I bought the original game years ago on the pc and had a pretty good time, despite needing a controller to be able to play properly. Then aI bought the original game years ago on the pc and had a pretty good time, despite needing a controller to be able to play properly. Then a few days ago I saw this game on discount and I thought "hey, I remember this game being good, I'll play it again! Oh, it's a remaster too". So here we go again I guess.
Mark of the Ninja was originally released in 2012 and it was a very good stealth-based game with very interesting mechanics and a rather intriguing story that didn't want to be imposed and instead was more of a background thing, which made the game easier to follow. Its art style was and still is very good to look at, very reminiscent of Samurai Jack and similar, and the setting is a sort of modern world with still bits and pieces of antiquity and more.
The game was essentially a 2D action-platformer but in a way I would say "it's more like a Puzzle game with action elements": even if our nameless ninja can kill and has a lot of moves to use the levels are made in a way that you have to find the solution without making too much noise or die and the final result would give you points according to how you played. Said points are only used to gain the marks which are used for unlocking upgrades, like additional executions and tools.
Add the fact that the game is fairly long - 12 levels + an additional one for the remastered version, which also unlocks a new costume and tools - you get a very lengthy but fun game that I think everyone will enjoy.
The only thing that bothered me with it, and they're nitpicks so be easy with me, is that the game has some issues with controls and has occasional bugs too, as well as having some padding in the levels that felt unnecessary.
For the controls, it's most noticeable when you try to move bodies around to hide them: the button to pick the bodies is O but it's the same button also for hiding yourself and it can be problematic when you want to hide these bodies from other guards. Sometimes executions won't even work and instead, I accidentally punch the guards and the hook occasionally hooks me farther than I wanted, killing me in the process.
Bottom line, controls aren't exactly stellar, but I wouldn't say they're terrible either. Just requires some practice.
Secondly, the game does get buggy sometimes: I accidentally died once by running to a wall...no idea why really, I was disintegrated as if a laser was there. And later one of my key targets got killed while I wasn't even near and the reason I noticed that was because I got the trophy because I would never have realized it!
And last, and least really, the game feels a little padded at times: certain levels are fine but some lack the charm and smarts of the other and I got tired sometimes because it wasn't as fun as before.
Also, from level 10 through 13, the game gets an incredible difficulty spike for really no reason: from there you get to deal with traps, enemies that can go through shafts like you - and can't be killed - and you also have some annoying mechanics to deal with as well. I didn't enjoy the last few levels of the game.
But overall, it's a very good game and the remastered version is a solid deal, especially if you find it for cheap. But even at full price, I would still recommend it.… Expand