| Ninja Gaiden 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | DLC & Pre-Order | Preview Review | Review |
Ninja Gaiden 4 Review Overview
What is Ninja Gaiden 4?
NINJA GAIDEN 4 marks the return of the legendary action-adventure hack-and-slash series after 13 years, set to release on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on October 21, 2025. The game is co-developed by Team Ninja, PlatinumGames, and KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD., and published by Xbox Game Studios.
Set years after the events of NINJA GAIDEN 3, the story introduces a new protagonist, Yakumo, who must save a dark and chaotic version of Tokyo. The city has been devastated by the return of the Dark Dragon, plunging it into turmoil. Yakumo faces cybernetic ninja soldiers, monstrous creatures, and an ancient curse as he uncovers his destiny, which ties him to the iconic Ryu Hayabusa.
The developers promise to uphold the series’ trademark high-speed, challenging combat, blending Team Ninja’s refined combat philosophy with PlatinumGames’ signature dynamic and stylish action. Players can expect visually striking battles that reward precision, skill, and strategy.
Ninja Gaiden 4 features:
⚫︎ Fast-Paced Action Hack-and-Slash
⚫︎ Skill-Intensive Combat Design
⚫︎ Different Weapons and Skills to Use
⚫︎ Multiple Enemy Varieties
⚫︎ New Training Mode
⚫︎ Multiple Difficulties and Accessibility Settings
⚫︎ Global Leaderboards and Score Rankings
⚫︎ Various Combat Challenges and Boss Trials
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Ninja Gaiden 4’s gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
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| $69.99 | |||||
Ninja Gaiden 4 Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Gritty Atmosphere And Stylish Visuals Fast-Paced and Satisfying Combat Customizable Difficulty Amazing Variety For Combat |
Inconsistent Checkpoints Lackluster Narrative and Characters |
Ninja Gaiden 4 Story - 6/10
From a narrative standpoint, the story of Ninja Gaiden 4 is as straight as an arrow and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s not amazing by any means, but it has enough story beats to keep you interested and invested. However, I can’t say the same about most of the characters and the many plot holes in its writing, as both elements are clearly flawed and as deep as a pond.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Gameplay - 10/10
The gameplay is what you would expect from a collaborative effort between Team NINJA and Platinum Games: fast-paced, violent, and skill-intensive. The amount of player agency it gives you to let you be the aggressor against a group of equally aggressive enemies is staggering and could easily be the main highlight of the series as a whole. The gameplay loop of constant action and fighting is addictive, to the point where you don’t want to put the game down.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Visuals - 9/10
In terms of visuals, Ninja Gaiden 4 looks amazing. The grim and dark atmosphere serves as a great set piece to the game’s overall aesthetic. Paired with the amazing animations that showcase its unique blend of violence and style, it’s a game that serves up eye candy both in form and function.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Audio - 8/10
The audio design is mostly great. The sound effects and music enhance the game’s presentation, blending seamlessly with both the action and graphics. Other than that, the voice acting is what pulls it down a bit, mainly on the delivery and tone of certain characters.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Value for Money - 9/10
For $69.99, Ninja Gaiden 4 offers a wealth of content to play through and repeat again and again. The main campaign is a good 10-12 hour experience of playtime, depending mostly on your skill to complete the missions as quickly and efficiently as you can. Alongside this, the game also has a healthy amount of challenge modes where you can play through several boss and combat trials to either compete for rankings on the global leaderboards or simply sharpen your skills.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Overall - 84/100
Ninja Gaiden 4 is a triumph of reinvigorating a dormant series, in more ways than one. The frenetic pace, stylish visuals, snappy animations, and constant aggression cement the game as a sequel that greatly delivers to fans who have been waiting for upwards of a decade. Although the narrative leaves much to be desired, it’s the perfect comeback release for a franchise that could be considered one of the major pillars of action games and a great symbolic passing of the torch as the series moves forward.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Review: Flashier, Bloodier, And Deadlier Than Ever
While I’ve played many video games in the many years of living, the one series that’s been memorable to me, despite being exposed to the series a bit late, has been Ninja Gaiden. Izuna dropping enemies was just the tip of the iceberg that makes the series memorable, but the one thing that really stuck with me was that they give you a ton of moves and options for a reason.
