The Game Awards reaffirmed its place as the year’s premier showcase for game reveals at last night’s 10th-anniversary ceremony, kicking things off with a surprising announcement of a new Ninja Gaiden game. Rather than continuing the character action style of the series’ 6th-generation reboot, the newly announced Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a decidedly old-school-looking title that calls back to the original NES trilogy of brutally difficult action platformers. And while the prospect of a new Ninja Gaiden game is exciting in itself, the reveal of Ragebound‘s developer and publisher should have fans of the classic games optimistic given both studios’ pedigree.
Handling development duties for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is none other than The Game Kitchen, which has a strong track record with side-scrolling action platformers thanks to the studio’s work on the critically acclaimed Blasphemous games. Even if Ragebound turns out to be a standard action platformer and not a Metroidvania, The Game Kitchen’s work on Blasphemous bodes well for its combat and traversal. Additionally, Ragebound is being published by DotEmu, which continues to establish itself as a publishing house capable of taking dormant franchises and reinventing them for a modern audience. With DotEmu and The Game Kitchen working together, it seems like this new iteration of Ninja Gaiden is in good hands.
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Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’s Gameplay and Visuals Seem to Play to The Game Kitchen’s Strengths
Anyone who has played either the first Blasphemous or its sequel can attest to both games’ quality, particularly where their pixel art, animations, and presentation are concerned. The reveal of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound immediately shows off the retro-inspired title playing to The Game Kitchen’s strengths in these areas, with its fully animated cutscenes and fluid movement during both the combat and traversal halves of its gameplay. Even though they’re incredibly difficult games, the original NES trilogy of Ninja Gaiden titles were some of the smoothest and most responsive action platformers of their day, and a similar sentiment can be shared about the Blasphemous games’ place in the crop of modern Metroidvania titles.
Ragebound‘s new protagonist (who is seen interacting with Ninja Gaiden‘s mainstay Ryu Hayabusa in the trailer) is shown navigating platforming sections with ease while also displaying a wide variety of impressive combat moves that are all fluidly animated and precise in a way that would make both the old-school Ninja Gaiden games and both Blasphemous titles proud. And while only one boss is shown off in the trailer, the likelihood of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound including some intricately detailed and grotesque boss designs like the boss enemies from Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2 seems high with The Game Kitchen at the helm.
DotEmu Has a Strong Track Record of Reviving Dormant Franchises
Along with having a vetted developer handling the game’s creation, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound also happens to feature publishing from DotEmu, which has made a name for itself by reviving long-dormant franchises in retro-inspired titles featuring modern touches. The company’s most successful game to date is Streets of Rage 4, but several other beloved games feature publishing from DotEmu that breathe life into once prominent series lost to the annals of history. Some of the more noteworthy DotEmu projects include:
- Streets of Rage 4
- Windjammers 2
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
- Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap
- Metal Slug Tactics
DotEmu can now add Ninja Gaiden to its growing roster of games, which sees it joining some esteemed company in terms of legendary late 80s and 90s game franchises. A return of the Ninja Gaiden franchise was something that many fans have been asking for, especially given Team Ninja‘s continued success in the Soulslike genre. While Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound might be a new game in the franchise more geared toward longtime fans of the classic entries, it appears that the title is in good hands for the project to do the series justice.
From the acclaimed team behind Blasphemous, NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound successfully unites the classic lore and gameplay of the Tecmo-developed (now KOEI TECMO GAMES) NINJA GAIDEN series from the 8-bit era with the depth and intensity of the modern 3D entries. The best of both eras come together to create an epic and thrilling adventure.
Our story begins when Ryu Hayabusa journeys to America to honor his father’s will. While he is away, the barrier between the human and the demon worlds suddenly shatters, unleashing a terrifying army upon the Hayabusa Village, which now faces an unprecedented threat in Ryu’s absence. To stand against this new threat, Kenji Mozu, a young ninja from the Hayabusa Village, rises to the challenge!
Combining old-school feeling with modern precision, NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound retains the pick-up-and-play action of the classic titles, while introducing new layers of depth.
Platformer
Action
Adventure
- Released
- 2025
- Developer(s)
- The Game Kitchen
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- Number of Players
- 1