Ninja Gaiden 4 review
Team Ninja and PlatinumGames’ blood-soaked revival slices its way into Game Pass Premium.
Editorial review · AI-assisted. Written with AI help and checked against the critic, performance and accessibility sources linked on this page. How we work · Player reviews are by real players.
Already on Ultimate and PC Game Pass since its October 2025 launch, Ninja Gaiden 4 now joins the Premium tier — and if you skipped it the first time, this is your cue. Team Ninja and PlatinumGames share the sword, with newcomer Yakumo leading and Ryu Hayabusa cast as his rival.
The critical story is simple: the combat is phenomenal and everything around it is merely fine. It holds an 82 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic. IGN (8/10) said that despite a disappointing story and bland level design, the excellent combat makes it “one of the best 3D action games in recent memory.” GamesRadar+ gave it a perfect 5/5, TheGamer (4.5/5) said Platinum clearly understands what makes the series special, and GameSpot (8/10) said it brings the series back with a bang.
Not everyone was sold on the extras. PC Gamer (69/100) felt the bloody good combat carries it through its more extraneous “modern” additions, and Hardcore Gamer landed at 3.5/5. OpenCritic’s critic consensus sums it up: linear levels and a simple story hold it back slightly, but the core loop and intense battles make it a standout.
A note for newcomers: the easiest setting, Hero mode, comes with automated assists — but Can I Play That? strongly criticised how the game penalises players who turn them on (see Accessibility below).
“One of the best 3D action games in recent memory.”— IGN
Hits
- Brutal, razor-sharp combat
- Relentless pace from start to finish
- Tough enough to reward mastery
Misses
- Forgettable story
- Linear, bland level design
- Assists lock you into the easiest difficulty
…you judge a game by how good it feels to dash, parry and dismember — story strictly optional.
Trailer
Official · XBOX on YouTubeWatch on YouTube ↗Loads from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press play.
Gallery
Tap to expand · swipe to browseDeep dive
Time to beat
157 / 186 / 12 players polled.
Play now or wait?
It’s been out for a year, it’s polished, and it’s now in Premium. Series S players should expect a big visual downgrade.
Tonight’s Play’s call, based on the sourced reviews and performance reports on this page.
How it runs
Xbox Series X
30, 60 and 120fps options that hit their targets fairly consistently. Digital Foundry recommends the 60fps mode as largely stable and smooth.
Xbox Series S
No 120fps mode. The 60fps mode targets a low native 720p with dynamic resolution, very blurry textures and effects such as SSR, AO and motion blur disabled. Digital Foundry compared the look to a “PS3 era game”. The 30fps mode has a variable, unlocked frame rate.
PC
Digital Foundry’s review headline: “Platinum’s bespoke engine shines — especially on PC, PS5 Pro.”
Accessibility
Can I Play That? praises customisable HUD colours and text sizes, high-contrast options and legible subtitles, and notes assists including Auto Assist, Auto Block, Auto Heal, Auto Movement and Auto Interact. But controls aren’t fully remappable, turning on Auto Assist, Auto Block or Auto Heal forces the easiest (“Hero”) difficulty, and Auto Movement disables scoring. The reviewer called its handling of accessibility the worst he has seen.
Player reviews
Player reviews, comments and leaderboards are on the way
Soon you’ll be able to sign in with an email link, rate games out of five, vote reviews helpful and climb the monthly Top Reviewers board. Player reviews will always be clearly labelled as written by real players, separate from Tonight’s Play’s AI-assisted editorial reviews.