„Celeste was an inspiration” Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound demo is on Steam now
I didn't have much time at Summer Game Fest to play Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, but its puzzle platformer roots were apparent right from the start.
At Summer Game Fest, I got the chance to play an exciting new Ninja Gaiden game. I didn’t play Ninja Gaiden 4, but I think the game I did play might be just as good. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was revealed at last year’s Game Awards as a 2D, side-scrolling, pixel art version of the classic action series. Unfortunately, I only had about fifteen to twenty minutes to sit down with the game’s director and try out this challenging new action platformer. Still, the time I had was enough to get me very excited for what could potentially become my first time playing all the way through a Ninja Gaiden game.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was inspired by a great indie puzzle platformer, Celeste
You don’t need to be a Ninja Gaiden fan to enjoy this game, both for its gameplay and for its story. However, if you're a fan, you’ll likely notice many more details than I did. From what I have heard, Ragebound takes place immediately after the events of the first Ninja Gaiden game, but does not follow the protagonist of that game, Ryu. Instead, Ryu’s student, Kenji Mozu, must defend Hayabusa Village from a sudden demon incursion after Ryu travels to America. Still in training, Kenji soon finds himself overwhelmed and needs to figure out how to protect the world from the Demon Lord.
During my time with the demo, I only got to face off with a few demons. Most of my time was spent as Kenji being trained by Ryu. This served as a tutorial, but it never felt like one. The pacing was perfect. I moved from one new skill to the next, ramping up each challenge to prepare me for the rest of the game. Some of the basic mechanics include slashing a mid-air target to gain an extra jump, hanging from the ceiling to climb horizontally, and deflecting incoming projectiles. In many ways, this gameplay reminded me of a puzzle platformer, but with a lot more action thrown in. At times, the challenge comes more from figuring out your route from one point to another rather than from a particularly challenging enemy.
Preparing to fight Ryu.Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Developer: The Game Kitchen
That’s not to say those types of combat encounters don’t exist, though. At the end of the tutorial, Kenji faces off in a sparring match against Ryu. While it’s practically a scripted loss, the game’s Director, who sat with me for the demo, told me that while it’s challenging, it is possible to defeat Ryu in this fight. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach a point where I have the skill to accomplish this, but I know some people will.
Fighting demons.Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Developer: The Game Kitchen
According to the director, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was inspired by Celeste, one of the best and most challenging indie platformers that was released in 2018. This game became iconic for many reasons, but is most notable for its challenging platform puzzles, which often had players replaying each level dozens of times before getting it right. Celeste is also noteworthy for its great pixel art, though Ragebound has certainly gone for a more realistic aesthetic. By the time the information was shared with me, I was ready to believe it. While there was usually a ground to land on in Ragebound, there were plenty of times during the tutorial that I had to try again and again. After my time with the game, I am most looking forward to playing it again for those platforming puzzles and challenges.
Beautiful pixel art.Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Developer: The Game Kitchen
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has a demo available on Steam right now. It seems like you can play through a little under an hour of the game, so you can get much more than the fifteen minutes I got to play. Whether you’re a fan of the Ninja Gaiden series or not, I recommend giving it a try. If you didn’t know, Steam users can now leave reviews of demos. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has over four hundred reviews, and 90% of them are positive.
If you’ve already played through this year’s earlier release, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, and are impatiently waiting for Ninja Gaiden 4 later this year, Ragebound could be the perfect game to play in between. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on July 31st.
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Author: Matt Buckley
Matt has been writing for Gamepressure since 2020, and currently lives in San Diego, CA. Like any good gamer, he has a Steam wishlist of over three hundred games and a growing backlog that he swears he’ll get through someday. Aside from daily news stories, Matt also interviews developers and writes game reviews. Some of Matt’s recent favorites include Arco, Neva, Cocoon, Animal Well, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Tears of the Kingdom. Generally, Matt likes games that let you explore a world, tell a compelling story, and challenge you to think in different ways.
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