Ronin

It's basically Mark of the Ninja meets Kill Bill vol 1. Although it feels a lot cheaper than Mark of the Ninja, it's still super fun to play. It's a 2D platform turn based slice'em all : during your turn, you see where enemies are about to shoot, your goal is to end up else where (there's no hit point : you die on first hit), and if possible slicing or punching an enemy on the way, the enemies shoot, then it's your turn again. It's not that easy and needs planning a few steps ahead. The planning is especially important because when you are in the air, the only method to change direction is to use the grapple. You can also try to use some stealth and silently slice a few enemies before the big shootout. There's quite a bit of humour too. To avoid the bullets, you can (the last 2 are bonuses to unlock) : jump, walk on walls and ceilings, smash through windows, use grappling, teleport, use a decoy. You're only weapon in a blade, though you will unlock some bonuses (blade throwing, silent hanging) Several flaws, though : - controls are a bit messy, and lacks of precision. That feels very "cheap", compared to Mark of the Ninja - It's rather short : expect no more than 5/6 hours to finish it - very few enemy types : basic guards with a pistol, "super" guards with an automatic rifle, and ninjas with a sword. that's about it. - Scenario could have been more detailed (it's a revenge, but against whom and why, we dont really know) - CPU intensive : for some reason, playing that game leads to my (oldish) computer shutting down due to overheat after about an hour. I'd love to see a sequel/reboot with these flaws corrected. Recommendation : buy it when discounted!

A mix of turn-based combat and stealth, you play as a nameless ronin(?) seeking revenge on the corporate executives who killed your father. That's about all the plot the game has to enable your rampant slaughter, which is fine. It’s pretty fun for what it is. Most levels consist of you hacking terminals to get data on your targets, which is a minor action. The actual task is getting to these terminals, usually guarded by progressively difficult arrangements of guards you can either sneak past or kill brutally, you will probably do the latter more. Levels that have you assassinating the targets in question are the same mostly, with an obvious objective. The way you move around by jumping, crawling on walls like you’re Spiderman and of course using a grappling hook is pretty fun. You move in real time when you have not been spotted, but when you are seen by enemies the game becomes turn based. You can either jump to move around or avoid attacks, or attack any nearby enemies. You can unlock more tricks for your roster to keep things interesting too. You also get to feel really cool whenever you escape from the scene of the carnage you cause. The game is on the short side, maybe 4-7 hours long depending on how long you take, which is just short enough to avoid the game from overstaying its welcome, and can be good to play if you are low on free time. Would recommend to anyone looking for a somewhat unconventional action game.

Combat is effectively a turn based stealth assassin game. It sound weird in theory, but in practice it works beautifully, and I found it a really clever and fun iteration on the genre. While it lacks the polish of Mark of the Ninja, it's genuinely fun, and the generous checkpoint system means you can tackle every single room as its own murder puzzle. The assassin's hitbox is somewhat generous, as if a firing trajectory would graze him, he will just duck and dodge the shot. There's a bit of jank (it's not always clear how wide the arc of your swing will be during 1 turn, the aforementioned grappling hook will occasionally noclip you through walls, and some of the systems could be better tutorialized), but where it shines, the game is really good. I liked it very much, and I will definitely play it again in the future.

...but the GOG version has still not been updated.

This could be awesome game if only all the annoying bugs that take away all the fun would be fixed. Otherwise it is stylish and well designed game that is really fun to play. with great atmosphere. If you liked Mark of a Ninja you will love Ronin until you get stuck somewhere between walls due to game bugs. Turn based attack model could use some enhancements, but the way jumping and grappling hook works makes the game harder, but in stupid way since you really can not control correctly your character movements. Something not acceptable in such type of game with a story involving martial art where everything is about control and mastering it. In Ronin you can't master above due to game implementation. If all bugs will be fixed one day I will give it a 5 start rating instantly.