Originally published June 2016

I'm a big fan of stealth games. Though, I'm willing to admit I haven't played as many as other, more devout fans of the genre likely have. For example, I have only played bits and pieces of the Hitman and Splinter Cell games, and I've completed only two of the Metal Gear Solid games. However, I have played through 4 of the Tenchu games, both Syphon Filters, Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Dishonored. Now, I can add Mark of the Ninja to the list.

Stealth in video games is a mixed bag. I often find that stealth segments in games that aren't typically designed around stealth as a mechanic can end up being one of the most frustrating experiences in the world. Even in games with stealth as the main design, it can negatively impact the experience significantly. However, when done right, the satisfaction of perfectly executing your skills in a good stealth game is rarely ever matched. So, where does Mark of the Ninja stand?

The Short of It

Pros

• Stylish art style that is smooth and nice to look at

• Movement and performance are great

• Different challenges and collectibles are well-implemented and give the player tips on different ways to approach a level

• Quality level design gives players multiple paths and methods to accomplishing goals

Cons

• Platforming sections can be a little touchy and unresponsive

• Checkpoints are poorly implemented; often respawn with a bunch of enemies surrounding you only to die immediately again

• Difficulty and level length can be a bit inconsistent

• Arbitrary "final choice" scene

The Rest of It

I'd been meaning to play Mark of the Ninja for quite a while now. It had been sitting in my Steam queue for well over a year and I really had no excuse as to why I never just loaded it up. I'd always loved the Tenchu games on the original PlayStation, despite their numerous flaws, so why not play the 2D version of those games that was supposed to be even better? Well now that I have, I can say that Mark of the Ninja is a very good stealth game and a damn good one for being a 2D sidescroller. It doesn't quite overtake my nostalgic love for the Tenchu series, but it's certainly the best Ninja game I've played in a long time.

The story is relatively simple and mostly forgettable, though it has its moments of satisfactory twists and action. Your ninja clan is attacked suddenly by some modern military soldiers for reasons largely unknown. Once you've rescued your fellow ninjas from the attack, it's time to seek revenge! It's your job to go out and assassinate the ones responsible and work your way to the top of the organization by infiltrating their various bases and eliminating any guards or traps in your path.

To help you in this journey is some dark-magic tattoo that serves as the arbitrary video game reason as to why you're able to do some super special moves a human being wouldn't normally be able to do. There's a problem with the tattoo, though. Every person who bears it must kill themselves eventually because the ink in the tattoo drives a person insane eventually and they become bloodthirsty killers. You can probably imagine the rest of the plot without much help. The plot is just there to give some backstory as to why you're going around murdering guards who walk left and right in a specifically timed sequence.

The main things that stand out are the satisfying level designs, the mobility of your character, and the variety of ways you can use your skills and the environment to achieve your goals. The game is constantly rewarding you for your actions as well. You earn points every time you assassinate a guard, but you also earn points by using the environment to hide extremely close to them, or by distracting them with the environment. You have a plethora of abilities and tools to creatively maneuver the levels and assassinate your enemies.

Much like the Tenchu games, you are graded at the end of each level on how you did. While killing the guards nets you plenty of points, using creative methods to avoid them, or even making it through a level without killing anyone could net you even more bonuses. These points can then be used to purchase more tools and abilities to play around with your prey, adding to the replayability of levels and giving you a reason to strive for greater performance. I don't typically care much about being graded at the end of the level, but I certainly felt a satisfactory smile creep across my face on the levels I know I did really well.

What made it all so satisfying when I did well wasn't entirely the score, however, it was the thing that I love about good stealth games: being able to plan a strategy for a situation and execute it perfectly with timing and precision. I had moments like that in Far Cry 3 when I managed to capture a base without ever being detected, in Deus Ex: Human Revolution when I escaped a military complex without being seen, and in the last level of Dishonored when I completed it without being seen or killing anyone. I had multiple moments like that here. I used all the tricks at my disposal, like shattering lights to distract the guards I wanted while I dashed over to the lone one in the corner and killed him quickly, then strung him up for his friends to see and freak out in order to make them frantically shot each other out of fear. Moments like that tend to occur only in a stealth game that is designed well enough not to hinder the experience of the player.

It certainly wasn't perfect though. There were also moments where I was screwed over by the game's unresponsiveness. Ledges I should have navigated better led to my detection, or the twitchiness of the aiming mechanics led to disastrous inaccuracies, due in no part to my own inabilities. There were also instances where I was forced to respawn in precarious situations. At one point I kept dying and respawning in the same spot with a guard looking directly at me as soon as I started, giving me only half a second to react. I never had to restart a level because of it, but it was certainly annoying—I was also very reluctant to do so in those spots since the levels could become very long. Nonetheless, those failings were few and far between; they were certainly less frequent than I recall occurring in the Tenchu games or the original Splinter Cell, for that matter.

TL;DR (Conclusion)

Mark of the Ninja is a slick stealth game with practical mechanics, solid level design, a distinct look, and a smooth flow that allows for the game to avoid the slowdown that so often plagues the stealth experience. Its difficulty can be a little inconsistent at times and the occasional technical flub and poor checkpoint placement can lead to some frustrations, but it recovers beautifully in the moments when an attack strategy is well-planned and perfectly executed like a ninja master. It's a shame this game was originally released so long ago that it didn't get to benefit from the fan-made-levels fad that could have added some length to this short game. I'd gladly play more of it if it was.