Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound mini review

A video game menu titled Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is flanked by illustrations of two ninja characters.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound since it launched about a week ago. For $25, this is a killer Metroidvania adjacent game.

Super fluid and responsive controls. One thing that added to the difficulty on older games in the series was that classic, infuriatingly calculated movement. Every step and every swing of your sword had to be completely intentional or you’d get put in your place before you even have time to blink.

Ragebound plays more like an arcade platformer — high speed and much more forgiving.

Coming from The Game Kitchen, I expected this to be as impossibly difficult as Blasphemous but it’s actually pretty easy to pick up and play a little bit at a time.

Until you start getting to some of the tougher bosses, anyway. Those feel very much like Blasphemous, only with no real parry system aside from a mid-air maneuver you can do to springboard off enemies.

It’s punishing at times, but I’d expect nothing less from this type of hack and slash platformer.

Retro games are my jam. If it’s pixelated and scrolls horizontally, it doesn’t take much to impress me. If you’re into side scrollers, and especially if you’re a fan of Blasphemous, you’ll love this one too.

Same goes if you like the rest of the Ninja Gaiden games, Shinobi or even newer stuff like The Messenger.

I still have a ways to go, but so far this is one of my favorite games from 2025.

Some random screenshots:

Two ninjas are poised to clash in front of a large, bright full moon against a deep blue sky.A hooded warrior with a sword faces a cloaked figure holding a scythe under a bright moonlit sky.A video game menu titled Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is flanked by illustrations of two ninja characters.A red-haired warrior stands overlooking a mountainous landscape while a suited man adjusts his sunglasses, accompanied by a dialogue about a Hayabusa Ninja.A masked warrior confronts a creature with glowing eyes in a dark, wooden interior, with dialogue at the bottom of the scene.A warrior stands ready to fight a large, dark creature in a fiery, damaged wooden building.A stylized, dramatic illustration of two figures locked in a dynamic pose with a glowing blue light emanating between them against a dark background.A muscular warrior with red hair and a mask stands with a surprised expression, contemplating a mysterious power.A close-up of a character with intense eyes, wearing a helmet, features text about losing blood and urgency.A character with white hair and purple armor is entangled in a web-like substance, while another figure with long red hair watches from below.

Notes