Latest news with #PlatinumGames
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ninja Gaiden 4 devs say "Soulslikes have kind of taken center stage" since the last installment in the series, but "we are going against the trend in that way"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If you're anything like me, you'll no doubt be frustrated with the soulslike genre effectively putting the classic hack and slash game away for a while. Every time something like The First Berserker: Khazan shows up looking stylish as hell only for it to be a soulslike deals me psychic damage. And because of that, the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 was an incredibly welcome one, with the devs "going against the trend." Not only is Team Ninja (which is somewhat responsible with their soulslikes Nioh and Wo Long), returning to its premiere action series, but PlatinumGames is returning the the genre that made the studio an all-time great before it got into RPGs and live service. PlatinumGames producer Yuji Nakao recently spoke about the disappearance of the action genre, while, Team Ninja producer Masakazu Hirayama spoke about the topic at Summer Game Fest in an interview attended by GamesRadar+. "The conversation about action games has changed quite a lot since the last Ninja Gaiden game," Hirayama says, referring to 2012's Ninja Gaiden 3 (or maybe 2014's Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, which we'd all like to forget, but the point still stands). He adds: "Soulslikes have kind of taken center stage." However, despite this, and despite Team Ninja's soulslike focus over the last decade, the team knew things had to be different when returning to Ninja Gaiden. "Ninja Gaiden is about having high speed, pure action gameplay. So we are going against the trend in that way." However, despite the 13-year gap (or 18 year gap, considering Ninja Gaiden 3 was kind of pants) and the change in developer, Team Ninja is certain that fans of the series will not feel lost returning to it. Hirayama says, "When you pick up the controller and you play, it has that responsiveness, that really satisfying gameplay. Right when you pick it up, it feels like an evolution. It's like, oh, this is Ninja Gaiden." Now we just need Capcom to go back to Devil May Cry. Capcom's android apocalypse Pragmata is such a genius mix of shooters and puzzle games, both of which I normally hate, and I'm starting to rethink my entire existence.
The Verge
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Ninja Gaiden 4's gory combat hides a goofy center
Ninja Gaiden 4 was one of several games that Xbox showed off in its games showcase over the weekend. And during its Summer Game Fest-adjacent in-person preview event, I got the chance to play it for myself. I've never played Ninja Gaiden before and was skeptical that the game's generic dark aesthetic, which feels straight out of 2012, could capture my interest. But after a short hands-on demo and an interview with the game's developers, I'm less wary and powerfully intrigued. Despite the '4' in the title, Ninja Gaiden 4 represents a soft reset for the franchise. You play as Yakumo, a ninja of the Raven Clan, who must save Tokyo from corruption. The game feels like a hack-and-slash beat 'em up with extreme emphasis on the hacking and slashing. Yakumo uses a number of weapons and abilities at his disposal, including swords, throwing knives, and an ability that briefly transforms him into a demonic raven for an extra burst of power. My time with the demo was short, consisting of Yakumo ninja-flipping through ruined city streets, fighting packs of cybernetic demons. In combat, you can string together attacks, producing visually impressive combos. One of the things that I most appreciated about the combat system was that it included one of my favorite moves in any action game — an air recovery ability. If you're hit into the air, you can quickly tap a button to right yourself and get back into the fight rather than get knocked away. Whoever at Team Ninja / PlatinumGames is a Kingdom Hearts fan, I see you. Also, along the way, I encountered a number of Yakumo's allies (including one voiced by Brandon ' Garrus Vakarian ' Keener, whose voice I'd know anywhere) who introduced me to the world, giving me power-ups and combat advice. This game is bloody, cartoonishly so. Once I've whittled down my enemies' health, I can dismember them in a number of increasingly brutal ways. It was so over the top that it veered into absurd territory, and I found myself laughing out loud in an otherwise quiet demo room. I wondered if the tension between the hardcore seriousness of Yakumo and his friends versus the goofy violence was intentional, but according to the developers, the game is working as intended. ' Ninja Gaiden has always been known as a very violent game, but we didn't want to just make it grotesque,' says Yuji Nakao, game producer and director at PlatinumGames, speaking through a translator. 'Because if we did that, you'd get tired of it.' Team Ninja partnered with PlatinumGames to develop the title, and the inclusion of the studio that made Bayonetta informs a bit of that tonal dissonance. Bayonetta is campy and fun, and I can see elements of that camp in Ninja Gaiden 4. 'When we were working with PlatinumGames,' says Masakazu Hirayama, the producer and director at Team Ninja. 'We wanted to bring their unique style approach to the action genre and inject that into the series.' Unless you count ports, remasters, or spinoffs, it's been more than 12 years since the last original title in the Ninja Gaiden series. In that time, a new crop of gamers, who are probably more familiar with Bayonetta, have come up. Meanwhile, there's still an older generation running around with memories of Ryu Hayabusa and Ninja Gaiden Black. The result of the partnership between PlatinumGames and Team Ninja is a game that has elements that'll appeal to different generations of players. ' Ninja Gaiden is about having a very diverse tool set that allows you to feel like that ultimate super ninja,' says Hirayama. 'And I think you'll see that the new protagonist and his new tool set opens up a lot of new possibilities.' The new game may not seem like the most exciting of titles if you're not a long-time fan of the series. But my skepticism of the game was slashed away in the face of an over-the-top gorefest that seems to take itself seriously but is hiding a soft, goofy center that wound up being really fun to play. Ninja Gaiden 4 comes out on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC on October 21st.
