Within the Blade

Even with its flaws, Within the Blade is a solid 2D stealth game that pays homage to classic ninja games while also doing a bit more towards the actual concept than most of those past hits ever attempted to. The pixel art looks slick, the mechanics are enjoyable to learn, and the overall game is a really good time. While the stages can get a little dull in their layouts and the story doesn’t really go anywhere interesting, the moment-to-moment action makes this one well-worth picking up for ninja fans looking for their next shadow dancing partner.

Within the Blade is full of action and stealth, just like what you would expect a ninja to be good at. Unfortunately some of the levels become quite repetitive, but the game offers a unique weapon crafting feature that you don’t usually see in games like this.

Very neat, it is based on classic foundations, but is full of interesting ideas.

Within The Blade is a love letter to the 'hard ninja game' tradition, drawing inspiration from titles of the pixel age in particular. While it may take some getting used to, the game's difficulty curve becomes more rewarding than not...sans a few minor setbacks.

Within the Blade is an intricate blend of fast-paced stealth and action that we don’t see too often in this genre. While it falters in repetitive level design, it makes up for it in stylish and satisfying gameplay. There’s a high skill ceiling for players who’d like to challenge, and the experience of utilizing the stealth systems makes for interesting bouts of action gameplay.

Unlike Wildfire, though, Within the Blade works marvelously on the Switch and seems perfectly optimized for the platform, although the speed of the game does make more sense when docked on a nice TV. Little control and camera niggles - inputs to activate skills are constantly stumbled on Joy-Cons, and orienting the camera during stealth attempts is a pitiful chore - don’t compromise what is a weirdly deep, potentially satisfying low-rez action ninja sim. Elaborate and overflowing with optional content and a snappy narrative, Within the Blade should be a hit with the Sengoku set.

Within the Blade brings us an action platformer with stealth elements under the guise of a ninja-themed adventure. Beyond the good presentation, the game's appealing nature gets difficult to enjoy, as the implementation of movement and combat will often put the player at odds with the game. This is a pity, because there are ideas in Within the Blade that are worthy developing but as it is, the game's mechanics need to be reviewed and executed differently.

With a nice pixel-art style, Within the Blade may look like the perfect side-scrolling ninja adventure. While it offers huge replayability, its basic problems make it feel like you are fighting with a dull blade.