| Ninja Gaiden 4 | ||||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Preview Review | Review |
Ninja Gaiden 4 is an action-adventure game where players take control of Yakumo in the latest entry of the Ninja Gaiden series. Read on to learn everything we know, our review of the demo, and more.
Everything We Know About Ninja Gaiden 4
Ninja Gaiden 4 Plot
Set years after the events of NINJA GAIDEN 3, the story introduces Yakumo, a new protagonist tasked with saving a dark and chaotic version of Tokyo. The city has been ravaged by the return of the Dark Dragon, plunging it into disorder.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Gameplay
NINJA GAIDEN 4 is an action-adventure game that continues the series' legacy of fast-paced combat. Players step into the role of Yakumo, wielding the Bloodbind Ninjutsu to transform weapons and unleash devastating attacks. Traversal has been expanded with rails, wall-runs, and wire-based mobility, allowing for dynamic movement through environments. Combat revolves around rapid shifts between offense and defense, combo chaining, and strategic use of blood essence orbs to restore health or charge ultimate techniques.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Release Date
Ninja Gaiden 4 will release on October 21, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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 PlayStation |
 Xbox |
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| Price | $69.99 | ||||
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Ninja Gaiden 4 Review (Demo)
Sharper Than Ever
It’s been over a decade since Ninja Gaiden 3 dropped, and while the world didn’t stop spinning, the blades certainly stopped flying, at least in mainline form. We’ve had spin-offs, sure. Cameos, collections, crossovers. But nothing quite scratches that specific, surgical itch of high-stakes ninja combat like a proper Ninja Gaiden title. And now, Ninja Gaiden 4 is nearly here.
Thanks to Xbox, we got our hands on the preview demo just days after Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound launched on July 31. And let me tell you right now, this isn’t a soft reboot, a spiritual successor, or a safe victory lap. This is a comeback. One sharp enough to draw blood.
The preview build gave us a taste—four chapters, numbered 00 through 03—just enough to slice into the setup and spill some early impressions. It’s not the full meal, but it’s a damn spicy appetizer.
You step into the blood-slick shoes of Yakumo, a new protagonist tasked with killing a priestess named Seori in a crumbling, cursed version of Tokyo. But as these things go, nothing is quite what it seems. Seori, it turns out, was the one who sealed away the Dark Dragon—the very force now tearing Tokyo apart—and the mission starts unraveling fast. What begins as a targeted hit morphs into something more tangled and potentially far more dangerous. And standing behind it all, like a ghost in the fog, is a familiar shadow, Ryu Hayabusa. The man, the myth, the legend… and maybe more connected to Yakumo than anyone’s letting on.
But before we dive too deep, let’s talk about how this thing actually plays, because Ninja Gaiden 4 doesn’t just dust off the old formula. It reforges it.
The Raven Clan Rises
The world of Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t just darker, it’s decaying. Tokyo, once a vibrant city of steel and neon, is now fractured and flooded with malice. Streets are lined with flickering signs, half-swallowed by creeping roots of dragon corruption.
At the center of it all is Yakumo, a new blade in the storm. He’s not a replacement for Ryu Hayabusa, not really. He’s something else. Sharper in some ways, rougher in others. While the demo keeps his backstory close to the chest, we know this much: he’s part of the Raven clan tasked with eliminating Seori, the priestess in a certain prophecy. But in classic Ninja Gaiden fashion, it’s never that simple.
There’s a quiet tension running through Yakumo’s presence. He’s got that stoic thing going on—standard ninja protocol—but there’s also something almost off about him. Whether it’s how he reacts to certain things or the way Ryu’s or the Hayabusa Clan’s legacy keeps echoing in the background, it’s clear Yakumo isn’t just here to kill.
And that’s what really sets this up as more than just another sequel. Ninja Gaiden 4 knows its roots—it’s not running from the past—but it’s also not interested in retelling it. This is a new character in a collapsing world, with new questions to answer and new blood to spill.
That said, even with the world burning and dragons roaring back to life, none of it matters if the blade doesn’t feel good in your hands.
And oh, it does.
Swords, Shurikens, and Style
Let’s not dance around it, combat is the heart of Ninja Gaiden 4. It always has been for the series, and it still is now. If you’re not here for the high-speed blade ballet of dodges, combos, dismemberments, and deathblows, then I have bad news. But if you are? Oh, you're in for a treat.