Digital Trends
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Ninja Gaiden 4 is PlatinumGames at its best (and bloodiest)
Earlier this year, I revisited a golden age of gaming when I played Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. The remake brought me back to a time where character action games ruled, and each one felt different in its own way. It felt so distant from today's landscape, filled with Soulslikes that worship at the altar of the parry button. That experience left me feeling prepared for the series' next installment, Ninja Gaiden 4. Or so I thought. It turns out that the upcoming sequel, scheduled to launch on October 21, is a new beast entirely. I found that out when I played a chunk of it following last weekend's Xbox Games Showcase and walked out with a big grin on my face. Though its changes to the series' patented action may bum some purists out, I'm personally thrilled to report that developer PlatinumGames has taken this opportunity to create the most Platinum game possible. And thank God for that. Recommended Videos My demo threw me right into the action, though I didn't get to play as Ryu Hayabusa. Instead, I was controlling Yakumo, a member of the Raven Clan who acts as the sequel's primary protagonist. That change is significant insofar as it gave PlatinumGames the flexibility to invent an entirely new combat system to suit his style. And that combat system? It's basically Bayonetta, but with katanas. And, somehow, a lot more blood. If you didn't know that Platinum was leading development on the project, you would the second you picked up the controller. The most obvious giveaway for me was when I dodged an enemy attack the moment it was about to land and time briefly slowed down around me. That detail should say a lot already. This is the kind of game that Platinum makes best. Combat is incredibly fast, as I slash through enemies using two standard attack buttons. There's a shocking amount of depth contained in those attacks, as it feels like every time I start mashing, I pull off a completely different combo that looks absolutely sick. At one point, I manage to grab an enemy, jump up into the air with them, and bring them to the ground with a spinning pile driver. The battles I played tossed me into encounters with waves of enemies closing in on me. My quick movement meant that I could jump between foes with balletic grace, controlling an entire crowd with ease. I had a few tools at my disposal to help with that. One button lets me toss out a few kunai if I needed to keep a little distance between a foe. When I incapacitate an enemy enough, dropping them on the ground, I'm able to leap into an obscenely violent finishing maneuver that has me slashing their limbs off as blood splashes onto the screen. Once I build up enough charge, I can also activate a sort of rage state that allows me to execute an enemy in one stylish hit. All of these things can be executed in the blink of an eye, allowing me to rack up an uninterrupted chain of violence. If this sounds extremely different from previous Ninja Gaiden games, it is, but there's still plenty of shared DNA under that flashy exterior. For instance, working around enemy blocks is still important. I can also hold down a trigger to perform much slower, more powerful attacks that bring combat more in line with the old games. Despite everything, it does still fit into the Ninja Gaiden ethos. In an interview after my demo, PlatinumGames Producer and Director Yuji Nakao explained how it melded the ethos of the series with its own signatures. 'Even though you are up against very tough odds, you always have a toolset available to you where it all comes down to your skill.,' Nakao tells Digital Trends. 'If you really get into that toolset, you'll be able to overcome these enemies that block when you attack and you'll have to react on the fly. There's kind of a fighting game aspect to it, so we wanted to maintain that but also bring in our unique approach, while staying true to that essential Ninja Gaiden experience.' If you've been reading this preview with a look of horror on your face, terrified that Platinum simply doesn't understand the series, that should hopefully reduce your fears. It does, but it's adapting it in a new way. Battles are still incredibly tough gauntlets where it's easy to get overwhelmed, calling back to that classic experience. The violence is absolutely over the top to the point of self-aware comedy. There are also plenty of wall running and jumping puzzles out in the linear levels just like old times. Yes, it's faster and straight up as its own version of Bayonetta's Witch Time, but the philosophy behind it feels consistent so far. I trust that the series is in the right hands. And those hands are still damn good at making action games. Ninja Gaiden 4 launches on October 21 