This was my first time playing a PSVR game like this, one that was based it’s value solely on the device’s tracking and motion controllers. I was a bit skeptic when it was first loading up, but within the tutorial my concerns were both put to rest and validated. The game itself plays a lot like Fruit Ninja. You stay stationary, only able to rotate by turning your head, and targets are thrown in your face until you destroy them. The main difference here being that you are now expected to block attacks that are coming at you from almost 360 degrees. Oh, and of course, your targets are evil ninjas that you can now chop into several tiny pieces. Yes, it’s as fun as it sounds.
The Good
The overall game play loop is incredibly fun and addictive. It essentially breaks down into this: Complete one level, fight a boss, unlock a new weapon, onto the next level. Each level takes only a few minutes to beat, but I don’t recall ever actually being bored with it’s repetitive nature. Playing in a group seemed to be the best way to play. Verbally yelling out our own personal scoring of each other’s ninja skills, worked way better than the online scoreboard that was provided.
The combat itself is glorious for this type of game. Several ninjas rush you at once so it’s up to you to keep track of everyone around you, deflecting their strikes as efficiently as possible. Enemies flank quickly and can get behind you if you’re not paying attention. Luckily, time slows down giving you time to parry each attack. Most of the time, these attacks come in the form of enemy blades, but once in a while a ninja star will come flying at you. Blocking the star in just the right way sends it right back to the thrower.
The rag doll body effects, as well as the dismemberment, are fantastic. Nailing a successful strike will sometimes reward you with legs or arms flying in every direction, portions of heads flying off, and even the upper torso going vertical after a quick spray of blood. One of my favorites was slicing the enemies in half, from head to groin, and then watching each half crumple to the ground into two separate piles. The enemy designs are a little too polygonal for my taste, but overall it wasn’t hard to overlook.
For the most part the environments are pleasant to look at. Most are stereotypical of any ninja or samurai movie that’s ever been made, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The colors are exceptionally vibrant, increasingly so in the mission entitled “Ambush at Dawn”. The sunrise bathing everything in shades of red can’t be beat.
The Bad
Ninja Legends does have it’s fair share of problems. The main one being the inconsistent tracking. Normally I wouldn’t attribute this to the game, however I can honestly say I’ve never had motion tracking that was this hit or miss. This goes for the motion controllers and for the VR headset itself. I changed my room layout and lighting several times, but nothing seemed to correct it. Even during the opening tutorial I ran into an issue that persisted the entire game, a notice appeared so close to my face I had to sit down, then lean back to be able to look down far enough to find the “next” button. Several times my in game height would alternate from being average to a 10 foot tall giant.
I did run into several enemy AI glitches that were rather frustrating. Some would run around in circles in an attempt to dodge my projectile attacks, and they would get stuck in their pattern, endlessly running in circles until I restarted the mission. This wasn’t an every few minutes issue, but it persisted several times over my first session of a few hours.
If you’re not a fan of arcade style games, this will probably get a little repetitive for you. Now while I will say that I didn’t find myself getting tired of it, I can definitely see where this could become a problem. The overall weak AI doesn’t help as enemies just charge in your general direction over and over again throughout each level, so the only variety you will see is the environments and a few different types of enemies.
The Verdict
Ninja Legends is a good time that almost anyone can enjoy. How long before it gets repetitive is the more important question. Repetition is not always a bad thing, however for $25.00 I would’ve hoped for a little more, especially with the inconsistent tracking that is the backbone for VR games relying on motion controllers.
