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Review information
Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Release date: August 29, 2025
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an all-new side-scrolling action title from Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap developer Lizardcube. As someone who’s loved the dev’s previous works, I’m happy to say its take on Sega’s legendary Shinobi series is nothing short of a slam dunk.
The Lizardcube staples are all here. Sublime hand-drawn visuals, slick and responsive combat, and plenty of replay value after you’ve rolled credits. Art of Vengeance is a game that – much like Streets of Rage 4 before it – is maddeningly hard to stop playing.
Each and every stage offers a unique flavor, in terms of both setting and gimmicks. There are some light metroidvania elements, with opportunities to explore off the critical path for vital upgrades and abilities, but that’s (perhaps thankfully) not the main focus. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is more linear than, say, a Hollow Knight or a Metroid Dread, and that’s no bad thing.
The bulk of gameplay here, then, is a careful mix of platforming, light puzzle-solving, and that oh-so moreish combat, which quite honestly is some of the best-feeling and most satisfying I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a side-scroller in a long while. It mixes Shinobi staples like throwing kunai and powerful Ninpo spells with combo-happy melee combat that constantly thrills, especially in boss fights and optional challenges.
While Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master will likely always be my favorite game in the series, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance can absolutely be mentioned in the same breath as that Sega Mega Drive classic.
A-to-Z of vengeance
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance puts players back in the role of series protagonist Joe Musashi, head of the Oboro ninja clan. The game’s subtitle is adequately portrayed in its opening chapters, as a powerful warlord named Ruse and his ENE Corp forces raze the clan’s village to ashes and wipe out just about everyone, save Musashi himself. Thus does his road to vengeance begin.
The plot is thin, but accomplishes what it sets out to do, taking a backseat to the action. Some cutscenes and fully-voiced interludes between stages add a good amount of flavor, but certainly don’t overstay their welcome. Musashi only communicates in vaguely threatening grunts, which leads to the odd bit of humor as other characters attempt to get the gist of what he’s saying.
If this is your first exposure to the Shinobi series, you might be surprised by its futuristic setting. Things start out simply enough in the rustic Oboro clan village, but Musashi will also make his way through neon-drenched city skylines, a fish market, lantern festival, and even a high-tech laboratory as just some of the stops on his journey. Each level is jam-packed with detail, too, and eagle-eyed Sega fans will spot plenty of loving references and cameos (be sure to check the background of the fish market stage for a Shenmue-themed surprise!).
Art of the kill
Musashi’s combat abilities are the bread and butter of the game. He’s an incredibly powerful force of destruction, with a broad list of melee attacks and combos; more of which can be unlocked in shops with coins collected from defeated enemies and optional challenges.
Musashi can also toss kunai to dispatch distant foes, Ninpo spells that achieve a variety of effects (such as countering powerful attacks or breathing flames for massive damage), as well as screen-clearing Ninjutsu arts to get yourself out of a bind.
Best bit
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance does several things expertly, but nothing quite beats clearing out rooms of goons with Musashi’s surprisingly robust move set. Enemy variety is excellent, too, making for several thrilling encounters that properly make you feel like a master ninja.
Supplementing Art of Vengeance’s combat is the Execution gauge, which all enemies have. Filling it will allow Musashi to instantly kill a foe regardless of their remaining health. Chaining several of these together isn’t only satisfying, it provides Musashi with health and kunai refills as well as an abundance of coins.
Enemy variety in Art of Vengeance is superb, and you’ll need to change up your approach depending on the types of baddies you encounter. Some toss shuriken from afar, while others will rush you with combos of their own. Some enemies can fly or even control space with a rain of arrows. Later on in the game you’ll also encounter armored foes which resist staggering until fully depleted, and these are best handled with particular moves or Ninpo abilities.
Above all, combat in Art of Vengeance just feels fantastic. There’s a satisfying amount of hit stun on Musashi’s attacks, and his nimble movement makes darting between targets a joy. Stealth and subtlety are simply not part of the Musashi playbook.
What I will say is that Musashi is so incredibly powerful that the game isn’t particularly hard. There are some challenging boss fights and optional encounters (and some of the late game platforming challenges truly tried my patience), but Art of Vengeance is a pretty forgiving game overall with unlimited lives and generous checkpointing – even on normal difficulty. I think the game could benefit from a harder difficulty option, perhaps as part of a post-launch update.
Lastly, I did run into a small handful of bugs during my playthrough. In one level, the map stopped updating Musashi’s location after exiting an Ankou Rift challenge. Another completely froze the game upon executing a Ninjutsu technique. Both were solved by simply resetting the game, but I naturally hope small issues like this will be patched out on or close to launch day.
Should you play Shinobi: Art of Vengeance?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance doesn’t have much in the way of robust accessibility options, sadly. You can fully remap controls, however, and custom difficulty options exist including variants on enemy damage and attack frequency.
How I reviewed Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance took me around 16 hours for 100% completion. That included a full campaign playthrough, as well as full completion achieved on all stages. I fully explored each level’s map, uncovering secrets like upgrades, abilities and Ninpo techniques. I also took some time to play some stages via the unlockable score-based Arcade mode as well as Boss Rush for an extra challenge.
First reviewed August 2025
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