TronicG

Not a fan of the art on any of Lizardcube games, feels cheapish and flash-like. Sorry to say, because I’m sure there’s been plenty of work put into it, but the art direction in their games is lacking in character and cohesion, they need to mix it up and bring some other people into the team. The animation seems to override the game feel in all their games too, which makes them slippery and janky, and Shinobi is no exception. UI and UX is also lacking. The music is forgetabble. It is a shame that this game has been given such high scores from the press, because it sends the wrong messages both to Lizardcube and Sega.

Granted I am playing this in 2025, but this game is terrible. The vibe is cool, the world is interesting and the idea of plasmids is neat, but that's about it. Controls horribly, storytelling is meh and it is a fetch quest fest. Extremely disappointed since I remember all the hype and great reviews back in the day. I'd say just avoid it.

Came to this without expectation years after release. Pleasantly surprised. Very fun gameplay and story. I was pretty engaged throughout. Did not want it to end. Difficulty is a bit too much at times.

Huge waste of potential. They did the hardest part: building the world and atmosphere. Failed at (mostly) everything else. Extremely repetitive, infuriating enemy wave timings, horrible backtracking towards the end. Cannot understand the review scores it is getting. I get that we all want VR to thrive but we have to be honest: this is as mid as games get. The only good things this game has going for it is atmosphere and sound design. The later being pretty great.

Played for an hour. A couple of runs. Very cautious and slow. Found it OKish. Came back days later and started kinda speedrunning it. Three hours later couldn’t stop. If you fully send it this game is a blast. Addictive. Story is meh, variety in both enemies and levels is meh. Gameplay is top notch. Wish they’d given it more depth.

I'd argue the best game for PSVR2. Graphics and eviroments are amazing. Platforming sections are a great addition. Combat is fine. Music is great and controls too. It is a safe sequel and for that I don't give it a 10. A touch more ambition would have been welcome. I really hope Vertical Robot gets more funding for Red Matter 3 (or whatever project they might come up with next) because this team excels at VR.

Quite slow through first half, somwhat repetitive. That would be my only criticism. The rest is pretty amazing. Love the way the story is told through gameplay (mostly). Quite pure in comparison with Part II.

A bit easy and grindy. Uninspired and empty in comparison with the Galaxy games. A bit of a dissapointment. Mario controls ace, as expected, and the hat/capture mechanics were interesting but that’s about it for me. A pitty.

Honestly, I don’t get all the hate. Sure, it does not play it safe story wise and there are a couple segments that lack a bit, but, in general, I found it interesting and compelling. Made me feel things as a player, a bit like a Kojima game, and that’s rare in this medium. Not to mention the technical aspect, which is superb. The level of detail, animations and lightning is mind blowing. Not sure what’s up with Naughty Dog, but they are 20 clicks above everyone else when it comes to visuals. One of the most memorable experiences with a controller between my hands.

Setting and aesthetics are amazing. Great lore. Combat is decent. Punishing difficulty, seems unfair at times. Cryptic side quests, no clear direction in story. No way of keeping track of quests nor story. Stupid amount of backtracking. Most of the time I found myself wondering around with no clear direction or goal. It could have been a great game if it wasn’t for it’s game design. A big shame.

Dreamcast aesthetics, classic arcade formula, doesn’t take itselft seriously. What is not to like? The only thing preventing me giving this game a 9 is the AI rubber banding. Makes for close finishes all the time, sure, but it takes a little too much skill from the equation. Besides that, great arcade racer. Would love to see a sequel.