Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Reviews
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a triumphant return for Joe Musashi and his action-platforming ninja franchise. The combat feels like you are a badass shadow warrior on a quest for justice in a world where ninjas, mercs and demons are all out to get you, but you know they can’t touch you because you’re the freaking SHINOBI.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance manages to recapture the franchise's signature style while applying modern, fluid gameplay that highlights Musashi as an unstoppable warrior. The story is a classic revenge arc that serves its purpose by imbuing the confrontations with a sense of urgency and violence. The pace of the fights, both against regular enemies and bosses, is addictive and keeps you playing without even noticing the time passing. It's an essential experience for Shinobi fans, as it honors the series' legacy and once again opens the door for Joe Musashi to stand out among SEGA's greatest modern franchises for a new audience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Lizardcube proves its mastery in reviving classics with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, blending engaging gameplay, stunning art, and beautiful music into a delightful experience that makes you wish other forgotten gems received the same treatment.
Review in Persian | Read full review
In Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, Joe Musashi’s return is bold, violent, fun, challenging, colorful, and full of personality, held back only by its repetitive level design and uneven checkpoint system.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance represents a triumphant return for the saga, combining the nostalgia of classic titles with modern metroidvania-style innovations. The game delivers a complete experience, featuring deep and layered combat, levels packed with secrets and challenges, outstanding 2D graphics, and a memorable soundtrack. Both longtime fans and new players will find in this title an exciting, challenging, and rewarding adventure, one that reaffirms the legendary allure of Joe Musashi in 2025.
Review in Italian | Read full review
In not adhering to the philosophy of previous 2D Shinobi titles, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance instead does its own thing, for better and for worse. It's a game that revels in its own excess, asking how many bells and whistles it can add to the core action platforming experience before finally hitting a ceiling. In doing this, it makes for a game that I am tempted to say is one-of-a-kind, but in losing the elegance and no-frills nature of previous titles, it becomes bloated too. It's strange for me to look at a game I like this much, and I still wind up asking myself whether it really needed quite a few of the things it did. That being said, I did often forget about these problems in the midst of play, enjoying myself as I combo’d enemies across rooms or searched for any secrets I missed. While I’m hopeful that the next game is a bit more lean and purposeful, this experience is still nothing if not artful.
SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance isn't as pure and clear a tribute as Streets of Rage 4 was, and I don't feel it will fuel the franchise as much as it did. That doesn't mean the game strays too far from the franchise. After the initial games of the '80s and '90s, the franchise flirted with more action-focused games, but they fell into oblivion. I wouldn't say this one deserves to be forgotten, but I admit it doesn't do much to be remembered.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
What can you do: SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance is an absolutely brilliant action blast, oozing with style. Gamers in their thirties and forties will certainly notice various Sega references, but on the other hand Lizardcube has found such a timeless style for the game that even complete newcomers are bound to enjoy it.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
I had a lot of fun with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel tired in its final moments. Its highlights shine brightly; it's a beautiful, stylish game with fun combat. The biggest weakness of this game is not knowing how to deal with its size, which ends up repeating some formulas and tires you out before you finish, especially if you play aiming to complete everything.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Lizard Cube have done it again. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance doesn’t quite dethrone Streets of Rage 4 as their crown jewel, but it’s a damn fine challenger — a katana-sharp platformer that proves the old ninja still has plenty of fight left in him. Joe Wusashi might grunt his way through a story thinner than a shoji screen, but when the controls feel this good, the art looks this stunning, and the soundtrack slaps this hard, who cares? Welcome back, Joe. Accountant name or not, you’re a legend.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance brings the legendary ninja to a new generation with stunning visuals and fluid combat, delivering a stylish revival worthy of your attention.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a two -dimensional beat em 'up with a unique artstyle. The challenge is present, but if you get into the flow, no fight is too big for you. The game plays well, but some may have wanted some extra challenge.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
"A legendary return for a beloved warrior" Shinobi: Art of Vengeance brings the classic series back to prominence with a well-crafted gameplay that combines deep combat with action-packed platforming. Stunning graphics and powerful music give it a unique artistic flair, while additional modes and difficulty options add significant value. Despite the short story, its density makes it an unforgettable experience.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
SEGA has achieved a remarkable comeback for the Shinobi series. Art of Vengeance maintains the classic essence and adapts it to 2025 with an agile, precise, and truly satisfying combat system. The mix of action stages with slight Metroidvania touches offers variety, although also a certain lack of identity. It doesn't revolutionize the genre, but it does become one of the best 2D action games of the year.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Is this the “Shinobi” I grew up with? Absolutely not. It’s a facet of “Shinobi” nobody knew it existed — that could exist — until now. Lizardcube showcases, once again, that can take a familiar framework and turn into something completely new and reinvigorating. It is just as good as “Streets of Rage 4” and, by far, my favorite action platformer game of 2025.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an absolute masterclass of platforming and action that pays beautiful homage to the series roots while also laying many of its own. From fantastic set-piece action, to enjoyable, varied combat and lots of hidden secrets to keep you coming back. With a stunning art style, gripping score and right amount of difficulty, LizardCube just understand what it takes to bring these classic franchises back for modern audiences. SEGA are truly back with a vengeance and have given us a must-play, whether you know Shinobi well or have never met before.
If you’re an old-school player with fond memories of the series, Art of Vengeance is cause for celebration—and if you’re new to it or simply a fan of action games, this is a title that delivers everything on a silver platter, wrapped in a style rarely seen today.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a very good choice for anyone who wants a fast-paced action game with plenty of exploration and platforming elements. It's not perfect, but it's fun and perfectly capable of keeping you interested in for the 9-10 hours or so that it lasts.
After Streets of Rage 4, I wasn’t sure bringing back another of the 16-bit classics would have quite the same impact, but I was wrong. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an incredibly fun action platformer, with fantastic combat design, enemy encounters, optional challenges, and the audio visual presentation to really make it sing. I’m done with the story but am already itching to get back and play the unlocked Arcade and Boss Rush modes, and whether you have nostalgia for the old days or not, this is quite simply one of the best games of the year, so get it played.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is not only a fantastic revival of the old school 2D Shinobi series, it might be one of the best 2D action platformer metroidvanias I’ve played in a long time. That’s been said even without a shortage of these kinds of games currently. The blend of fast paced combat, challenging platforming, and the fantastic art and sound design really make this game something special. It is a must play for any ninja platforming fans.