For over a decade, Ninja Gaiden fans have had to live with almost accepting the franchise to be completely done with. Things changed when Team NINJA and Platinum Games wanted to give the series a new lease on life, as they dubbed 2025: Year of the Ninja with a new remake of the most popular game in the series, a new spinoff title, as well as a sequel that continues the story of everyone’s favorite Super Ninja, Ryu Hayabusa.
And that day has finally come. The long-awaited fourth installment of the Ninja Gaiden series has finally arrived. Thanks to Xbox, we at Game8 got our hands on a review copy weeks before the release to get them dirty by fighting cyborg ninjas, demons, and more. Let me be the one to tell you right now, Ninja Gaiden 4 is definitely a sharper, bloodier, and crazier comeback than I’ve ever seen.
New Clan, New Man
Set after the events of Ninja Gaiden 3, when the Dark Dragon was supposedly slain by the hands of Ryu Hayabusa, its husk remains coiled over Tokyo and has caused a never-ending downpour of cursed rain called the Rain of Darkrot. With the dragon not completely slain but only sealed off, a ninja from the Raven Clan, Yakumo, takes the mission of eliminating the divine dragon for good by killing the very priestess who sealed it.
Plans change, however, when Yakumo encounters the Dark Dragon priestess in question by the name of Seori, who divulges the truth of what the prophecy he’s trying to fulfill is actually saying. A direct descendant of the Dark Dragon is the only one who can purify it, and Yakumo is the only man for the job. With the mission changed, Yakumo has to break the seals to free the Dark Dragon and purify it to end the curse plaguing Tokyo, as well as free his clan’s bloodied name.
In terms of visuals, Ninja Gaiden 4 is an amazing game to look at and see unfold. Additionally, the performance of the game is also noteworthy, as my playthrough was done on a PS5 with a priority on frame rate. As a gamer who prioritizes performance over graphical fidelity, I was glad that the game barely had any issues during gameplay.
Along with the buttery smooth performance, the overall visuals of the game are simply sublime. The balance of flash and violence is the selling point of its aesthetic, supported perfectly by its snappy and fluid animations and breakneck pace of gameplay. It’s a case of having the visuals perfectly match the lore and gameplay to a tee.
Both the character and environment designs are also noteworthy, as the latter showcases how far they can push a vibrant yet dark theme with the many places you get to explore and wreak havoc in. The cursed rain and everlasting darkness make every area seem bleak, yet each region
(for lack of a better term) has a distinct vibrance to it.
As a character, Yakumo is a classic brooding anti-hero
type of character. Think Shadow the Hedgehog meets Cloud Strife. To label him as an edgy character is an understatement, and every interaction he has in the game is proof of how dark and brooding he can get. He’s callous and acts like he doesn’t care much for the others around him, but given that he took a chance on Seori, he’s a little more nuanced than that.
That being said, he’s clearly no Ryu Hayabusa either, and there’s a reason for this.
For instance, he’s trying to clear the name of his clan while the Hayabusa Clan reaps the rewards for saving the world. The reason for being ostracized is that the Raven Clan is a direct descendant of the Dark Dragon, the same one the Hayabusas have been stopping for centuries now. And even when they’ve been helping the Hayabusas from the shadows, they’re still a clan that no one really cares about for the most part.
Two Different Ninjas, Two Different Styles
Yakumo being different also carries over to his gameplay. One of the main things that separates him from Ryu is the use of Bloodbind Ninjutsu, which allows him to imbue his weapons with blood and change them into their Bloodraven Forms and gives him access to a different moveset entirely.
