If you want better bug frequency
Choose Pragmata. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for bug frequency, with a 4.3 overall score.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Review
Bottom Line
Choose Shinobi: Art of Vengeance for gorgeous 2D art, fluid combat, and rewarding replay. Skip it if you need deep storytelling, flawless platforming, or smooth Switch performance.
Best for
Best for players who want a stylish 2D action platformer with deep combat, fast movement, secrets, and strong replay incentives. It especially suits Shinobi fans open to a modernized revival rather than a pure throwback.
Not for
Not for players who mainly want a deep narrative, purely linear stages, multiplayer features, or perfectly consistent precision platforming. Switch players sensitive to frame-rate dips should also be cautious.
Verdict
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a highly successful retro revival built around elite hand-drawn presentation, fast movement, and a combat system reviewers repeatedly describe as fluid, deep, and satisfying. The tradeoff is that its Metroidvania-lite structure does not land for everyone: exploration and replayable secrets delight completionists, but some reviewers find backtracking, long stages, and optional precision platforming frustrating. The story is generally treated as simple set dressing rather than a major strength, and Switch-focused impressions note performance caveats. Even with those limitations, the consensus points to a stylish, modernized action platformer whose combat and visual craft carry the experience.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
63 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.033 (52%)
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Positive 3.5-4.418 (29%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.411 (17%)
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Negative 1.5-2.41 (2%)
Pros highlights
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Combat is the most consistently praised attribute, with reviewers calling it fluid, deep, expressive, satisfying, and central to the game’s appeal.
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Reviewers broadly describe the revival as faithful to Shinobi’s legacy while modernizing it with new structure, combat depth, and visual presentation.
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The hand-drawn art direction receives near-universal praise for its style, cohesion, painterly look, and strong franchise fit.
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Platforming is often praised as tight, precise, and rewarding, though several reviewers flag optional challenge rooms or late-game traversal as frustrating or inconsistent.
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Exploration is divisive: many enjoy secrets, replayable routes, and rewards, while others find backtracking or Metroidvania-lite detours less compelling.
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Content variety is strong across stage themes, optional challenges, enemy encounters, bonus levels, and replay modes, though some side segments are less loved.
Cons highlights
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Narrative quality is the most mixed creative element: some call it one of the franchise’s better stories, while many describe it as simple, thin, or tonally inconsistent.
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Frame rate stability is mixed, especially on Switch, where reviewers note dips or painful frame-rate issues despite otherwise strong presentation.
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Writing quality is mixed-to-weak, with reviewers describing the script as fine, tropey, or not especially nuanced.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in camera behavior, menu usability, crash stability, near average in narrative quality, exploration quality, below average in world-building, emotional impact, side character depth.
Comparison summary
63 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher39 (62%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts14 (22%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower10 (16%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| camera behavior | 5.0 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| menu usability | 5.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| crash stability | 5.0 | 3.1 | +1.9 |
| user interface design | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| world-building | 2.5 | 4.2 | -1.7 |
| emotional impact | 2.5 | 4.2 | -1.7 |
| checkpoint system | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| enemy variety | 4.7 | 3.5 | +1.2 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better frame rate stability
Choose Ghost of Yōtei. It scores 5.0 vs 2.9 for frame rate stability, with a 4.4 overall score.
If you want better soundtrack quality
Choose Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It scores 4.9 vs 4.4 for soundtrack quality, with a 4.5 overall score.
If you want better emotional impact
Choose Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. It scores 4.9 vs 2.5 for emotional impact, with a 4.1 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
- Worse: gameplay depth The reviewer says Shinobi avoids South of Midnight's mistake of looking great while skimping on gameplay.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
- Compared: combat structure The review contrasts Shinobi's health-bar combo combat with Ragebound's more precision-based enemy design.
- Compared: modern ninja action overlap The review notes both games overlap as modern ninja action revivals, then argues Shinobi stands out.
- Compared: design philosophy The review frames Shinobi as a modern 2D character-action take rather than a Ragebound-style retro revival.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Similar: platforming quality The reviewer says Shinobi's platforming reaches a level they had not seen since The Lost Crown.
- Better: platforming precision The reviewer says Shinobi's instant-fail platforming is not tight enough compared with Prince of Persia.
- Similar: optional platforming challenges The review compares Shinobi's demanding secret platforming to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
FAQ
Is Shinobi: Art of Vengeance good for longtime Shinobi fans?
Yes, most reviewers say it respects the franchise while modernizing the combat, movement, and presentation. A few note that it is not simply Shinobi III with new graphics.
How is the combat?
Combat is the strongest point across the reviews. Reviewers repeatedly describe it as fluid, deep, snappy, satisfying, and flexible thanks to combos, Ninpo, executions, amulets, and upgrades.
Is the platforming difficult?
The main path is generally seen as fair and approachable, especially with difficulty options. Optional rifts and late-game precision sections are much more divisive, with some reviewers praising them and others finding them frustrating.
Does the game have replay value?
Yes. Reviewers cite collectibles, secrets, stage revisits, Elite encounters, Arcade Mode, Boss Rush, ranking goals, and unlockables as reasons to return after the campaign.
Is the story a major reason to play?
Usually not. The story is often described as simple, campy, or serviceable, though a few reviewers appreciate it as one of the franchise’s stronger narrative efforts.
How does performance hold up?
PS5 impressions are generally strong, including one review reporting no crashes or freezes. Switch-focused reviews are more cautious, noting frame-rate dips, frame-pacing issues, or optimization concerns.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
noisypixel.net
- Review score
- 4.6
nintendolife.com
- Review score
- 4.5
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