Ah yes, NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound. This highly anticipated title is a collaboration between The Game Kitchen, renowned for the Blasphemous series, and Dotemu, specialists in modern revivals of beloved retro games. Given into their capable hands by the long-standing IP holder Koei Tecmo, The Game Kitchen can now do what they do best: craft a challenging side-scrolling platformer that will appeal to both newcomers and veterans of the series. The Steam Next Fest demo offers an excellent glimpse of what’s to come, and it’s something you absolutely don’t want to miss.
Ragebound will be welcoming and accessible to all types of players
The game kicks off with a straightforward tutorial, teaching you essential moves: wall climbing, dodging, attacking, and utilizing special abilities to dispatch tougher foes or environmental obstacles. After the tutorial, you step into the shoes of Kenji Mozu, a young Hayabusa clan ninja tasked with defending his village in Ryu Hayabusa’s absence. This narrative unfolds as you progress, eventually leading to an encounter with Kumori, a skilled kunoichi of the Black Spider Clan, who also becomes a playable character.
The demo excels at showcasing the game’s intense, yet fair difficulty, even showing the unlockable harder mode, and it teases the diverse bosses and enemies that await in each level. The fast-paced gameplay here is no joke; your primary goal isn’t to eliminate every enemy, but to reach the end, offering a significant nostalgic experience for fans.
Kenji specializes in close-quarters melee combat, while Kumori excels at ranged attacks and can briefly shift into the spiritual realm for unique platforming challenges. The game skillfully blends both combat styles. Each enemy can power up two special, high-damage abilities, marked by a specific color, indicating which attack you need to use to defeat them and unlock that ability for yourself.
Interestingly, once you meet Kumori, you gain the ability to traverse the demon world. Here, you’ll solve puzzles, clear platforming challenges, and find ways to free Ryu and open paths for him. Another excellent addition is the Ninja Fusion mechanic. This allows you to combine character abilities for attacks that can clear multiple enemies, though its use is limited to prevent overuse.
Great chance to try it out before the game launches this summer
Precise platforming is a core component, with sections demanding quick reflexes and careful timing as you’re being jumped by multiple enemies, especially during Kumori’s timed sequences that reset upon failure. The game’s vertical level design adds significant depth, featuring hidden areas packed with collectibles. Overall, this was a truly fun experience; it’s not overly punishing, at least initially, and I’m highly anticipating the hidden shop feature that wasn’t available in demo.
Let’s not overlook the demo’s great visuals, which expertly blend retro pixel art with modern detail. Environments like haunted temples and fiery battlegrounds are richly designed, featuring smooth animations and grotesque enemy designs clearly inspired by The Game Kitchen’s Blasphemous. The music is equally impressive, led by Blasphemous composer Sergio de Prado, and brilliantly complemented by contributions from original NES NINJA GAIDEN composers Keiji Yamagishi, Ryuichi Niita, and Kaori Nakabai.
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound will release on July 31, 2025, and it will launch across PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. This demo is in fact part of a larger franchise resurgence, with NINJA GAIDEN 4 also set to arrive in October 2025, which is being developed by PlatinumGames.
Hrvatski 
English (UK)