I'm loving how fast and furious Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is
When I think about the 2D action games I loved growing up, 'fast' isn't a word that usually comes to mind. Something like a Ninja Turtles side scrolling beat-em-up looks a little slow in my mind, filled with heavy one on one punch outs. The exact pace changes from game to game, but it's not usually what I'd call quick. So I was in for a bit of a shock when I booted up a demo of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance at Summer Game Fest. Sega's new revival may call back to some of the retro games I played as a kid, but it leaves them all in the dust in its constant blitz of sword slashing.
Developed by Lizardcube, the studio behind the terrific Streets of Rage 4, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance looks to take a classic Sega series back to its roots. It's a side scrolling action game where I need to slash through enemies, vanquish bosses, and do a bit of platforming for good measure. My 45-minute demo let me run wild through two of its gorgeously animated levels, getting a feel for the balance Lizardcube is striking here between retro and modern.
When I try to describe it on paper, it might sound a little boilerplate. The platforming has me double jumping and air dashing around 2D environments. Combat is a matter of dishing out sword combos, hitting evasive rolls, tossing out a shuriken or two, and spending energy to activate special skills. It's all par for the course, I know, but those familiar ideas are made thrilling once I start to realize just how quickly I can take out a screen full of enemies.
Recommended Videos
Art of Vengeance is designed in such a way that I never felt like I needed to stop moving during a fight. If an enemy tries to attack me during a combo, I can hit my evasive dodge and exit it into a new combo. If I need to jump in the air to avoid an unblockable attack, I can come back down with a dive kick by hitting my heavy attack button and chain into a combo from there. My favorite detail comes anytime I stun an enemy. When a red mark appears above a foe, I can press both bumpers to launching into a finishing strike that will also ricochet through every other stunned enemy in the room. The more I get all of this down, the more I realize that I simply never have to stop moving once I get on a roll. It feels as much like a fighting game as it does a side scroller.
That sense of lethal speed goes a long way towards making Art of Vengeance feel more exciting than a lot of recent retro brawlers that are very similar to it on paper. It aims to make Shinobi feel like a phantom that cut through waves of enemies in the blink of an eye. Even when I'm dropped into familiar scenarios, like when I need to stay on a boat as enemies fall in around me, it feels like I'm playing something entirely new rather than another cookie cutter retro cash-in.
I'm eager to see how much deeper it all goes. My demo only gave me a taste of its exploration, as I could occasionally find platforming challenges that led me to hidden collectibles. Each level has five to find and those can be spent at shops to unlock even more maneuvers, like one that extended my combos even further with additional hits. I had tons of moves to work into my attack strings by the end of the second level I played, including a charged punch and a counter stance skill. I hope more moves keep trickling in in later missions, giving me more attacks I can pepper into my ballet of blades.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance launches on August 28 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Digital Trends
an hour ago
- Digital Trends
Pokémon's Switch 2 upgrade is a massive evolution
When Nintendo revealed that select Switch games would be getting improved Switch 2 Editions, I couldn't help but notice one glaring omission: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Of all the major Nintendo franchises released on the Switch, that was the one I was begging to see get a massive performance boost on the Switch 2. None of the Pokémon games on Switch ran fantastically, but the ninth generation was seriously hindered by technical woes. I wanted to love the game, but an abysmal framerate, bland textures, and even crashes were enough to push me away from the game until it was in a more complete state. We never got a comprehensive Switch patch, and instead of a full Switch 2 Edition, Nintendo only promised Scarlet and Violet would receive 'enhanced visuals and smoother gameplay.' Needless to say, my hopes weren't exactly high before trying it out for myself. After starting a new adventure on the Switch 2, it feels like Pokémon has finally reached its true potential and has reinvigorated my waning excitement for Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Recommended Videos The experience it was always meant to be I could always see a great Pokémon game fighting to shine through under the technical mess. Even I, someone who isn't overly sensitive to frame rates or able to count pixels at a glance, wasn't able to look past all the issues plaguing that game. It wasn't just that the frame rate was bad, but also inconsistent. This frequently caused me to feel almost queasy playing — an experience I never get outside of some VR games. That, combined with the flat textures and extreme pop-in, resulted in a game I simply couldn't enjoy, no matter how much I wanted to. And I did want to. I could see the joy and whimsy of this world and the academic setting, but the technical issues just prevented me from reaching it. On the Switch 2, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's core design is finally able to shine. Why Nintendo was so vague about just how substantial the improvements would be is beyond me. That 'smoother gameplay' claim made me hesitate to even hope for a locked 30 FPS, yet here we are enjoying a buttery smooth 60 FPS experience. I'm relying on those with a more keen eye and the ability to measure frame rates to confirm that number, but it more than feels like 60 to me. Even in areas where the frame rate was notoriously poor, I felt little more than a minor hitch in the experience. That's a far cry from the base experience where I would be subjected to a slideshow. Visuals are another area I was pleasantly surprised by, though not to as big a degree. There's no getting around some of the textures here are still quite basic, but at least now I don't have to see the foliage spring into existence as I cross the map. Beyond the draw distance, the game can also populate the world with more Pokémon that I can spot from a greater distance away. Besides removing that eerie emptiness I sometimes felt wandering around, this also makes hunting Pokémon a much more engaging task. When taken as a whole, the world of Pokémon finally feels alive. There are several other small improvements worth mentioning, like reduced loading times and more responsive menus, but the frame rate, visuals, and general stability afforded by the Switch 2 feel like the way Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was envisioned to be played. If you had to put your Pokémon journey on hold due to the performance issues like I did, or even held off completely based on others' experience, this free Switch 2 update finally shows off the diamond hidden in the rough. If nothing else, it goes a long way towards calming my hesitation about Pokémon Legends: Z-A coming later this year — at least the Switch 2 version, anyway.
