Ronin review

[Administrator]

When is a stealth game not a stealth game? When it explicitly tells you it is not a stealth game, but then goes on to punish you harshly for not being stealthy enough. That's the frustrating contradiction at the heart of indie ninja game Ronin, and it's one that unfortunately detracts from an otherwise nicely designed game with some ingenious gameplay ideas.
You're playing as a very modern sort of ninja, wielding a sword but clad in motorbike leathers and helmet, and your goal is to execute five targets who have wronged you in some terrible yet unexplained way. First you must infiltrate buildings and hack computers to track down the next target, then you must battle your way through their guards to deliver the killing blow.
Gameplay is openly and unapologetically lifted from 2013's super-spy gem Gunpoint, but it's OK since that game's developer, Tom Francis, has given his blessing for others to riff on his design. That means that in Ronin, as in Gunpoint, you spring and cling your way around each level, using the mouse to aim your leaps, bursting through windows, scaling walls and dropping on enemies.
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