Demo Talk: NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound — An Old Formula Perfected
June 12, 2025
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound looks set to bring the storied Ninja Gaiden franchise back to its 2D roots, and the game's demo does not disappoint in the slightest. Behind Ragebound's gorgous pixel art is a well-crafted gameplay experience that feels like a perfect evolution of Ninja Gaiden's old formula. You're not going to find many 2D action titles that feel better than this.
The Game Kitchen, most well-known for their Blasphemous series, clearly were the right pick for this Ninja Gaiden project. There is a deep understanding here of what makes those games so fun. It's also really impressive how seamlessly Ragebound's innovations feel like a natural extention of the series' identity.
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is a can't-miss, 2D hack and slash title, releasing July 31, 2025 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and the Nintendo Switch family of systems.
Simple Combat Taken To The Next Level
Classic Ninja Gaiden games aren't overly complex, and neither is NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound. The combat, in particular, can be described as being relatively simple. Kenji Mozu, the protagonist of NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound, only really has access to his sword, which limits the amount of ways that you can approach enemies. The new combat technique in Ragebound, the Guillotine Boost, does make you feel substantially more empowered, though, despite the limited arsenal.
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The Guillotine Boost allows Kenji to bounce off of enemies and projectiles alike, dealing damage in the process. This makes jumping a lot safer compared to the old NES Ninja Gaiden games. This new technique also allows for more interesting level designs, adding more verticality and non-enemy obstacles for the player to deal with. In some ways, NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound does feel overreliant on the Guillotine Boost, but it's hard to complain when it helps make the game feel so incredibly fluid. Not that Ragebound needs much help there — it already is super snappy and responsive.
A New Direction For Ninja Gaiden
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is taking a bold approach by not including Ryu Hayabusa as the main protagonist. That being said, Ragebound isn't exactly weak in the character department. Kenji is a formidable stand-in for Ryu, even if he's no equal in strength. This game doesn't need him to be as strong, though. And that's because NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound actually has two lead protagonists, with Kumori of the Black Spider Ninja Clan serving as a morally dubious counterpart to Kenji.
Ninja Gaiden isn't really a series that you play for the story, but Ragebound has a good setup going on with this dual lead situation. Kumori offers a unique perspective that we've never seen before. She also plays differently from Kenji, and ultimately ends up changing how the game is experienced once the two characters fuse. For how insane that sounds, their fusion does feel well-implemented. The levels in the demo make great use of their combined abilities. The game just feels more complete with the two working together.
The Game Kitchen is cooking up something special with NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound. This is a quality 2D action title that I cannot recommend enough. The action, the movement, the difficulty, and even the presentation, it all comes together in one beautiful package. NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is a game designed for the modern era — an old formula, perfected.
