Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Preview - Fast, Precise, and Lethal

Ninja Gaiden is back. Not only is it back, but it's back better than ever, with as many as three games coming in the space of a year. First up was Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a hyper-stylised version of Sigma that, despite its flaws and desperate difficulty, managed to find a place in the hearts of the shinobi action series' most ardent fans. In a few months we'll have the long-awaited fourth main instalment of the series, but before that there's a third project, the most obscure of all, but after seeing the trailers, knowing who its creators are and enjoying its recently released demo on Steam in advance, I think the best return of the Hayabusa clan's ninjas will be Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.

The Game Kitchen has earned a lot of respect in the Metroidvania community with the two Blasphemous games, but neither of those excellent games I remember as being particularly fast, one of the most basic distinctions of a Ninja Gaiden. However, the Seville-based studio has done their homework well in absorbing the lessons of Ryu Hayabusa and giving their pixelated 2D gameplay a generous dose of speed. Ragebound is, as the headline says, "fast, precise, and lethal", and the choice of words is more than just an eighties action movie slogan.

Ragebound is fast, because every warrior facing the demons that haunt his world must be fast if he wants to survive more than 15 seconds in the game. The movement of our protagonist duo of Kenji and Kuromi is like lightning as they climb, jump, and propel themselves across the stage and over enemy objects, accelerating the pace of the game and the player's heartbeat throughout levels that last a tight ten minutes. And I assure you that after each one of them you'll have to stop for a bit, drink some water, and take a deep breath to regain your composure.

Because you're going to need all your concentration to nail those jumps, counterattacks, and dodges against the demons that plague your world. Ryu isn't here to watch over the clan, so it's up to our promising but inexperienced hands to stop the threat. The demo, in fact, begins with a tutorial from Ryu Hayabusa himself (before setting off on his own first adventure), where he quickly demonstrates that you can only complete it by observing your surroundings and performing actions in a precise, sometimes split-second, moment. Crossing a pit of spikes may seem like an impossible mission if you're not used to a demanding arcade experience, but if you cross that initial threshold, everything behind it is a wonderful dance where strategy meets passion and combat.

The slightest failure is punished harshly, and death will haunt you throughout the three levels (plus tutorial) that make up this demo. Ragebound urges you to try different approaches to each situation, and sometimes a quick reaction will suffice, while other times you will have to repeat a section several times until you get it just right. This is also motivated by the possibilities offered by the two protagonists. I don't want to emphasise their backgrounds too much, but Kuromi and Kenji complement each other very well. Kuromi can traverse the spirit realm for a short period of time and is adept at ranged attacks, while Kenji is the main melee force and the one who usually carries the weight in combat. Both have standard and charged attacks, and together they can combine their arts to create a Wrath Attack that completely sweeps away almost anything on screen. A last resort move that the game won't let you abuse.

The levels follow the classic beat'em up style, although here they also gain in verticality and hidden sections (The Game Kitchen's trademark) where you can search for collectibles, which in the full version of the game will offer the possibility of obtaining upgrades with them. I can't wait to play more and see what surprises Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has in store for us when it arrives on July 31. If you're looking for a 2D side-scrolling action title with precise controls, this is one of the must-try games you shouldn't miss at Steam Next Fest.