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ninja Gaiden 4 looks sick, is out in October, and has the exact storytelling I demand from a ninja game: 'You're a wanted criminal now'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ninja Gaiden 4 got a new trailer and a release date at today's Xbox Games Showcase, and this thing looks like a fever dream I had back in 2013: which I mean as a compliment. I mean, what more is there to life than murdering enemy ninjas and demons in incredibly graceful and over-the-top fashion? The major reason for excitement around Ninja Gaiden 4, after the unutterably disappointing Ninja Gaiden 3, is that Team Ninja has been on fine form ever since with the likes of Nioh, and on this occasion had the wisdom to rope-in Platinum Games, best-known for Bayonetta and a studio that boasts some of the best hack-and-slash talent the industry's ever known. And doesn't Ninja Gaiden 4 show it. You wanna know what I mean by hack-and-slash talent? This trailer opens with a character called Seori saying "watch your back Yakumo, you're a wanted criminal now." "I'll kill the dark dragon myself," says new protagonist Yakumo. "It's my mission as a raven ninja." The latter phrase is uttered as some goon's body slowly slides apart after being bisected by a ninja sword and all I have to say is: yes. Then some dork called Misaki says "breaking the dark dragon free has consequences" before a shot of some thunder-y lightning-flecked skies, and we're into the action shots of enemies being chopped into pieces. So many pieces. We get a glimpse of Yakumo's various weapons which include one that morphs into a giant drill, which he then drills enemy bodies apart with, and an absolutely sick-looking hammer that I am going to main. We've had about five seconds' worth of dialogue followed by about 400 enemies being eviscerated in 15 seconds and, you know what: take my ninjacoin. But wait there's more: Seori pops up again and says "Ryu, there's something I need your help with" and say no more fam: we're instantly into our boy Hayabusa filleting monsters, executing a fool with a perfect Flying Swallow, executing perfect dodges, and cracking out the ninpo magic. I especially liked how the camera jerks down into a fixed position for the ninpo, which maybe doesn't look as slick as some modern titles but is how the Ninja Gaiden games have always done it. At a certain point in the trailer some of you might find yourselves thinking "why does this giant mutated shark have an almost equally large humanoid skeleton inside it?" And it's a fair question but, if you need it answered, this isn't the game for you. I on the other hand am going to brutally kill that skeleton shark for daring to exist in my videogame. Ninja Gaiden 4 is out October 21, 2025, and you best believe I've got a hot date that night with a dark dragon.
Geek Culture
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
'Devil May Cry' Creator Open To Remaking First Game
Hideki Kamiya, creator and director of Capcom's classic hack-and-slash game franchise Devil May Cry, has expressed his interest in remaking the first game in the series, acknowledging that the ageing 2001 original will benefit from modern game design. Kamiya, who entered a new partnership with Capcom in December last year after leaving the studio in 2006, was responding to fan questions during the latest episode of his YouTube show when he was asked how he might approach a remake of the first Devil May Cry game. 'As for a remake, of course I'd love to do that,' he said (as translated by Video Games Chronicle). 'I usually don't replay my own games after release, and Devil May Cry is no exception. But once in a while, I catch gameplay clips and think, 'yeah, this really does feel like a 24-year-old game design.'' 'With today's technology and game design approach, of course, I'd want to remake it from the ground up. If that ever happens… well, I don't think seriously unless it's really happening, so right now, I don't have anything in mind. But if the time comes, I'll come up with something. That's what I do!' he added, 'So Capcom, leave it to me! Also, let me handle Viewtiful Joe too!' Kamiya directed the first Devil May Cry title, with the series going on to receive five major instalments between 2001 to 2019. He would then go on to work at PlatinumGames, before leaving in 2023 to form a new studio Clovers, which is currently working with Capcom for an Okami sequel revealed during last year's Game Awards. As for the Devil May Cry franchise, nothing new has been announced yet since 2019's Devil May Cry 5 , although the series did receive a boost in popularity thanks to Netflix's animated adaptation, which premiered on 3 April and landed a second season just one week after its release. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Capcom Devil May Cry Hideki Kamiya
