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Ninja Gaiden 4 Devs Say Fairness Is the Secret to Brutal Difficulty

Originally posted on Total Apex Gaming | By Mollie Dominy | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 3:19 PM ET

f you’ve ever rage-quit a boss fight and blamed the game instead of your own hubris, Ninja Gaiden 4 wants to have a itty-bitty little word with you. The directors behind the upcoming sequel—Ryosuke Hara and Masaki Matsushima—aren’t dialing down the difficulty. They’re doubling down on it. But this time, they’re making sure every death feels earned. Not cheap. Not random. Just brutal, honest combat that respects your effort and punishes your ego.

And yes, that’s a good thing.

The Return of Tactical Violence

Let’s be clear: Ninja Gaiden has always been a series that weaponizes precision. Every dodge, parry, and combo is a test of timing and intent. But Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t chasing Soulslike misery or roguelike randomness. It’s chasing fairness.

“If the player gets killed unreasonably, it’s hard for them to reflect and think about what they could’ve done,” says Hara in an interview with PC Gamer. That’s the core philosophy. Difficulty isn’t the enemy. Unfairness is.

Enemies in Ninja Gaiden 4 are designed to be on “equal footing” with the player. That means no surprise one-shots, no invisible hitboxes, no “gotcha” mechanics that punish curiosity. If you die, it’s because you missed something. Or got greedy. Or forgot that every fight is a puzzle with blood on it.

The Difficulty Debate Isn’t Over—But Ninja Gaiden Has a Stance

Image of Ninja Gaiden 4 courtesy of PlatinumGames Inc., Team NINJA, Koei Techmo Games Co, LTD, and Xbox Game Studios.

The timing of this announcement is no accident. The difficulty discourse is raging again, thanks to Silksong’s absence and the eternal debate over accessibility vs. challenge. But Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s trying to be clear.

“We want players to feel like they’re being challenged, but also that they’re being respected,” Matsushima told GamesRadar. That means no rubberbanding AI. No enemy spam. No fake difficulty that relies on clutter or chaos. Just clean, punishing design that rewards mastery.

And yes, that includes boss fights. Expect multi-phase encounters, aggressive enemy patterns, and a combat system that demands you learn—not just react.

What “Fair Difficulty” Actually Looks Like

So what does “fair” mean in a game that’s trying to kill you?

Readable enemy behavior: You’ll know when an attack is coming. You just might not be fast enough to dodge it.
Consistent rules: If a move works once, it’ll work again. No random invincibility frames or broken mechanics.
Punishment with purpose: Death isn’t a reset—it’s a lesson. Every failure teaches you something about spacing, timing, or aggression.
No stat walls: You won’t need to grind for gear or cheese your way through fights. Skill is the currency.

This isn’t hand-holding. It’s clarity. And in a genre that often confuses difficulty with obscurity, Ninja Gaiden 4 is drawing a sharp line.

The Difference Between Punishment and Precision

We’re in an era where “hard” games are everywhere—but few of them feel fair. Some rely on randomness. Others on grind. And too many confuse frustration with depth. Ninja Gaiden 4 is trying to restore the original contract: if you’re good, you win. If you’re sloppy, you die. But you always know why.

It’s a design philosophy that respects the player’s time, intelligence, and emotional investment. And for a series that built its legacy on punishing elegance, it’s the right kind of evolution.

Final Word

Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t here to coddle you. It’s here to challenge you—with rules, not tricks. With fairness, not forgiveness. And if it works, it could be the blueprint for how difficulty should feel: earned, not inflicted.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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