I can’t even begin to imagine how a developer attempts to shoehorn another battle royale onto the market right now.
In developer GungHo’s case, it seems, they’ve taken the last-person-standing fun of Fortnite and fused it with the neon-hued mayhem of Splatoon. The result is frenzied free-to-play Ninjala, a new title that successfully, if perhaps inexplicably, apes much of its magic from other titles, yet somehow manages to cultivate a curious charm all of its own.
Ninjala reviewDeveloper: GungHo OnlinePublisher: GungHo OnlinePlatform: Reviewed on SwitchAvailability: Out now on Switch
While it looks and sounds similar to the games it draws inspiration from, Ninjala’s quirky fighting mechanics admittedly stand out. To maintain its PG veneer, our pint-sized ninjas don’t fight with guns or swords, but instead use foam katanas and yoyos and novelty bats to inflict damage, utilising their, er, ninja gum to pull off ultimate attacks and trick shots.
Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.
There are three PvP modes up for grabs; a “quick battle” eight-player battle royale, “Ninjala battles” which let you set your own scene – and rules – for unranked fun, and “room battle” which is precisely the same as the battle royale, except you play 4v4. With just eight ninjas in each lobby it may sound like a more sedate affair than you’d typically expect of a battle royale, but Ninjala’s tight maps and truncated time allocation – you’ll only get a few minutes each match – promptly dissolve any fanciful notions of a stealthy encounter.
Trouble is, too much goes unexplained. Yes, there is a tutorial mode and opportunities to experiment with weapons and special abilities, but some of these learnings come from watching in-game links to grainy YouTube videos, while others simply come via trial and error. The game teaches about the importance of smashing drones, for instance – they’ll top up your S-gauge, which in turn allows you to mould a bigger weapon from your ninja gum – but fails to inform you of the prompts that pop up should you and an enemy attempt to pull off the same move at the same time. It makes your first few battles bewildering, overwhelming affairs.