Zool Redimensioned
A great remaster, built from the ground up, of this classic platformer.
I described this game on stream as “a fantastic remake of a troubled game” because the original versions of Zool have not aged well at all. From the small viewport, to the floaty controls (exacerbated by the game being inherently designed for the 50 FPS Amiga and not optimised for its subsequent releases in the US), it doesn’t play as nostalgia remembers it.
The remaster, however, does a grand job of making the 60 FPS framework work by massively increasing the screen real estate, improving the once-slippery controls, and adding an absolute game-changer (at least in the Redimensioned mode) of the Double Jump. These updates make Zool Redimensioned an absolute joy to play - everything feels tight, precise, and you almost always feel fully in control of every movement you make.
– Real player with 11.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Ninja Precision Platformer Games.
Playing the original back in the day, I always found Zool ‘fun’, but attempting to go back to it these days has been hard with its slippery controls and generally unforgiving nature.
Zool Redimensioned however, isn’t just the original game slapped into an emulator. This game is tight and redesigned to play so much smoother, with I believe redesigned levels too and with a lot more quality of life improvements. For one, the screen is zoomed out more so you can see more of the level before you, and Zool handles now like a dream. The game plays wonderfully and it shows an expert use of nearly 30 years of hindsight to improve, yet keep the charm of the Ninja from Nth Dimension. And hey, if you prefer the original, it’s here too!
– Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
Codename: Mallow
A human ninja fused to an experimental battle suit of extradimensional origin, Mallow is now Earth’s only hope against an imminent alien invasion.
Codename: Mallow is a combat focused metroidvania with a large interconnected world to explore. Master an ever expanding arsenal of combat maneuvers as you traverse a multitude of unique biomes, each with their own secrets to discover and dangers to overcome.
The game boasts delightfully squishy 2D pixelated artwork and tightly tuned combat mechanics. While exploring this hand-crafted world you are destined to encounter a myriad of unique enemies and level dangers. Should you fail to emerge victorious, you will quickly discover the game includes many satisfying ways to die.
Read More: Best Ninja 2D Games.
Time Commando
Wow.
I was only 7 the last time I had ever touched this game, that was all the way back in 2009. I got frustrated with Time Commando because of how difficult it was, never being able to finish the game after already halfway through it and eventually gave up. I ended up losing the disc somehow and when I did decide to give it another try I never found it again nor could I find another copy anywhere else, so I gave up looking and eventually forgot the game even existed.
Then LO AND BEHOLD, 12 years later and I stumble across this game again on Steam. Words cannot express how absolutely THRILLED I was to be able to play Time Commando again!
– Real player with 4.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Ninja Side Scroller Games.
i own it on CDROM now I own it on SteamROM
if u want the DOSBox to be in windowed mode with higher resolution, you have to go to the steam folder you installed it, like “X:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Time Commando”, find “TC.conf” and change the window resolution to something like “windowresolution=1280x960” then either “fullscreen=false” or just Alt+Enter when it opens
– Real player with 4.4 hrs in game
Dread Templar
(Don’t Fear) The Templar
It took playing the recent Quake remaster, but now I get it.
It’s good. Nay, ace. No doubt about it. If it wasn’t up against the stiff competition that is the years upon years of high quality ‘boomer’ shooters, this would be a completely unqualified early access recommendation.
Ultrakill, Ion Fury, Post Void, Project Warlock 1 + II, Amid Evil, DUSK, HROT, Maximum Action, GTTOD, Prodeus, Cultic, etc - be they full games, early access, or just demos, the retro, ‘boomer’ shooter genre really is booming. I also cannot wait for the likes of Into the Pit, Fortune’s Run, and Forgive Me Father. In fact, there are so many that even when I say that I’d place this firmly mid-list it’s not even that damning.
– Real player with 10.1 hrs in game
TLDR; If you like retro shooter gameplay, and would like to have fun, buy it now!
I will just start listing what comes to mind, that makes me love this game, then write some experiences from my first 8 hours of playing on the hardest difficulty so far. Smooth movement with air controll using the mouse, running feels similar to classic doom (taking a short time to reach full speed), satisfying meaty gun sounds and very good feedback with lots of gore, build variety that actually changes gameplay, bullet time, stylish awesome visuals, amazing soundtrack, atmosphere, very good enemy and level design, exploration with rewarding secrets to find, weapon swapping combos combined with positioning during combat.
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
Ninja Lexx
This is a game about an ordinary guy with a guitar, whose life changed after meeting with bandits.
Fight various enemies, use various combo attacks, avenge your insult.
Various bosses and levels.
it is classic 2,5d Beat’em’up with elements of Slasher
The game has a simple but interesting storyline and cinematics.
