PAX East: Mark of the Ninja Impressions

Mark of the Ninja comes to us from Klei Entertainment, the makers of Shank. It’s a downloadable title taking stealth gaming to the realm of 2D. It’s still in development, but what I played at PAX East was a very nearly finished version of the opening level.

It’s an impressive game. Klei Entertainment wanted to make a ninja game rather than just a game with ninjas in it. You feel like a stealthy assassin. Everything from the mechanics, dynamics, the art and animation convey that you are a ninja. Sticking to the shadows is the name of the game. There are multiple paths for every encounter in the level design and multiple ways to deal with threats each with their positives and negatives. The developer told me that it is possible to go through without killing anyone and merely getting around them.

I have to talk about the art style because it is so important to the game. They made two versions of everything, one for when it is in shadows and one for when it is in light. The developers looked for a way to convey darkness while the player could still tell where everything was. Small touches of color and art design convey what is possible in every single section.

The level structure is very like Metroid in how the camera shifts to screens rather than keeping your character centered in the middle of the screen. It is important because it allows you to take in the structure and where everything is to take your time and plan your way through. There is a minimap, but at no point did I feel the need for one and I had almost finished the demo before I even noticed I had one. Klei has said they are considering taking it out completely and if they did I wouldn’t miss it. Everything you need to know is on screen and presents the necessary information better than anything a minimap could offer.

In Mark of the Ninja you are not the unstoppable killing machine of Ninja Gaiden. Klei went through three different combat systems trying to get the balance just right between playing it as a fighting game and giving the player a chance to escape a spot of trouble should they get caught. The work shows because they certainly get that balance where one or two enemies can be dealt with, but not any more than that. It is a struggle, but again it feels fair. They are smooth and flowing as any other part of the game, but really the game is designed in such a way that it is so much more satisfying to get away unseen and unheard.

Like the visuals, sound plays an important role in this game, but isn’t as clear about it as it could be. Walking normally is slow, but silent. If you run you start making noise that can give your position away to enemies. Destroying lamps, hitting gongs and crows taking off all contribute to things that can either distract enemies or give away your position. Sound is represented by think white circle that show the area affected by the noise made. It’s not obtrusive and it is certainly possible to get through the tutorial level without it being a factor. It is such a neat way to represent it that fits so well in the in game art style that I hope later levels add challenges where it becomes an important mechanic.

Since nearly all stealth games have been in 3D, Klei Entertainment had to work their stealth mechanics from the ground up. It took 9 months of reworking standard concepts into the 2D space. For instance hiding behind corners is a standard move in stealth games, but in 2D they were reworked into a vertical space. As a ninja you are able to cling to walls and sneak up around corners vertically. Instead of moving around objects to stay out of sight, the go to move it up and over or hiding under trapdoors.

I think the 2D nature of the game allows it far more freedom than a 3D counterpart would. The levels are far more open, and while the opening level is in the end rather linear it doesn’t actually feel that way. In fact, during the demo I took a direction the developers weren’t expecting because no one else had before. I missed a short story section as a consequence, but even without the dialogue I understood what was going on. The game is really well made and I’m really excited for it when it comes out.

Mark of the Ninja is by Klei Entertainment, published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360. It is planned for release this summer. There are no plans for a PC release, but the developers are hopeful.