The moment I took control of Yakumo, everything felt right. Movement is tight, attacks are responsive, and there's a slickness to the combat flow that just feels Team Ninja. It’s still that third-person, action-adventure, hack-and-slash DNA, but this time it's dressed up in something leaner, faster, and more deliberate.
Classic moves like the Flying Swallow and Izuna Drop make their return, the old-school spin-slice that sends enemies airborne before you dive after them like a red-eyed banshee. It’s familiar, but not stale. The team clearly understands what made these moves iconic and gave them the weight they needed to land with satisfying, crunchy finality.
But Yakumo isn’t just a cosplay Ryu. He’s got some new tricks of his own—and the standout so far is Bloodbind Ninjutsu. Think of it like weapon transformation meets ultimate attack system. Triggering it lets Yakumo reshape his current weapon into a more brutal form for a short time, turning even basic slashes into devastating cleavers of pain. Combine that with his Bloodraven Form, and suddenly you’re slicing through entire squads with a single, cinematic move.
Now, the shuriken? Yeah. Still not a threat. Honestly, they’ve never really been more than a polite way of saying "hi" before you slam your main weapon into someone’s chest. But I found them surprisingly useful, not for raw damage, but for combo extension. If you time them right mid–chain, they’ll keep your streak going long enough to rack up that hit counter and chase after those karmic bonuses.
And that’s the thing here, Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t about spamming one-button wins. This is combat that demands focus. It punishes mindless aggression and rewards rhythm—fast, flowing, precise rhythm. Offense and defense feel like two sides of a coin constantly spinning in your hand. Mistime one dodge, and you’re painting the walls red (with your own insides).
Now, about stealth. Or… lack thereof.
There isn’t a full-fledged stealth system here (at least not yet), but you can pull off what the game calls Assassinations. Basically, get close enough without alerting enemies, and you’ll trigger a takedown animation. It’s slick, sure, but it’s more a nice-to-have than a game-changer. Ninja Gaiden has always been more about slicing through ten enemies at once, not tiptoeing around them. Still, a part of me wonders what a proper stealth sequence could’ve added, even if it’s just one or two mission types. Something slower, tenser, to break up the speed.
But to be clear, this game doesn’t need stealth to feel complete. What it has is already working, it’s just that little "what if" itch that makes you curious.
And then there are Blood Essence orbs. You’ll find them dropped from enemies or scattered through the environment, and they serve a dual purpose: heal yourself, or charge your Ultimate Techniques.
Now on to difficulties, normal mode felt like a warm-up. I breezed through it for the first chapter, only to switch to hard halfway through, and that’s when the real game kicked in. Enemies hit harder and punish sloppiness with a vengeance. I honestly preferred it that way. The jump from normal to hard is steep, sure, but if you’re here for the challenge, it’s worth the climb.
So far, it’s not just about looking cool while fighting. It feels cool. It feels earned. Which, if you ask me, is exactly what this series needed after such a long slumber.
Movement and Momentum
What’s a ninja without mobility? (A samurai, maybe?) Either way, Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t just about slicing through hordes, it’s about moving through them like smoke on the wind. And thankfully, Yakumo doesn’t just fight fast, he moves fast as well. Like, blink-and-you’re-behind-someone fast.
Traversal in NG4 gets a noticeable upgrade, layering in some new systems that go beyond the usual wall-runs and double jumps. The standout addition? Wires and rails. Yes, really. At first, I thought this would feel gimmicky—like something borrowed from another game entirely—but once it clicked, it became a natural part of the flow. You’ll be mid-combat, launch an enemy into the air, spot a post you can zip across to, drop down, Bloodbind your blade, and finish with a killcam-worthy slash. It’s not just traversal. It’s combat choreography.
The wires are especially handy for navigating Tokyo’s broken skyline. The city feels like it's constantly collapsing in on itself, all neon rubble and jagged verticality. These new tools let you stay mobile, stringing movement and action together like a well-edited fight scene. It also gives arenas a bit more dimension, fights don’t stay on the ground for long if you’re using the terrain right.
Yakumo’s movement, in both combat and traversal, feels seamless. There’s this constant sense of momentum, like the game never wants you to stop, not for too long anyway. Fight, leap, dash, assassinate, repeat. It’s a system that rewards aggressive flow while still leaving room for tactical pauses. And once you get into that rhythm, it’s hard to let go.