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Nice graphics
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Great music
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Convenient and simple control
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Various opponents
Stealthy ninja
Someone gave me this game for free when I was awarded for getting a level up on a discord, seemed kind of interesting so I decided to play it, style’s pretty neat. Old school, pixel art, arcade’y sort of. Reminds me of something I might have played on Xbox 360. Though, the game is definitely short, having only 20 levels. The game also had limited controls, being W and Up arrow for jump, A and Left arrow for left, and D and Right arrow for right. I feel like you should be able to jump off of walls/wall jump, but I wasn’t sure of the button and I couldn’t find anything on controls. The game doesn’t have a tutorial or a way to look/change controls, just kind of puts you into it. Also there’s no slider for music or sounds, just really loud off the bat without a clear way of changing it. The game itself is alright, definitely has the right idea for a neat probably indie game, but seems like more a test game which also happens to be around $3. I also think this was essentially a test, since the developer has similar game’s that seem more fleshed out with very similar looks. So, I would say, probably buy one of their more fleshed out games if you like this game’s kind of style, so you would get “more bang, for your buck,” possibly.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Cool 2D platform game, reminds of flash games (F)
– Real player with 0.8 hrs in game
Breakneck City
One of the reasons I love Steam is I keep finding games I didn’t know I need. I feel that developers loved the Dynamite Deka series and wanted to create a similar game but in a Double Dragon mold. The gameplay handles well with a controller and the boss fights have real character. One sword wielding foe tosses one of his blades in air to free up his hand and spit a fireball across the screen. Small touches like this indicate a love for the genre.
– Real player with 2.9 hrs in game
A fantastic throwback to 3D beat ‘em ups, a genre that is woefully undeserved given that we mainly throwbacks to 2D beat ‘ems ups that are inspired by the likes of Final Fight or Streets of Rage rather than games following the Dynamite Deka or Spikeout lineage.
Combat is pretty simple, there’s no Devil May Cry style move list, but the fundamentally solid basic attacks and a great feeling dash combine with top notch level design, clever environmental interactions, dynamic enemy types make for a really fun time.
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
Shadow Warrior Classic (1997)
if youre new into this click F5 and thank me later..
now this game if getting used to it aged really well.
like the graphics actually doesnt hurt your eyes…
shooting is on point, and the weapon choise is just awesome.
Ive played it twice on I have no fear I think and who want some wang..
which is bearly easy and medium I think… and no pain no gain is hard?… I have no idea, the only thing Im sure of ive finished the game on the second hardest difficulty WHO WANTS SOME WANG
and its a really, really good challenge… I wont say its really hard especially if you put auto aim..
– Real player with 21.4 hrs in game
Shadow Warrior Classic is the original game which drew people into the crazy world of Lo Wang, the protaganist and comedic mass-murdering machine of this series.
Pros:
-Gameplay is fun and exciting. Plays a lot like Duke Nukem 3D, which is not a bad thing. You have access to a reasonable variety of weapons to slice and murder your way through the game.
-Graphics is exactly what you’d expect from a 1997 game, but is great to experience if you enjoy retrogaming.
-It’s hard, like really hard. And will definitely keep you on your toes throughout your play of it.
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Heart of Smoke
Edit: Developer fixed the issue i had and now i can actually get through the game. Its not to bad of a game…. The controls are a little different from what i am used in platformers. But despite that its a decent game.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
At first, the game seems easy. You see all this pleasing art and the happy and joy everywhere scenario but after you pass a couple of levels you realize that it’s actually not that easy.
Let’s start with the vibe the game gives off the first time you tread through it’s doors.
The main story starts by introducing you to the two main characters who you will control called Eneen, who is a wizard, and Rae, who’s a badass ninja.
You can play with both characters at the same time and in some levels, you will really need to use them both to successfully pass through each and every obstacle.
– Real player with 3.5 hrs in game
Shadow Warrior Classic Redux
Shadow warrior came out in 1997 and this is a remake-ish game with improved graphics and is easier to run on modern systems. You play as wang which is either a homage to old kung-fu movies or a walking stereo-type. The story isn’t too important but the gameplay is an FPS and a really good one. You can also interact with the enviorment (a.k.a Duke Nukem) to find hidden refrences and one-liners. I love the weapons, the(very corny) jokes, the set pieces, this game is a blast. All your weapons are varied and have alternate fire modes giving you plenty of ideas to approach combat with enemies. Just simply put, this is a polished, well made game.
– Real player with 42.3 hrs in game
VERDICT: Shadow Warrior Classic Redux is the complete old-skool first-person shooter. Forget the story. Forget the graphics. These were the sorts of games where it was all about the gameplay. Theres lots of short fast-paced levels to explore. Discover obvious and not so obvious secrets. Massive amounts of relentless combat to enjoy. Including a large arsenal of weapons with which to gib an assortment of enemies with. Periodically tough bosses stand in your way to be defeated.
Its clunky graphics may be outdated and the game speed a little too fast unless you’re too young not to have played this the first time around but, the un-PC nature of the voiceover is hilarious and will make you laugh-out-loud. Those of you who dont enjoy single-player need to push aside their PvP addiction and just try it. If you feel the need for some old-skool Lo-Wan style kickassery then you cant do worse than start with this. Sure there is a modern day version but this game still reeks of fun.
– Real player with 35.6 hrs in game