Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Makes the Flow State Its Default

The release of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance marks a return to form after a 14-year-long hiatus, and LizardCube's entry makes it feel like the franchise never left. Even if players have never experienced the story of the Oboro Clan from past entries, the visual style of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance helps welcome players with open arms. In terms of gameplay, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is accessible for platforming fans of all kinds, and this is largely due to how the game treats every moment like players are in a flow state.

The concept of the flow state is often associated with gaming, where players become completely absorbed within the gameplay to the point where they lose sense of the world around them. When this state is achieved, players are so focused on the game that controlling the character feels like second nature. The movement and combat of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance make achieving that flow state almost instantaneous, as players can quickly become entranced by the combination of the game's visual style and smooth controls.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's Smooth Combat Makes it Easy to Find a Rhythm from Frame One

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Shinobi Execution

Joe Musashi Feels like an Extension of the Player

Although it may be hard for players to picture themselves as Joe Musashi, given his stoic nature and martial prowess, becoming one with the character in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is surprisingly natural. The controls for Shinobi: Art of Vengeance don't reinvent the wheel, but are tuned finely enough that movement and combat feel natural, even for inexperienced platformer fans. The way Shinobi: Art of Vengeance introduces its mechanics by throwing players right into gameplay also goes a long way toward putting players in the shoes of Musashi.

As is popular among action games, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance features the ability to chain basic and heavy attacks together in combos. Performing these combos feels fluid, allowing Musashi to disrupt enemy attacks and essentially stunlock them for as long as the combo continues. Adding in the ability to double-jump and air dash in the middle of these combos can quickly ramp up the flow of gameplay and blur the lines between the player and Musashi himself.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's Movement and Combat Only Improve With Time

While the first level of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is enough to get players into a flow state on its own, that feeling is only intensified as the game progresses. As players make their way through the game, they will unlock four different types of skills, broken down into:

Ninjitsu
Ninpo
Ningi
Combat Moves

While Ninjitsu and Ninpo slow down the flow of combat for tide-turning attacks, Ningi and Combat Moves serve to enhance Musashi's movement and combo options during battle. Unlocking Ningi happens naturally as players progress through the story, building Musashi's repertoire of traversal methods with things like the Ninja Flip, Ninja Hook, and Sword Dive. Combat Skills usually need to be purchased from the game's shop, but are vastly worth the investment since using moves like Dive Kick and Aerial Slash, followed up by a finisher like Aerial Kunai Burst, can make one long uninterrupted attack sequence feel more like a fighting game than a platformer.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance not only places the tools to enter a flow state directly in the player's lap via mandatory Ningi unlocks, but gives players the freedom to customize their gameplay style so that they can find the perfect rhythm with Ninpo setups and a wealth of optional Combat Moves. As a result, Shinobi strikes a balance between platforming and combat that allows the game to appeal to fans of both tight platformers and 2D action games.

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