Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Set against the backdrop of Prague, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided presents a dense network of systems and gives players ample tools to bend those systems to their will. Missions take place in open-ended sandboxes with multiple paths to your objective, and depending on your character build – you can choose to sweet talk your way through guards, hack into security systems for a convenient backdoor entry, or just blow everything in your path with sheer brute force. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is arguably the series at its best both visually and mechanically, and it remains a joyous experience even after all these years.

Deep Fear

Among the many quality horror titles lost to history, Sega’s Deep Fear definitely warrants a mention. Despite Resident Evil still being at the height of its popularity, Deep Fear’s tale of ex-Navy SEAL John Mayor as he investigates The Sea Fox submarine and Big Table facility for mysterious parasites still earned praise.

With excellent sound design and music, the latter composed by Kenji Kawai of The Ring fame, what could possibly kill the horror mood? The voice acting, unfortunately. It comes across as monotone at times and downright corny at others, marring the dialogue and any sense of tension. Plus the less said about DuBois Amalric, the designer of The Sea Fox and Big Table, the better.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The Metal Gear Solid franchise had always been known for its cinematic story-telling and excellent stealth mechanics. But Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater took things in a somewhat different direction, removing the series’ signature radar and emphasizing the environment as one’s greatest tool. Camouflage, CQC mechanics and even some light survival mechanics also added to the feeling of being behind enemy lines while delivering the signature characterization and complex plot that fans loved.

Rather than talking about what’s in store for us in the future, though, let’s instead take a look back and talk about what have been some of the best ninja and samurai related games over the years. In this list, we’re going to take a look at fifteen such games. Given just how vast and popular this genre is, it goes without saying that this list isn’t going to be exhaustive by any means, so if we failed to mention any of your favourites, fire away in the comments section below.

Also note that just for the purpose of this feature, we’re clubbing samurais and ninjas together- we know they’re not one and the same. But you know, convenience and all. Also, this list is in random order and isn’t ranked, so keep that in mind as well.

Without further ado, then, let’s get right into it!

SAMURAI SHODOWN

Back in the days of the insane craze surrounding Street Fighter II, fighters were all the rage. Samurai Shodown came along and put an irresistable, samurai-centric spin on it. It wasn’t a revolutionary game, and it didn’t do anything that could be called unprecedented, but as those who have played it would gladly tell you, it was an absolute blast. With its dedication and focus on samurais, it’s a a game you simply must play if you’re a fan of the subject matter.

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

Abe’s Oddysee is darkly imaginative but also fiercely tough. Not only can Abe be gunned down quickly (which guards are more than happy to do) but there’s no small amount of traps, obstacles, and disasters waiting to happen. Furthermore, Abe has to go out of his way to save his fellow Mudokons…that is, unless a good ending isn’t a priority for the player.