10 Second Ninja X

Dashing onto the PC back in 2014, {10 Second Ninja} developed a hefty following and was proclaimed as a punishing {Super Meat Boy}-inspired platformer with ninjas. After missing out on the ninja's first outing and looking on in envy, console owners can now get their hands on the long awaited sequel and enjoy heaps of additional content and much glossier visuals.

After bounding through the woods and honing your ninja skills you are abducted by the nefarious Captain GreatBeard who confesses that he has kidnapped all of your woodland friends and enslaved them in the bodies of robots. In order to free your companions and prove yourself worthy of your self-proclaimed title as the speediest ninja alive, you must blaze through GreatBeard's series of noxious assault courses in the quickest time possible. Roaming around on his ship and with a peculiar obsession with facial hair, the title's overarching villain is a clear homage to Sonic the Hedgehog's Doctor Eggman. While its paper-thin narrative may be rife with cliches, it's still able to deliver countless laughs between moments of intense action.

{10 Second Ninja X}'s blisteringly fast gameplay requires you to obliterate every robot on screen in less than 10 seconds. After you've reduced them all to a smouldering pile of parts you are then awarded a rating of between 1 and 3 depending on the proficiency of your ninja skills. It's quick-fire bursts of action feel bracing throughout as you're constantly searching for new pathways and solutions to shave milliseconds off the dwindling clock. Even the slightest misstep is all that's needed to prevent you from acquiring your desired score, making accuracy just as valued as agility and momentum.

There are total of 60 levels that are new to the experience as well as 40 returning remasters from the blue ninja's previous adventure. Each of these levels are divided into 10 different stages that are characterised by their own individual motif and gameplay mechanics. All newly introduced mechanics work to build upon each other resulting in some outrageously complex puzzles during the closing sections. In order to unlock the next successive stage you need to average at least 2 stars across the board, which often requires repetition. Via the hubworld you can return to any previous stage as you please, simply by interacting with '80s style televisions.

While we weren't the most skilful ninjas to ever grace GreatBeard's trials, we still couldn't deny that the controls felt tight and responsive and slip-ups, while frustrating, felt incredibly fair.

The ninja's nimble movements required a lot of patience and persistence to master, this despite having a simplistic control scheme. But this took a lot of getting used too and besides a brief training segment there was little to prepare newcomers for the impending difficulty spike. Following the first stage, however, we found the grueling difficulty was soon to subside and we spent very little time having to revisit stages.

With its simplistic yet charming aesthetic still intact the title is a notable step up from its predecessor, carrying glossier visuals and a much sharper 1080p resolution. Its minimalistic cartoony presentation ties in perfectly with the game's very straightforward style of gameplay.
The soundtrack might not exactly lead out during the intensity of your time conscious attacks, but it's still reinforces the sense of rush and urgency created by the brisk gameplay.

After you've braved {10 Second Ninja X}'s 60 core levels a new area opens up granting you access to the remastered legacy levels from the first game. As well providing an ample slice of end-game content these returning editions are certain to delight those who jumped onboard with the first game. But while these are welcomed touch, they still lack the burning difficulty and intensity of the main game, resulting in them feeling a little anticlimactic. A lot of the earlier levels share environments seen within the core game adding quite an awkward sense of deja vu to the experience.

Even beyond the legacy levels there's still a wealth of content that can be explored at your leisure. If you're able to hunt down all of the lost disc fragments scattered across the ship you'll unlock an exclusive arcade game titled Nunnageddon 2. Here you play as a homicidal nun who is hellbent on cleansing the world of the undead. There are also new outfits that you can unlock, as well as marathon mode where you can play each stage's levels in quick succession. Online leaderboards will also see you coming back for more even after you've gained three stars on all levels if you want to try and secure some the fastest completion times in the world.

But despite being thoroughly enjoyable our experience was frequently hampered by numerous frustrating glitches that resulted in losing hours of hard-earned progress. Occasionally the game's auto saving symbol would continue to flash and upon resetting all progress following the glitch went unsaved. This was made worse as there was no way to manually save the game so there was always a looming sense of doubt that things hadn't saved. Also, when returning to the ship after certain stages, our stars failed to register forcing us to delve back in and repeat our actions. These glitches occured in the PS4 version we played for the purpose of this review.

Built on the solid foundation of its predecssor {10 Second Ninja X} is very addictive and comes crammed with heaps of additional content. Its rapid bursts of gameplay are exhilarating and you'll keep returning to find faster solutions to puzzles. The legacy levels may lack bite and there a number of crippling glitches present, but considering its modest price point it's still well worth a purchase.