Spieler Eins
Member
I usually don't have strong feelings towards indie titles, but this might easily be one of my favorites. I really get the urge to talk about how fun it is after each session. This game might be the first I've played to truly convey the feeling of being a ninja. I'm certainly not going to disrespect classics like Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi, but let's be real, you are basically playing action heroes in those games, not stealth warriors.
The gameplay is amazing. The controls feel very natural and easy to grasp, while the game still gives you lots of options to hide and seek, lure your enemies, and so forth - coming with great level design, equally supporting whatever your prefered approach is, alongside light exploration and puzzling. I always found stealth games annoying, because they involve a lot of waiting, making retries after a failure tedious. So I'm really welcoming certain streamlining through the frequent save points in MotN (and also in the Batman Arkham games for example). Same goes for the interface. On one hand, some might call it a little too handholdey, but the visualisation of your sounds and sight just make sense in this context and the way it is presented. Barely controlling the throwing items can be a little wonky, but they give you unlimited time for them anyway.
They've also nailed the looks, excluding their pseudo-serious cartoon network-esque cinematics, but at least they are extremely short. I guess urban ninjas have kind of become a trope at this point, but how could you hate them? And thankfully it's not that played out in the grand picture of game industry offerings.
I think I'm reaching the end soon, after entering the catacombs. It's a little longer than I thought. Fortunately, because it's just that good. Though I don't really know where to go from there when I'm done. Doesn't seem like a sequel is planned and I can't think of too many games scratching the same itch. Tenchu maybe?