Ninja Gaiden 4 is a big deal for a lot of people. The franchise as a whole is one of the most iconic in the hack ‘n’ slash genre, and Ninja Gaiden is the first mainline game in 13 years—making the review embargo date a huge milestone for players itching to see what Ryu is up to this time.
We still have memories of being destroyed in 2004’s Ninja Gaiden growing up. As a youngster, that game was punishing, but it naturally increases your resolve and helps to reduce the tears experienced in later life via Souls games and other torturous franchises. But Ninja Gaiden’s carried a reputation for years for being ruthlessly difficult.
Ninja Gaiden 4 offers difficulty settings, making it something almost anyone can hop into. Be warned, though, the standard difficulty is relentless, so let’s see if the gameplay, systems, and design make it all worth it.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Review Embargo Date, Explained
According to multiple sources, the Ninja Gaiden 4 review embargo lifts on October 20, and it’s alleged that the embargo time is 4 PM PT.
Firstly, various outlets and content creators have indicated that the review embargo date is October 20. If you’re keeping up with Ninja Gaiden 4’s launch, you’ll know why this is so significant—it’s the day before the game’s official release date!
Game Informer has said to expect their review on October 20, and David Jagneaux of GamesBeat has also indicated an October 20 review embargo date. However, specific review time details have been outed by @GoodGameKofi.
The content creator said: “I completed Ninja GAIDEN 4 a couple of days ago. Currently cooking a video review dropping October 20th @ 7pm EST. Look out for it.”
Now, it could be the case that video reviews arrive later than written reviews, or this could be the universal review embargo time for written and video content. Take this information with a pinch of salt, just in case.
At the very least, we should expect Ninja Giaden 4 reviews to start flooding in on October 20.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Review Scores Prediction
We think a low-80s score is probably likely for Ninja Gaiden 4, based on previous NG titles and how it’s been received so far.
There feels like a million Ninja Gaiden games, from remakes to spin-offs. Let’s dissect recent Ninja Gaiden games via their Metacritic scores to see where we might stand.
Ninja Gaiden 3 was a disaster, scoring 58/100. Older Ninja Gaiden games were in the low-to-mid 90s, whereas recent entries like Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and Ragebound have comfortably been in the 80s. This is the first new mainline game in over a decade, and its reception at Gamescom has been positive. There have been some doubters and dissension, too, so we think an 82 or an 83 is a likely final score.
Hopefully, Ninja Gaiden 4 does former Team Ninja leader Tomonobu Itagaki proud.
What score do you think Ninja Gaiden 4 will get? Have you had a chance to play it? Tell us what you’ve made of its gameplay so far through the Insider Gaming Discord.
You should also check out Ninja Gaiden 4’s File Size, if it has Early Access, and if it’s coming to Xbox Game Pass.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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