Shinobi: Art of Vengeance struggles alongside direct competition

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a decent video game, but its wider appeal is limited because many similar, better games are coming out around the same time.

This new game from Lizardcube revives a classic Sega franchise as an action game with stunning animation. It's definitely one of the prettiest games that will be released this year.

It's also not one I'm sure I'd recommend over other action platformers like it that are coming out this summer.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is launching right next to other heavy-hitting platformers like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound , The Rogue Prince of Persia, Adventure of Samsara , and Hollow Knight: Silksong .

While its combat and art are top-tier, it feels like Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is being outclassed by those other games in regard to its platforming mechanics, the blending of combat and platforming, and level design in general.

While Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a solid game when analyzed in a vacuum, as soon as its competition comes up, it becomes tougher to recommend. I wish it had come out during a less crowded time for the genre.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an excellent action game, a mediocre platformer

Art and action above everything else

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's most memorable moments come from its absolutely beautiful animation. Every enemy, boss, and level background is vibrant and immaculately detailed.

Developer Lizardcube is known for amazing animation in games like Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and Street of Rage 4 , but Shinobi: Art of Vengeance may be its best-looking game yet.

Combat is also impressive, offering a shocking amount of depth as players unlock more moves and combos over time through the in-game shop. It excels at delivering exhilarating ninja action, offering better boss fights than even Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.

Where it falls short is in the level design and platforming.

For the most part, combat and platforming abilities don't feel interconnected, causing whiplash as it moves between a complicated Celeste-like platforming obstacle course and an intense boss fight.

Vengeance also has trouble deciding whether it wants to be a fast-paced action platformer or a Metroidvania .

It ends up breaking the difference between the two, featuring levels that are overly long, labyrinthine, and sometimes impossible to fully complete the first time through.

While the combat and movement are pretty fast-paced, this level design can sometimes make the game feel like a slog to get through. That's not good enough to stand out from its peers.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is facing a lot of tough competition

And it doesn't quite outdo any of it

From a game design perspective, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance fails to pick a lane and stick with it. That doesn't work in the game's favor when it's facing so much competition that is setting a high standard.

If you're looking for a game to deliver fast-paced action platforming with tight level design, then Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound does a better job of mixing its combat and platforming. It also has more memorable level design, never feeling like a slog during its brief runtime.

If you're looking for a platformer with a large interconnected world, then you have to wait just another week from Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's launch for Adventure of Samsara and Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Both of those look like they will fully commit to being a Metroidvania, rather than half-committing to the concept and messing with the game's pacing.

In terms of replay value, The Rogue Prince of Persia inherently offers more of that than Shinobi: Art of Vengeance because of its roguelike structure. It also mixes combat and platforming better than Lizardcube's latest does.

While Shinobi: Art of Vengeance may have a better visual style than its contemporaries, that's not the most important thing to excel at in the platforming genre.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is coming out at the wrong time

Sometimes, having too many choices isn't a good thing

When considering how much I enjoy a platformer, game feel and level design are immensely important to me.

While Shinobi: Art of Vengeance feels amazing during combat and is gorgeous to look at, its level design and platforming game feel aren't as good as all the other platformers coming out this summer.

If it were launching during a quieter period for the genre, then its shortcomings would be easier to overlook in a recommendation.

But while Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is not a bad game by any means, there are so many alternatives with more confidently crafted level design and better-feeling platforming coming out right now that it's tough to recommend you spend your limited time and money on this game over the likes of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound or Hollow Knight: Silksong .

If you've really been looking forward to this game or are a fan of this dormant Sega series, then you'll probably still like it. But at the moment, there are more interesting action platformers to play, right now and in the coming weeks.