Trials, Modes, and the Hayabusa Factor
Let’s talk about the other half of this experience, the stuff outside the main story chapters. Because even in this preview build, Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t just handing you a linear campaign and calling it a day. The demo includes a Challenge Mode, which lets you replay individual chapters with modifiers. It’s a fun way to sharpen your skills or experiment with different approaches. Even better? You can switch characters. And by that, I mean, you can play as Ryu Hayabusa.
Yeah. He’s here.
It’s a smart move. On one hand, this gives long-time fans exactly what they’ve been waiting over a decade for—Hayabusa in glorious, current-gen form, flipping, and slicing his way through hell like it’s 2012 again. On the other, it lets newer players compare styles, side-by-side.
And I’ll be honest, I preferred Yakumo. I know. Blasphemy. But Yakumo’s style is airier, almost weightless. His moves feel a touch faster, and maybe that’s intentional. Where Ryu is all coiled precision and weight, Yakumo dances. I don’t think one is better than the other. I just liked the way Yakumo felt in my hands. Sue me.
There are also boss trials, small arenas that pit you against of enemies. I hope they evolve further in the full game. Bonus points if there’s leaderboard integration or co-op later on. What is here already, though, is more than enough. The presence of both Ryu and Yakumo isn’t just a feature. It’s a baton pass, a clear sign that this game is trying to respect its past while building something for the next wave of players.
Cyberpunk Storms and Preview Quirks
The worldbuilding here leans hard into a dark cyber-fantasy aesthetic. Think cursed biotech, rotting billboards, temples fusing with twisted machinery. There’s something grotesquely beautiful about how it all looks, like the soul of old Tokyo has been devoured and replaced with something darker, more feral. The environments aren’t open-world, but they don’t feel restrictive either. There’s enough verticality and path variation that movement remains fluid, and the addition of rails and wires gives traversal a layered, tactical feel.
Visually, the game punches above what you’d expect from a preview build. The lighting, particle effects, and enemy designs are striking. Blood is plentiful (of course), but it’s the sheer velocity of the action that impresses most. The animations are fluid, responsive, and flashy without being unreadable.
That said, it’s still a demo, and it shows in a few places.
One issue I ran into was a hiccup transitioning from Chapter 01 to Chapter 02. After adjusting the difficulty mid-level (from Normal to Hard), the game failed to save my progress properly. It didn’t crash, but the story didn’t continue and the main screen only offered New Game. Could be user error. Could be a demo limitation. Either way, it’s worth noting, even if it’s not game-breaking. This is an early build, after all, but if difficulty-switching mid-chapter causes issues in the full release, that’s something that needs addressing.
Outside of that, nothing major, maybe the occasional camera hiccup when cornered in tight environments. But these are preview problems, not red flags. If anything, they serve as reminders that what we’re playing now is almost there… but not quite final.
Blades Drawn, Eyes Forward
Look, it’s been over a decade since Ninja Gaiden 3, and for some fans, that wait felt like a silent funeral procession. But here we are in 2025, and Ninja Gaiden 4 is breathing. Not just breathing, no, it’s leaping, flipping, and cutting through the fog of dormancy with something to prove.
From the four chapters I’ve played, Ninja Gaiden 4 feels like it’s striking a rare balance. Faithful but fresh, flashy but functional, and difficult but fair (at least on hard mode). Combat is tight, movement is fluid, and the systems are just layered enough to get you thinking without overloading your reflexes. Whether you’re a veteran chasing high-difficulty thrills or a newcomer who just wants to carve through cyber-demons in style, there’s something here for you.
Yakumo is a strong lead. Not just a Ryu-lite, not a generic insert protagonist, he’s got his own flavor, and I’m genuinely excited to see how his arc unfolds. And Ryu’s inclusion? It’s more than just a cameo.
The world’s a win, too. The cyber-apocalypse Tokyo vibe is drenched in grit and neon, striking enough to set it apart from past entries without feeling like an identity crisis. It’s still Ninja Gaiden, just reimagined for a darker timeline.
Now, is everything perfect? No. The demo had a few quirks, some save issues, difficulty transitions that didn’t play nice, and a couple rough edges that you’d expect from a preview build. But none of them screamed fatal flaw. If anything, they were reminders that we’re looking at a nearly-finished slice of something bigger.
And what a slice it is. October can’t come soon enough.
Game8 Reviews
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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 |
| Official Website | Ninja Gaiden 4 Official Website |
