Mark of the Ninja Review
Amidst a hail of bamboo darts and smoke clouds, Mark of the Ninja brings innovation to the stealth genre
Having previously taken on the brawler genre with Shank and Shank 2, Canadian developer Klei Entertainment has decided to bring its unique style of 2D animation to an entirely different type of game altogether: stealth. Mark of the Ninja puts the player in control of a powerful ninja tasked with protecting his clan after being given a powerful gift, a special tattoo that grants the bearer a number of unique abilities but also drives them mad the longer they live after receiving it.
Klei Entertainment has always been known for their games’ unique cartoon-like animation and art style. Mark of the Ninja is undoubtedly the company’s most beautiful game to date. The fluid animation and bold use of colors not only make the game awesome to look at but perfectly compliment the movement and combat inherent to ninjas. The art even acts to inform the player across the entire game. While the player is hidden, the ninja is monochromatic, and while exposed, the ninja is fully colored, making for an easy visual cue to whether or not enemies are able to see you.
Stealth games tend to be all about mechanics, and Mark of the Ninja is no different. While factors such as noise, visibility and the surrounding environment are all still prominent within the game, it is the unique way in which the player is informed of this surrounding and the effect of any actions he may take that set Mark of the Ninja apart from other games in the genre. The game’s most noticeable difference is that it's 2D with a look much more similar to that of a traditional platformer than something like Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell. This literal lack of depth allows for the player to really take in every possible option, enemy and angle of attack all at once. While you may miss a guard around a corner or not be sure where exactly a certain vent leads to in many stealth games, all of this information is easily accessible to the player here simply by looking at the screen.
While it may seem that this approach could lead to a considerably easier game, I did not find that to be the case. There is still difficulty in figuring out a way through an area or how to kill all the guards without raising an alarm without the tedium of having to restart each level each time you stumble upon a new guard or step just a fraction outside of cover. There are a number of paths through each level and exploration is certainly a factor that can be embraced. Nearly every security system in the game is able to be turned off completely if you can locate the proper switch or fusebox. Since many of those systems are already navigable through a more direct approach, this kind of branching pathways and player choices given the game a stronger sense of decision making. I was able to complete every level I played completely differently the second time around.
This central idea of visual cues relaying information to the player is Mark of the Ninja’s defining feature. Want to throw a dart and destroy a street lamp? The game pauses the action as you select your target and clearly displays a yellow ring around the lamp showing how far the sound of the lamp breaking will travel and which, if any, guards will notice it. Similarly, the vision cones of guards, the sound of your footsteps, the smelling range of guard dogs and more are all cleanly and effectively displayed onscreen at all times. Giving the player all of this information up front allows for you to not only execute awesome maneuvers befitting of an actual ninja but avoid so many of the frustrating trial-and-error situations that seem to plague most stealth games.
Importantly, Mark of the Ninja doesn’t overly punish the player for making mistakes. Alarms are allowed to go off and guards can be quickly avoided after making small mistakes. Setting off alarms will bring a score penalty and successfully going undetected grants bonus points. Other than this, there is little penalty in terms of gameplay, only score. In more deadly situations, the player may take a few shots and die which would normally mean re-loading at the last checkpoint, save or even restarting the entire mission in most games. Here, you are instantly respawned without any penalty at the beginning of the room or section of the level you just died in. This kind of quick turn around on death and lack of player punishment encourages experimentation in how the player deals with the enemies as well as their surroundings. Countless times, I found myself pulling off a tricky and unusual maneuver that I would not normally have done had I felt I would need to retread much of the level or fail optional objectives if I died. High scores can be achieved through kills, remaining undetected, using distraction and attack items such as smoke bombs and spike traps and for completing each level’s secondary objectives. Playing sloppily will bring score penalties but high scores are achievable with both stealth and combat-focuses play styles.
Each level features a number of additional objectives, hidden scrolls, challenge rooms and even score tiers that do not have to be met but grant bonus upgrade points. These points can be put towards making your ninja stealthier, deadlier in combat, ready to pull off stealth kills in a number of different situations and even unlocking an array of distraction and attack items. As the game progresses and I was able to unlock more upgrades, I found my play style changing from a focus on stealth killing to something more outwardly centered on open combat. This changed again after going into the game’s New Game Plus mode in which I switched my focus to complete stealth in which I attempted to kill as few enemies as possible. All three of these styles of play are tons of fun and seem equally viable, although it is worth noting that even the more combat-focused unlocks will not turn this game into a brawler. You will always need to embrace stealth in one way or another.
Upgrade points are awarded for hitting certain score thresholds, completing the optional objectives and discovering each level’s scrolls. At certain points in each level and between levels, these points can be used to purchase upgrades for your ninja. Upgrades include everything from new attack and distraction items, better armor, entirely new ways to stealth kill enemies, new attacks to use while in open combat and more. The system is a fairly straightforward unlocks system that allows you to really develop your specific play style as the game progresses. Completing a certain number of certain kinds of the levels’ special objectives will unlock a number of different suits that can be equipped from this menu as well. These suits focus your ninja even more in one specific direction such as increasing the number of distraction items you can carry while removing your sword (essentially requiring full stealth) or a suit allowing you to carry more attack items and allowing you to recover health from stealth kills. These suits can be changed at any upgrade point and really add some unique challenges for those interested in multiple playthroughs.
After initially completing the game’s campaign, Mark of the Ninja includes a more intense New Game Plus mode that not only lets the player keep all of their upgrades and items from their first playthrough but also makes guards tougher, removes the visible sound lines and greatly limits visibility in line with the direction the ninja is facing. While I am normally not all that interested in New Game Plus modes, Mark of the Ninja’s mode has kept me interested, mostly due to the increase in difficulty and how differently the game is played with the limited visibility.
Mark of the Ninja is one of the best stealth games in years. Everything about its design is clearly focused on giving the player all of the tools they need in terms of abilities and on-screen information in order to truly play like a ninja. While things can get occasionally bogged down with bits of trial-and-error, the game’s save structure and lack of any real punishment for death make it a breeze to retry a plan of attack or quickly dodge a roomful of enemies. With a single run through of the campaign clocking in at around 8 hours with the addition of a more difficult New Game Plus mode, the game has loads of content and nearly all of the content is excellent. Regardless of how you’ve taken to other stealth games in the past, Mark of the Ninja is an innovative new take on the genre that shouldn’t be missed.