The Ninja Gaiden series stands among the best action franchises in gaming history, but the mainline titles have been dormant for more than a decade. So, it was a surprise when publisher Koei Tecmo announced earlier this year that a new game was in the works, with the action masters at Platinum Games steering the wheel. Happily, it's a good pairing. Platinum Games' signature arcade-style action shines in Ninja Gaiden 4 (reviewed on PC, also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S), courtesy of on-the-fly weapon switching and free-form combos. That said, this comes at the cost of the technical finesse, fighting elements, and tight mission structure that have made the series so successful. Despite these shortcomings, Ninja Gaiden 4 ($69.99) remains a strong action title for returning fans.

New Progatonist, Forgettable Story

In Ninja Gaiden 4, you play as newcomer Yakumo and series veteran Ryu Hayabusa as they work to prevent the resurrection of the evil Dark Dragon. The great beast was revived in a ritual prior to the game's start, and although its full rebirth was thwarted, its skeletal husk remains hanging over Tokyo, raining miasma upon the city. Both ninjas traverse the ruined city as they attempt to permanently put an end to the monster. 

(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)

In truth, Ninja Gaiden 4’s plot serves as a schlocky framework to support the bloodbath on display. In fact, the story makes little sense. I won’t spoil anything, but the character development is shallow as a puddle, and the plot twists are predictable and impotent. As a fan of the series, I can't say that the nonsense story detracted much from the game, but it certainly didn’t elevate it. Don't think about it too much: Just grab your sword and hack apart demons and cyber-soldiers. 

Streamlined Gameplay: A New Spin on Classic Ninja Gaiden

Let's get this out of the way: Ninja Gaiden 4 does not play like the older Ninja Gaiden games. The series earned its reputation for action by incorporating fighting game mechanics into its combo and movement systems. A combo's basic hit-stun featured numerous variations— crumple stun, spin stun, stagger—determined by the specific attack. As a result, mastering Ryu Hayabusa's combos meant better control over the enemies you fought. This is not the case in Ninja Gaiden 4.

(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)

In Ninja Gaiden 4's defense, it incorporates some of these core mechanics, making it one of the most technically challenging action titles Platinum Games has produced. Learning how to perform and utilize mechanics like on-landing attacks, guard breaks, and the various stuns helps you control the relentless enemies the game throws your way. The combo system is decidedly more lenient, so you can freestyle your combos now. See an enemy charging a heavy attack? Use the convenient new Bloodraven or Gleam attacks to break its defense: There's no need to learn which combos guard break anymore. 

It's a more noob-friendly system, but longtime series fans may not like this mechanical change. Because Ninja Gaiden 4's combos don’t have unique properties to the same degree as the older games, you can get by with simply mashing light attacks and injecting a heavy attack to launch enemies. That's not to say the new combo system is bad; some new mechanics require precision and mastery to compensate for the streamlined combos. I'll discuss those in a bit. Still, I miss the rich combo systems of the earlier games. 

(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)

New Mechanics: Bloodraven, Parries, and Berserk

New to Ninja Gaiden is the Bloodraven Form, a special weapon stance for Yakumo that feels pulled straight from Anarchy Reigns, Platinum Games' 2012 action game. Yakumo possesses a unique magic that transforms his weapon, allowing him to assume the Bloodraven Form and gain potent new attacks. It gives you eight weapons to switch between on the fly: four core weapons and their four Bloodraven variants. These attacks are not infinite, however. Bloodraven Form is powered by a magic meter that you fill by fighting and defeating enemies. This mechanic creates a satisfying interplay between using your combos to build meter, then burning it with your Bloodraven attacks to dish out big damage. 

Guard breaks are also tied to this system. Even the most basic enemy mooks can block and parry, and you cannot overcome their defenses with your regular combos. So, a well-timed Bloodraven Form attack punches through their guards and creates openings. 

Platinum Games reworked the classic Ninja Gaiden counterattack system to favor weapon parries, like those seen in Final Fantasy XVI. There's a conventional block, but if you want to pull off flashy counters, you must be aggressive and attack right before an enemy's strike lands. Your Bloodraven Form determines the type of counterattack you can perform. A parry with a basic weapon gives you a hard-hitting, enemy-interrupting strike. In contrast, a parry with a Bloodraven weapon gives you a brutal special attack that deals heavy damage.

