Posted August 08, 2014
(Was to long for the main page)
TL;DR: If you are remotely interested in plat-stealthing, you have to get this game. I wished they'd do an deus-ex adaptation that good in 2d. If the next game by Klei captures the essence of turn-based espionage as good as MotN, you have to buy it ASAP as well.
In MotN, you play as an unnamed and silent ninja that *basical-revenge-plot*. But then TWIST, finally TWIST-CHOICE-Philosophy! While the story in itself is nothing to write home about, it is delivered very well paced manner, with tension and atmosphere. The story is good enough to be immersive but not too deep to distract from actual gameplay.
Gameplay is basically: You have to ninja through the levels, dispose of enemies (either silently, semi-silently or with ninjatools) or avoid (by distraction or patience or acrobatics) enemies, to get to the next objective. On an abstract level it would boil down to "Get to the end of the level!" but that wouldn't do justice to how well all things are woven into another and the atmossphere. While ninjaing, I never felt stressed in the sense that I had to use a particular complex combo with one-frame jumps or the like. Quite the opposite: Since you can "focus"/freeze time, you have time to plan "actions" that are executed when you decide to end focus. Basically, you can plan (by pressing the buttons) to destroy two lamps with bamboo darts, then grapple-hook back into the shadows in an instant. That is very satisfying, as it emphasizes planning over reflexes. You are a ninja, not Sonic the Ninjahog.
While playing you earn points (which nets you "seals") find haiku-scrolls (which earns you "seals") or complete challenges (e.g. hide 4 enemies in dumpsters, which earns you "seals"). With those seals you can tailor your playstyle a bit, but more the most part, upgrading your playstyle is not necessary (but great fun) as the essential items are given to you by way of level-progress. Getting 9 seals in a level is an accomplishment though :)
One more thing: The game uses a checkpoint system, which mostly acts after or right before any "difficult" situations. Usually that works pretty well, but sometimes it places you inconveniently in the sights of a sniper (who instant-kills you). Since you respawn there, you need luck to get out of there :(
The leveldesign is great, organic, with some alternate routes to exploit. Even though sometimes the level do appear rather small for a 2d game on modern hardware, they are enough to satisfy the explorers without other players getting lost. I wished for a bigger slightly more sand-boxish environment, but it was still great.
The visual design and voice-acting is superb. Your "guiding voice" is present without being annoying, and that says something. Enemies move stifly (by developers' choice) while ninjas move like deadly air-snakes, if that makes any sense.
Is the special edition with the commentaries worth it? Absolutely, even though the commentary-clouds-objects seem detriment to immersion (you can turn them off), they give a great impression behind game development. And they reveal, how much thought and effort has been put into this game and how to overcome certain game-design obstacles (or which solutions were tried but rejected.) Pro-Tip: You can trigger those "commentary-clouds" with your bamboo darts!
TL;DR: If you are remotely interested in plat-stealthing, you have to get this game. I wished they'd do an deus-ex adaptation that good in 2d. If the next game by Klei captures the essence of turn-based espionage as good as MotN, you have to buy it ASAP as well.
In MotN, you play as an unnamed and silent ninja that *basical-revenge-plot*. But then TWIST, finally TWIST-CHOICE-Philosophy! While the story in itself is nothing to write home about, it is delivered very well paced manner, with tension and atmosphere. The story is good enough to be immersive but not too deep to distract from actual gameplay.
Gameplay is basically: You have to ninja through the levels, dispose of enemies (either silently, semi-silently or with ninjatools) or avoid (by distraction or patience or acrobatics) enemies, to get to the next objective. On an abstract level it would boil down to "Get to the end of the level!" but that wouldn't do justice to how well all things are woven into another and the atmossphere. While ninjaing, I never felt stressed in the sense that I had to use a particular complex combo with one-frame jumps or the like. Quite the opposite: Since you can "focus"/freeze time, you have time to plan "actions" that are executed when you decide to end focus. Basically, you can plan (by pressing the buttons) to destroy two lamps with bamboo darts, then grapple-hook back into the shadows in an instant. That is very satisfying, as it emphasizes planning over reflexes. You are a ninja, not Sonic the Ninjahog.
While playing you earn points (which nets you "seals") find haiku-scrolls (which earns you "seals") or complete challenges (e.g. hide 4 enemies in dumpsters, which earns you "seals"). With those seals you can tailor your playstyle a bit, but more the most part, upgrading your playstyle is not necessary (but great fun) as the essential items are given to you by way of level-progress. Getting 9 seals in a level is an accomplishment though :)
One more thing: The game uses a checkpoint system, which mostly acts after or right before any "difficult" situations. Usually that works pretty well, but sometimes it places you inconveniently in the sights of a sniper (who instant-kills you). Since you respawn there, you need luck to get out of there :(
The leveldesign is great, organic, with some alternate routes to exploit. Even though sometimes the level do appear rather small for a 2d game on modern hardware, they are enough to satisfy the explorers without other players getting lost. I wished for a bigger slightly more sand-boxish environment, but it was still great.
The visual design and voice-acting is superb. Your "guiding voice" is present without being annoying, and that says something. Enemies move stifly (by developers' choice) while ninjas move like deadly air-snakes, if that makes any sense.
Is the special edition with the commentaries worth it? Absolutely, even though the commentary-clouds-objects seem detriment to immersion (you can turn them off), they give a great impression behind game development. And they reveal, how much thought and effort has been put into this game and how to overcome certain game-design obstacles (or which solutions were tried but rejected.) Pro-Tip: You can trigger those "commentary-clouds" with your bamboo darts!