For example, Yakumo’s first weapon, the Takeminakata, is a pair of katanas in its base form, but in the Bloodraven Form, it becomes a singular blood-red tachi that can be extended for a longer range. By this part alone, Yakumo already has more tools to play with than Ryu, especially when Ryu himself only gets to use the Dragon Sword and his Ninpo in this game.
To add to this, their base movesets are also quite far apart. Veterans of the series will know the importance of understanding the best attack strings and combos to use for that sweet delimb and Obliteration. Since Yakumo uses unfamiliar weapons and has new animations and mechanics, even the most hardcore of players will have to relearn or discover his best attack strings.
But don’t fret; it’s not all different. Many of the series’ iconic moves are still very much in the game and can be used by both Yakumo and Ryu. Moves like the Izuna Drop, Wind Run, Flying Swallow, Guillotine Throw, Ultimate Techniques, Shuriken Canceling, and more are included in both of their arsenals.
The main caveats are that Yakumo has to learn these techniques by purchasing them with NinjaCoin and that Ryu will have most of his other upgrades through treasure chests in his specific stages.
Adapt Or Die
Veterans of the series might be disappointed to know that the combat system has been changed. More specifically, Ninja Gaiden 4 in particular adds common mechanics from some of the more modern action games. In this case, the game includes perfect parries, perfect blocks, and perfect dodges into the mix.
To add to this, the reward of landing a perfect parry is miles better than a perfect block or dodge. Meaning that if you want the most damage, then you’ll have to use the riskiest defensive option available. It’s not like the dodge and reposition type of gameplay has been entirely reduced to a fraction of what it was, but the new mechanics give you more options to keep the aggression.
The satisfaction of landing these perfect mechanics is unmatched as well, especially when you pull off a Perfect Fatal Flash to get out of being swarmed by a ton of enemies and delimb some of them in the process. Longtime fans of the series might disagree with me on this one, but the addition of these mechanics makes for a more intuitive combat experience. Not only that, but Team NINJA has also expressed wanting to expand their audience and coerce newcomers into trying the game and series with this release, so the shift to its combat system was to be expected.
But does that mean that the difficulty is much easier this time around? Definitely not.
Master Ninja Difficulty is Still Brutal
To put the difficulty levels in simpler terms, the first three (Hero, Normal, and Hard) are about what you would expect from a series that’s known to be punishing yet fair. However, Master Ninja difficulty is a completely different experience.
For context, I played through the Story Mode on Normal difficulty and ran through some chapters and bosses on Hard. The difficulty spike between them was noticeable, but not to the extent that it was unfair. But when I tried replaying the Story Mode on Master Ninja, I was immediately humbled and reminded that to finish it on this difficulty, I would have to get good and play a lot differently.
Target priority, knowledge of the best delimb strings, launchers, stun combos, and the proper use of i-frames are the minimal requirements to get farther in that particular difficulty, which was pretty similar to how it was in the past. One thing to note is that the grunt-level enemies are the most dangerous opponents in the series, as underestimating any enemy can lead to a quick game-over screen.
The aggressive behavior and the alarming damage output by enemies who are constantly trying to swarm you pair well with the addition of the new combat mechanics, especially since you’ll be needing to know how to parry enemies to get the ever-important Blood Orbs for Ultimate Techniques.
Even Ninjas Make Mistakes
One of the weak points of the game is its narrative. Now, the overall story of the Ninja Gaiden series isn’t exactly the most memorable or the most well-written. Especially when in the earlier games, the complete lore keeps getting wilder the more hours you put into it. Without going into spoiler territory, two things are holding the game back: the writing, flat characters, and forced pacing.
Retcons and omissions are apparent, especially to those who are longtime fans of the series. The new additions don’t make cohesive sense with the already established lore of the series. The Raven Clan’s existence alone is already something that messes with the series’ storyline. You would think that Ryu would already know about their particular clan, especially when he’s been going against the Dark Dragon for decades now.
