NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound Reviews
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound proves that going back to basics can be an excellent choice, especially when done right. With its finely tuned mechanics, replayable level structure, and fluid gameplay, the game delivers an exciting platforming experience that feels both familiar and fresh. Players are constantly rewarded for execution as the game sticks to a tried and true formula that feels perfected. Despite some minor nitpicks regarding difficulty spikes and game length, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is another feather in the cap of an already successful series. As a new mainline installment looms on the horizon, this entry is an exceptional way to bide the time.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is the best thing to happen to Ninja Gaiden since Itagaki. The Game Kitchen understood the assignment and delivered a slick action game worthy of its namesake. Now we wait for the return of Ryu Hayabusa!
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound elevates the Ninja Gaiden tradition rather than merely honoring it. It demonstrates that traditional methods can still be effective, particularly when honed using contemporary game design tools.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has a retro feel, but it's a fresh game made by people who aren't afraid to try something new. The result is a fast-paced, precise, and demanding experience that runs like clockwork and doesn't seek to reinvent anything, but rather to remind us why we love gaming: for the well-paced action, the precise controls, and that satisfaction that only comes when everything clicks into place.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is very exciting and addictive with its fast-paced action and challenging gameplay. I really missed a fun action game with a cool retro pixel-art style like this.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a triumphant return to form for the series, delivering tight 2D action-platforming, masterful level design, and thrilling boss battles, all underscored by stylish pixel art and an energetic soundtrack. Though brief in runtime, its challenge, polish, and replayability make it an experience that every action platforming fan should play.
The Game Kitchen delights us once again with an excellent 2D action title featuring stunning pixel graphics and great music. Although it's short, it offers a great level of challenge and even more difficult activities for those who want to demonstrate their mastery of the ninja arts. Its story leaves much to be desired, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best games of 2025.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
In short, 'Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound' is the Ninja Gaiden for the SNES we never got. It plays beautifully, keeps the action moving fast, and keeps the adrenaline flowing freely. This is a fantastic return to a franchise, and the year of the ninja isn't over yet, because the answer is always more ninjas.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is an exceptional experience in its own right. Smooth controls, fantastic level design and perfectly balanced boss battles make it one of the best 2D action platformers you'll find. The title offers plenty of fun and challenges for those who want them, while remaining accessible to newcomers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is one of the most visually impressive, mechanically solid and competent retro-re-styled platformers I’ve ever played. It not only nails the tone and authenticity of the classic Ninja Gaiden games, as well as maintains the style set in the modern games, it encapsulates the feeling of a classic 80s platformer and successfully modernises it in a way that anyone can and will find a way to enjoy it. With gorgeous pixel art, a banging soundtrack and a strong variety of gameplay with some epic boss battles, Ragebound is a truly remarkable return to the franchise to its roots and a delightful challenge that keeps you entertained throughout. Sensational!
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has one of the most heart-pounding soundtracks we've heard in a long time. It's a mix of old-school synth melodies and modern metal fusion. Imagine if Castlevania and Nier: Automata had a baby with a Yamaha synth and an electric guitar. Every song fits its level perfectly, pushing you forward with a fast tempo and strong emotions.
Overall, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is both a loving tribute and a fresh vision brimming with style and substance. It’s one of the best retro revivals of the generation: joyous, relentlessly fun, and bursting with creative confidence. Its only missteps are some shallow progression systems and a slightly softened edge to its difficulty.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is hands-down one of the most enjoyable 2D action games I've played in recent years. It flawlessly merges the classic NES experience with modern refinements, perfectly preserving the spirit of both old and new Ninja Gaiden titles.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a spinoff that revitalizes the series and the genre with its callback to its original side-scrolling gameplay. With well-crafted levels, dynamically engaging combat, and gorgeous pixel art, it uses the simplicity of the side-scrolling gameplay to its maximum potential. It has a few flaws here and there, like its short runtime and balance near the end, but is otherwise a great way to keep the hype for the series’ upcoming title.
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound embraces its essence and delivers a quality experience beyond expectations, with extremely well-crafted pixel art and a heavy, nostalgic soundtrack. The game captures the essence of the NINJA GAIDEN series for a new generation. Ragebound is simple in its premise and reminds us that, ultimately, video games are about having fun.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a slick and satisfying return to the series’ 2D roots, capturing everything that made the classics so beloved while layering in just enough modern flair to keep things fresh. Its blend of fluid combat, clever dual-character mechanics, inventive stage variety, and additional challenges make for an experience that’ll certainly keep players coming back for more. Whether you’re a long-time fan or completely new to the series, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a thrilling reminder that Ninja Gaiden still knows how to deliver razor‑sharp action across both a 3D AND 2D plane.
It's like a trip back in time, taking you back to the 90s in a demanding and difficult experience that never feels unfair or artificial, with modern controls and methodologies that make it incredibly energetic. It's highly addictive.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With some strong visuals and a fantastic soundtrack, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a title that has a lot going for it despite some very glaring shortcomings. A lack of combat depth, and even the ability to attack upward or downward, could have really elevated this to be a top-tier experience. While the dynamic between the two protagonists is extremely fun, it is unfortunately overshadowed by Kumori being incredibly sidelined. Ragebound is fun, even great at times, but it lacks the depth needed for replayability, as you’ll see everything the game offers far too early.
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is the perfect example of nostalgia done right, with a great score, challenging gameplay, and superb visuals. While the story and repetitive elements do feel noticeable in its nine-hour runtime, The Game Kitchen successfully brings Ninja Gaiden back to the spotlight in all its gory glory.
Anyone who is a fan of the series, especially the first games, or enjoys a simple, non-stop action game will not regret playing NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review