon cap forces clarity: each enemy telegraphs which tool you need, and you learn your kit instead of hoarding it.
Enemy design is mixed: mid-size demon squads are puzzle-fun—break shields with Blood Raven, feed Berserk with fodder, then juggle stragglers. Bosses land hard, with two-phase shifts that force pattern reading. But jetpack grunts and bile-spitting sacs feel padding. Lantern bomb goons make you wish friendly fire was on.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is tough but flexible. Difficulty can be swapped on the fly; Hero mode grants generous assists, including optional invincibility. Frequent, well-placed checkpoints push you to say “one more try.” Complete Terminals called Black Nest nodes to heal, restock at Tyran’s shop (health vials, self-revives), and trigger side missions. If you die repeatedly, the game quietly ups potion drops. Purists can chase Master Ninja difficulty after credits—brutal damage spikes, nastier combos, and no safety net.
The plot involves curses, clans, a priestess, and a Ryu Hayabusa cameo. Tone aims serious but rarely earns the weight. Mid-campaign, you drop into a Ryu flashback and replay abridged earlier levels. It’s a pace-killer—shorter than Devil May Cry 4’s detour but the same sigh-disguised-as-victory feeling. Ryu handles great, but his limited kit made me pine for Yakumo’s toys. After the third “rain-drenched alley” shuffle, campaign flow hits a lull—combat keeps you hooked, but the narrative never finds a second gear.
I expected camera chaos; instead, it’s mostly smarter than series worsts. Lock-on and targeting bias options keep combat readable, even in vertical arenas. Visual off-screen threat warnings saved my ribs. But in tight rooms or U-shaped wall runs, the camera hunts hero-shots while you need ledge clarity. Rail cam angles can rob perfect timing. Friction, not deal-breaker.
Series X performance preset + VRR delivers a mostly stable 60fps, with minor dips during demon pileups smoothed out by VRR. Input stays snappy—slides, dodges, grapples never stuttered. On ROG Ally (1080p, FSR Balanced, high objects), I hovered around 50fps in crowds and above 60 in smaller rooms. Combat remains crisp, though Berserk-driven mosh pits push the frame rate. Dropping to medium objects shaves volatility without costing clarity; battery life still dips under extended sessions.
After the credits, Master Ninja mode unlocks and Prediction Gates beckon with arena challenges. Chasing S-Ranks on Normal or Hard is downright masochistic—perfect parries, flawless chains, flawless style. But the reward of nailing a perfect run on a heartless boss never grows old.
Ninja Gaiden 4 slashes its way back with some of the most kinetic, satisfying combat in the series. Its weaknesses—thin environment variety, pacing stumbles, mediocre traversal cams—never fully derail the ride, but they do leave you wanting more. For veterans and newcomers craving high-octane action, this is a worthy return. Just don’t expect a genre-reinventing narrative.
Score: 8/10
Takeaway: Ninja Gaiden 4 is a near-perfect comeback that scratches the combat itch but trips on its own story and variety.
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