The issue is that the new weapon parry system is considerably less reliable than the older one, which required you to hold block and time an attack input in sync with the incoming blow. The new system makes it exceptionally challenging to time a weapon parry between attacking, defending, and dashing across the battlefield. It feels like a needless and overdesigned change.

A separate, circular gauge under the magic gauge represents the new Berserk status. Much like Bloodraven's magic, you build the meter by fighting and killing enemies. However, it steadily depletes if you stop your assault, forcing you to play aggressively to maintain it. Once full, you can trigger a Berserk state, which enhances your Bloodraven attacks. Charging those attacks while in Berserk triggers a flashy Bloodbath Kill that outright defeats weaker enemies. However, when you initiate Berserk, the gauge quickly depletes, giving you only a limited time to perform the kills. I like this system, which feels like a clever rework of the Bloody Rage combo modifier and Steel On Bone kill systems in Ninja Gaiden 3. 

(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)

Ryu Hayabusa's Questionable Inclusion

Despite Ryu Hayabusa being the series's longstanding protagonist, he is sidelined by Yakumo in Ninja Gaiden 4. Although this in itself isn't a problem, his inclusion is superfluous. Ryu has story presence, but his gameplay chapters are a joke; they're essentially retreads of a few Yakumo missions and boss fights. One chapter is a singular room from earlier in the game, with an enemy gauntlet and boss fight. It feels incredibly slapdash. It's especially frustrating because Yakumo's missions are too long. The meandering narrative and repetitive stages drag on, making Yakumo's tale feel two hours longer than it should be. Ryu's portions could've used that extra length.

Ryu's mechanics are lifted from Ninja Gaiden 3, but even this is handled lazily due to the developers removing his charge attacks that widened his combo options. Even Ryu's Gleam Form, his version of Bloodraven Form, is nowhere near as extensive as what Yakumo gets. Even more disappointingly, Ryu only has a single weapon: his trusty Dragon Sword.

It's a bummer. Ryu is still somewhat fun to play as, and you can technically replay the entire game with him after you finish, but this doesn't change the fact that the longtime hero doesn’t have much going for him in Ninja Gaiden 4. He feels like a glorified skin.

(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)

Excellent Replay Value and Unlockables

One aspect of Ninja Gaiden 4 that deserves much praise is its replay value. After you clear the game, you unlock several challenge modes to put your skills to the test. These include boss challenges, enemy gauntlets, and chapter challenges that let you replay any story beat with either Ryu or Yakumo to earn a better score or find hidden treasures you may have missed.

Some gear also becomes available to purchase only after clearing the game. For example, you can buy a talisman using in-game currency that gives the Bloodraven and Gleam attacks a chance to instantly kill enemies, but you'll no longer generate berserk meter. This makes Ninja Gaiden 4 one of the most feature-complete games in the series. 

Ninja Gaiden 4: Minimum and Recommended System Specs

To play Ninja Gaiden 4, your gaming PC must house an AMD Ryzen 5 3400G or Intel i5-8400 CPU, AMD Radeon RX 590 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 100GB of available storage. The recommended system specs bump the requirements to an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel i5-10400 CPU, and an AMD Radeon RX 5700XT or Nvidia RTX 2600 Super GPU.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is one of the better-optimized games I've played this year. My test PC, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU, and 16GB of RAM, allowed me to play at 60fps/1440p with medium graphical settings. I experienced minor frame dips during a few combat encounters, but that was the extent of the gameplay issues. Otherwise, no crashes, no obnoxious cache stuttering, and no shader compilation woes. 

It has conventional controller support, as well as keyboard and mouse support—a first for the series. Although I'm a die-hard controller user for action titles, the keyboard and mouse controls feel surprisingly fluid. I had a smile on my face while pulling off the classic Izuna Drop with KB/M controls.

Additionally, the game utilizes various Steam features, including Steam Achievements, Family Sharing, and Steam Trading Cards. It's also Steam Deck verified, and although I didn't extensively experiment with it, Ninja Gaiden 4 ran at a satisfactory 30fps on my test handheld gaming PC.