Games / Game Reviews

Review: Mark of the Ninja

By Sean Booker
September 15, 2012 - 11:39

Mark of the Ninja is a stealth platformer with controls so tightly designed that it becomes more of a puzzle game. The game allows you to play through it with a level of stealth that you can control through many different ways. Whether you’re more interested in killing your way through the stages, or you prefer a much more pacifist approach, Mark of the Ninja supports many ways of completing its challenges regardless of your interest or experience with stealth games.

If you’re familiar with any of Klei Entertainment’s previous work, such as N+ or the Shank franchise, then you know they excel at extremely fluid movement and a great art and animation style. Both of these remain true with Mark of the Ninja and that becomes evident from the very start.



The fluidity to the movement is what really drives the game forward in the stealth genre. Too often are stealth games far too dependant on the concept of a perfect run though and this leads to your characters often feeling slower than a first timer might like since they expect you to know precisely how to take on each obstacle. Mark of the Ninja avoids this frustration by allowing your character to move at superhuman speeds and freeze time when needed. This way, you have the option of playing more slowly and carefully, but you also have the choice of rushing through moments and getting out quick if you screw something up.

The primary mechanic you need to remember is that sound in Mark of the Ninja can be your greatest weapon, or your worst enemy. Apart from your standard sneaking movement, everything you do will make a sound that can alert the enemies to your position - or distract them to a specific spot. Doing so can allow you to line up enemies for the perfect kill, or simply draw their attention to a place where you’re not. To make noise, you can either break lights with throwing knives, use specific traps (such as the aptly named Noise Maker), drop objects from tall heights and a number of other options. Gaining a mastery of how sound can be used to your advantage is a must when playing Mark of the Ninja.



With the movement, the attacks and the use of different weapons/traps, it might seem like Mark of the Ninja could go over your head with options but with the amount of choice in how different players might want to take on a game like this, a high and tight level of design is needed and this game easily steps to the challenge. And it does this so well that the game changes from a platformer to something more similar to a puzzle game. Though you have the option of taking your enemies straight on, you’ll find that a slower and more thorough approach will benefit you in more ways than one.



Mark of the Ninja does a great job of teaching you how to use all of its different mechanics by the inclusion of three objectives per level. These, along with the game’s achievements, can range from killing people in certain ways, hiding and moving to certain spots, using traps in different types of scenarios, etc. Completing these objects will give you access to new and stronger traps/power-ups so if you play well, you will become a better and more deadly ninja. It’s this ease of play and differentiation of gameplay styles that really make you feel like a predator of the night and an overall badass.

Apart from the main game you will also have access to challenge stages found within each level. These will force you to master a specific game mechanic and can range from using blocks as shields effectively to learning how to quickly grapple to many spots. Completing these will not only help you learn to play better but will unlock more collectables that will add to your stage’s score. Everything you do in each stage will accumulate to an overall score and you can compare this with your friends through online leaderboards. This, the level specific objectives, along with the addition of a New Game+ really give the game a lasting appeal and a reason to return.



Mark of the Ninja shows how stealth games don’t have to be a scary concept for an outside audience. With the high level of detail put into the game’s mechanics and the number of different ways to take on each situation, it becomes quite easy to find a method of play for anyone. Along with this, the game looks great and Klei Entertainment continues to show their strengths when it comes to 2D designed games. Overall, Mark of the Ninja is an incredibly well put together product with enough lasting appeal to make it an extremely easy recommendation.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12