Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, the latest game in the classic hack-and-slash series, has hit the ground running, thanks to a slew of impressive reviews. Developed by The Game Kitchen, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a side-scrolling platformer set to release on July 31 across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.

Following the adventures of new playable characters Kenji Muzo and Kumori, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound offers longtime fans a refreshing break from playing as the series mainstay, Ryu Hayabusa, in this spin-off title. It also marks a revisit to the franchise's 2D roots, which was last seen in a standalone entry in 1992's Ninja Gaiden for the Sega Master System. On top of that, the nostalgic appeal of Ragebound is boosted by its 8-bit art style, which hearkens back to the '80s era games. It is the second of the three Ninja Gaiden releases of 2025, sandwiched between Ninja Gaiden 2 Black from January and Ninja Gaiden 4 coming in October.

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The Best Ninja Gaiden Games, Ranked

From 1989's Ninja Gaiden to 2025's Ninja Gaiden 4, here are the best games in Team Ninja's legendary franchise.

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Despite being the series' first 2D entry in years, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has been received warmly by an overwhelming majority of critics. At the time of writing, it holds an average score of 87 on OpenCritic based on 45 critic reviews. In doing so, it has also become the highest-rated platformer game released in 2025 so far, with Blade Chimera being the distant runner-up with a score of 81. Overall, it comes in at the 22nd spot among the best-rated games of this year, putting it in the company of major releases such as Mario Kart World and Yakuza 0: Director's Cut. Moreover, it has also become the joint highest-rated game developed by The Game Kitchen, alongside 2023's Blasphemous 2, another retro-themed side-scrolling action game. In The Best War Games's own Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound review, the Dotemu-published game scored 9 out of 10 and was described as a "near-perfect" version of the franchise's classic 2D formula.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Opens to Very Positive Critical Reception

The highly impressive reviews for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound certainly bode well for the game ahead of its public release. Apart from the inherent appeal of Koei Tecmo's IP and the involvement of a distinguished studio such as The Game Kitchen, the 2D platformer now also has a solid critical response working in its favor. After its release, it will be interesting to see how Ragebound compares to the Spanish developer's past projects on the commercial side of things.

Following the positive reception of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (81 on OpenCritic) and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, all eyes are now on the third and final release in the series planned for this year, Ninja Gaiden 4, scheduled to roll out on October 21. It is the first mainline entry in 13 years and focuses on a brand-new Ninja Gaiden protagonist named Yakumo.

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9 /10

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
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Platformer
Action
Adventure
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 super greyscale 8-bit logo PC-1
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Released
July 31, 2025
Developer(s)
The Game Kitchen
Publisher(s)
Dotemu
Franchise
Ninja Gaiden
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Ninja Gaiden Ragebound Press Image 1
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Genre(s)
Platformer, Action, Adventure