Vogue
2 hours ago
- Vogue
Adam Lippes Resort 2026 Collection
Adam Lippes took a trip to Japan last December, visiting Tokyo and Kyoto, and staying at a ryokan in Shuzenji. He came back raving, as so many do, about 'a culture continually in search of a higher form of perfection.' Travel has been informing his recent collections; a trip through Sicily was the starting point for his pre-fall outing, for resort it's naturally Japan. Pointing to the geometric mosaic print of a shirtdress in shades of navy, chocolate brown, gold, plum, and persimmon, Lippes namechecked Robert Motherwell's Lyric Suite, a series of 600 ink paintings. Motherwell used rick paper, rather than traditional canvas, which gave the paintings their 'delicate, translucent quality.' Japan's influence on this collection was indeed subtle. The references were present if you looked for them, in the relaxed shape of balloon pants, say, which are a nod to construction workers' uniforms, or the loose sleeves of wrap shirts, which are cut along the lines of a summery yukata. There was also a floral print inspired by a Meiji period lacquer box. But you don't have to be a Japanophile to take pleasure in these clothes, whether it's the shine of a lacquered wool trench in a deep shade of burgundy or the brushed mohair of a boxy jacket. One wear of his 'sweatsuits' in luxurious double-face merino knit and you're never going back to standard issue cotton again. 'It's really sporty. Less dressy,' he said, riffling through the racks at a photoshoot. 'We're moving out of a sort of dress phase into separates—it feels right. A sheath dress is the easy thing to design and make, but she's wanting more interesting shapes.' That goes for evening, as much as day. The quilted silk and lurex of a bandeau top and slim line skirt felt nearly weightless, and a simple yet striking v-neck gown that glides over the body was cut with a single seam using a Japanese pattern-making technique. He pulled out a tank dress in a crinkly fabric made from silk and metal. 'It's a little bit pushed for me, not to be pressed,' he laughed, his own search for a higher form of perfection yielding an unexpected, captivating result.
Digital Trends
3 hours ago
- Digital Trends
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds has one big advantage over Mario Kart World
At this point, I'm convinced that Mario and Sonic are destined to be forever at war. The last chapter of their friendly rivalry came in 2023 when Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Sonic Superstars launched within three days of one another. We're getting a repeat of that this summer, as the hedgehog will try to outrace Mario Kart World on September 25 with Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, his latest kart racing game. That may sound like a raw deal for the blue blur, but after playing a new slice of Crossworlds at Summer Game Fest, I actually think that the guy has one big advantage over Mario's latest game: customization. Let's take it back to the starting line. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is a new racing game that takes plenty of clear inspiration from Mario Kart. After days of playing World nonstop, I was able to pick up the controller and know exactly what every button would do without a tutorial. There's drifting, starting boosts, drafting, items that are Mario items but not, and more. As similar as that might sounds, the actual feel of driving in Crossworlds is entirely different from Mario Kart. It's all looser, with weightless cars flying through corners. It takes me some time to adjust, as it feels a bit unwieldy at first. That doesn't stop me from eventually mastering its multi-stage drifting and ring collecting hook. Recommended Videos In our last preview during its beta, we praised Crossworlds for its creative multidimensional hook. It's a feature where the track players race on seamlessly changes to another mid-race. That idea held up here, especially thanks to some excellent track design, but it's no longer the signature feature for me. Instead, I am all-in on the way Crossworlds lets players customize their playstyle — a feature that's sorely missing from Mario Kart World. In that game, players don't make a lot of decisions when starting a race. Characters don't have stats and there's a set list of pre-built cars to select, a departure from Mario Kart 8 with its full car customization. Sonic Crossworlds restores that layer of strategy to the genre in Mario Kart's absence. Each character has base stats, and cars can be tinkered with for players that want to finely tune their cars. I had just as much fun making a perfect car for Shadow, right down to the paint job, as I have exploring Mario Kart's open world. That idea goes even deeper, though. Players can create a load out of passive bonuses, which can entirely alter their play style. A few perks can be equipped at once, and that opens the door for a lot of synergy potential. In my first Grand Prix, I made a set that was entirely built around raising my speed as high as possible. I got much more creative in my second race. I decided to focus on collecting rings, trying to stay constantly maxed out. I experimented with badges that would reduce the amount of rings I lost when getting hit, one that raised my max ring count, and others that would steal rings from my opponents. I customized my car to fit that, going all in on power with Knuckles behind the wheel. That load out gave me an entirely different way to play, as races became about smashing into enemies as much as possible rather than trying to stay away from them. That feature is filling a void that Mario Kart's more streamlined approach leaves open. I welcome the extra strategic layer on top of what's still a fairly casual racing game. The driving may not be tuned to my tastes, and the items are truly just reskinned versions of Mario's tools, but it feels like I can build something here. There's plenty of unlockables to support that idea too, as the customization menus are full of items that I can buy with tickets. It's a racing game for those who want to spend just as much time in the garage as they do on the track. I think I might be the former. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds launches on September 25 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
