At the 2025 Xbox Developer Direct, Ninja Gaiden fans everywhere were surprised by the sudden release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, and the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4. With Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound announced at The Game Awards a month prior, Koei Tecmo's high-speed action franchise is back in a way it hasn't been since the 2000s. Players are already enjoying the upgrades Ninja Gaiden 2 Black offers over the remastered 2021 Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, even if neither matches the chaos of the original Ninja Gaiden 2. Meanwhile, anticipation builds as Ninja Gaiden 4 and Ragebound’s launches approach later in the year.
There are more reasons to be excited about these new installments than the obvious one of Ninja Gaiden returning. External publishers and developers are heavily involved with these games, and many trusted names are among them. DotEmu is publishing Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound in association with Koei Tecmo, but of greater note is The Game Kitchen, creators of the acclaimed 2D metroidvania franchise Blasphemous, making Ragebound itself. Similarly, Xbox Game Studios is publishing Ninja Gaiden 4, but it's also being developed by the surprising duo of Team Ninja and Platinum Games, whose trademark style is as visible as ever.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Already Has One Massive Ace Up Its Sleeve
Ninja Gaiden 4 finally arrives after a 12-year wait, and it has a massive ace in the hole that could make it a huge success this year.
Platinum's Touch Is A Tangible Part of Ninja Gaiden 4
While at first glance Ninja Gaiden 4 may look like any other installment made by Team Ninja, the hallmarks of a Platinum Games project are all over the reveal trailer and additional footage. Besides most of Platinum Games’ catalog already sharing the stylish action genre with Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden 4 particularly strikes a Platinum vibe. Aspects of Platinum Games classics like the Bayonetta trilogy, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, NieR: Automata, and Astral Chain can be felt in small visual and tactile moments, and even the concept of a Platinum Games title being published by Xbox ironically recalls the canceled Scalebound.
Interesting Traversal In Ninja Gaiden 4 Recalls Platinum Games' Approach
In general, Ninja Gaiden 4’s encounters look to be broken up in line with a Platinum title’s progression, complete with interludes highlighting the protagonists’ fantastical ninja reflexes. Ninja Gaiden has had traversal and setpiece segments before, but Platinum Games’ touch is keenly felt in Ninja Gaiden 4’s mobility-focused sections, seeing Yakumo and Ryu Hayabusa sliding down inclines, grinding on rails, and running on parallel walls. Transitory gameplay segments like the ones focused on Ninja Run in Metal Gear Rising look to fill out Ninja Gaiden 4’s runtime, and there couldn't be a better franchise to host them.
Ninja Gaiden 4's Yakumo Represents Platinum's Contributions
Most Of Platinum Games’ New Ideas Seem Funneled Into NG4’s New Hero
That’s especially true on Yakumo’s side. Ninja Gaiden 4’s two protagonists seem to represent the two development teams working on this game, with Team Ninja’s classic, deliberate gameplay surrounding Ryu Hayabusa, while Yakumo embodies Platinum’s more slick and breezy approach. It's too early to say how deep this divide goes, especially since there is overlap in Yakumo and Ryu’s gameplay, but even looking at the natural, classic Xbox backdrops around Ryu and the Astral Chain-adjacent cyberpunk city Yakumo fights through is enough to confirm it's there. With Bayonetta 3-like enemies also populating Yakumo's scenes while Ryu mostly fights demons, there's no telling how far this dichotomy goes.
Yakumo is a repository of Platinum Games-isms, even as they’re updated to stay consistent with Ninja Gaiden. He has access to mobility options in combat that feel more in line with Ayane or a Platinum protagonist than Ryu, while also possessing massive Bloodraven Form attacks that could be likened to Bayonetta’s Wicked Weaves. Nue Form executions take a visual cue from MGR’s Zandatsu, and, perhaps most notably, Yakumo inherits both a wire-based grappling hook and the newcomer protagonist role from Bayonetta 3’s Viola. It's no surprise that Platinum Games has left its mark on Ninja Gaiden 4, but it will be interesting to see just how well it and Team Ninja’s styles mix.
Ninja Gaiden 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 84%
- Released
- October 21, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Platinum Games, Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo Games Co., Ltd.
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
