![]() Given you’re only ever one gunshot away from an instant death the need for reliable controls is absolute, and that’s exactly what you get here. It starts by making sure it gets the platform controls right and your ninja (who doesn’t seem to have a name, so we’ll just assume it actually is Mark) runs, jumps, crawls, and climbs with consummate ease. One of the best stealth games of the last generation comes to the Switch, Xbox, and PS4 and it’s sneakily one of the best games of the year.ĭespite the visuals and its silly plot – something about being cursed with magic ninja tattoos in order to save your clan – Mark Of The Ninja takes itself very seriously when it comes to its 2D gameplay. Although in Mark Of The Ninja the pitch black colour scheme still ensures a relative oppressive atmosphere. We suspect part of the problem is the cartoonish art style that their games use, which we have to admit we’re not fans of either. Which is ironic because it’s one of the few games of theirs that we don’t particularly like, especially when compared to the excellent but little known Invisible, Inc. But Mark Of The Ninja makes a genuine attempt to be about stealth and nothing but the stealth, which is presumably why it wasn’t nearly as big a hit as it deserved to be when it was first released in 2012.Ĭanadian team Klei are today best known for survival game Don’t Starve. Just as survival horror has been deemed too slow-paced and convoluted for a mass audience so too has stealth gameplay been gradually eroded away into a few pat special moves. In a more general sense it’s also true that most stealth games nowadays rarely feature much actual stealth. Not only does the developer seem disinterested in this (it’s busy making another half dozen expansions to Don’t Starve), it seems almost impossible it could top the original.Mark of the Ninja Remastered Switch NSP + Update (eShop) Free Download Romslab I’d tell you to pay for it just to encourage Klei to make a new one, but that might be unrealistic. Get the remastered Switch release with its included DLC, or grab the same package from a variety of PC and console stores. However, if you’re looking for a challenging and deeply immersive stealth game, you owe it to yourself to check out Mark of the Ninja. And the story, while diverting, is nothing to write home about. To be fair, this is a common problem with Switch ports and even Nintendo’s first-party titles. The camera stays zoomed out as if you’re playing on a TV. The Switch port could use some tweaking, too-playing in portable mode with the nearly all-black visual design is hard. But some smart design decisions-like frequent save points-help completionists master Mark of the Ninja’s more self-imposed challenges. It tends to miss a killing strike unless you’re at the perfect distance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another game that so seamlessly blends visual design and gameplay. Light and darkness change the level, the Ninja, and his enemies, and the sound (as perceived by the guards) is clearly communicated visually. But it’s the overall design that leaves a lasting impression. Mark of the Ninja’s 2D presentation is eye-popping, as you’d expect from Klei, a developer still shunning trendy pixel art in favor of hand-drawn animation. The game’s puzzles will utilize all of your available equipment. Mark of the Ninja is undoubtedly aware of this: poke around its levels enough, and you’ll find at least one obvious allusion to the stealth genre’s heavy hitter. The whole thing is reminiscent of a side-scrolling Metal Gear Solid. The game encourages you to try this, with optional equipment, armor, as well as weapon loadouts and bonuses in every level you get through without being detected or resorting to lethal force. There’s rarely a situation that isn’t solvable via several means-lethal, or otherwise. ![]() That sort of creative freedom is pervasive in this game. Aside from a few bosses, you can go through the entire game without killing anyone. You could also view the Ninja as an uninvited freelance surgeon. ![]() You’re given various techniques and tools to accomplish this, including classic darts, a grappling hook, smoke bombs, flares, and your sword. And the way to solve those puzzles is, in keeping with the theme, murdering a bunch of bad guys. While you do control a single character, who runs back and forth in classic 2D fashion, the setup is more like an extended series of puzzles. Calling this game a “platformer” is, appropriately, a bit of a misdirection.
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