In addition to the story being spotty, the characters themselves were also criminally underutilized and unexplored. It feels as if some of them were mostly just there for shock value or just to add a few lines of dialogue. As a result, most of them are about as shallow as a pond, offering nothing to the story.
There are also quite a few forced slowdowns to account for dialogue and story beats, which ruin the game’s pacing. It feels particularly bad because it puts the brakes on the gameplay when the whole design is made to be played quickly.
Bosses Are Much Better This Time Around
One of the key things that the series needed to improve on was the overall boss design. There are some exceptions in the older series, but these felt like a dime a dozen. Fights like the Helicopter in the first game, Gigadeath in the second game, and some of the dinosaurs in Razor’s Edge.
During my playthrough of the game, most of the bosses were some of the most enjoyable parts of the game, especially the humanoid ones. This isn’t to say that they were perfect, as there still were annoying sequences and bosses in general, but it felt as if these fights don't compromise the fun out of the gameplay when going through them.
It's also apparent that the bosses gradually go up in difficulty the farther you are in the Story, where the last few bosses definitely ramp up the challenge. Regardless, the boss design has significantly been improved to where I could say that most of the boss fights weren't a slog to deal with.
Is Ninja Gaiden 4 Worth It?
Absolutely! For Newcomers and Veterans Alike!
For $69.99, Ninja Gaiden 4 is an amazing comeback and a reminder that the traditional hack-and-slash action is here to stay. It’s the perfect game to reinvigorate the series with its stylish presentation, addictive gameplay loop, and rewarding skill-based combat. Sure, it has its flaws with the story, but the main draw of the series has always been its gameplay, specifically the balance of having difficult encounters and a multitude of options.
In addition, the replayability of the series has always been perfecting the execution of all the different moves together, especially when you attempt to replay its missions and boss fights on harder difficulties. Is it a one-to-one recreation of the past Ninja Gaiden design? No. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. The series was in dire need of a modernization because action games have been evolving for the past decade. In my opinion, I fully recommend playing the game for both newcomers and veterans alike.
Platinum Games and Team NINJA were able to meet in the middle by adapting a more modern approach with its new combat mechanics while capturing the essence of what made it popular in the first place. It's clear that the game is a passing of the torch to a new age and protagonist from Ryu to Yakumo, and I, for one, am looking forward to what this brings the series in the near future.
Besides, it's not like the Super Ninja is totally gone from the picture, we're already expecting more from him with the upcoming Two Masters DLC. I just hope we get a Tag Mission mode where we can see both ninjas in action.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PlayStation |
Xbox |
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| $69.99 | |||||
Ninja Gaiden 4 FAQ
Will Ninja Gaiden 4 Be Available on Game Pass?
Yes. Ninja Gaiden 4 will be available on day one with a Game Pass subscription. For more information, please check out this article!
What are the System Requirements for PC to play Ninja Gaiden 4?
The System Requirements as listed on Steam are as follows:
| Specifications | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10/11 64-bit | |
| Processor | Intel® Core™ i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen™ 5 3400G | Intel® Core™ i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen™ 5 3600 |
| Memory | 16GB RAM | |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (VRAM 6GB) or AMD Radeon™ RX 590(VRAM 8GB) | NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 Super(VRAM 8GB) or AMD Radeon™ RX 5700XT(VRAM 8GB) |
| Storage | 100 GB | |
| Additional Specs | Direct X12; SSD Required. 1080p / 30FPS, FSR quality "Low", Object Quality "Low" | Direct X12; SSD Required. 1080p / 30FPS, FSR quality "Middle", Object Quality "Middle" |
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Ninja Gaiden 4 Product Information
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| Title | NINJA GAIDEN 4 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | October 21, 2025 |
| Developer | PlatinumGames Inc., Team NINJA, KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD |
| Publisher | Xbox Game Studios |
| Supported Platforms | PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Genre | Action, Adventure |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | M+17 |
| Official Website | Ninja Gaiden 4 Official Website |
