Ninja Scroller

I've been playing this game since the pre-alpha versions in 2021. Experiencing this game's journey and development has been so much fun and has opened me up to new kinds of games that I otherwise would not have picked out for myself. Ninja scroller is an easy to understand but difficult to master action runner with fun graphics and mechanics. While I enjoy this game a lot, I am not necessarily *good* at it, but the challenges that come with that make the game compelling and entertaining for me, and keeps me as a completionist and achievement fiend motivated. This has been a fun game to introduce my stream and discord community to!

An infinite runner with an intriguing mechanic that allows you save a run, but the environment and enemies don't seem appealing due to their excruciating repetition. Running forward is still automatic. You can use the ever-popular jump, attack, and dodge. Attack is typical and doesn't require any explanation. You just need to make sure to press it before the enemy is on top of you because your sword's attack pattern takes a few seconds. It’s nothing unusual to kill several with a single swipe. When executed properly, jumping is great, but when not, it is a surefire way to fail. The majority of my early deaths were caused by jumping too late and believing I could hit opponents while jumping. Why this doesn’t work is because you can’t attack during the jump animation. The attack is possible only when you start falling. That’s where the dodge button comes in. While on the ground, this move grants you invincibility for the duration of the dodge. But if you press it during the jump, you will fall down quicker. This is invaluable when you miscalculate the jump. What’s unusual for this infinite runner is that you have an additional button to stop and assess the situation. Yet, you shouldn't exploit it excessively because you risk running out of time. And the time limit is not very generous. The objective of this game is to defeat a set number of various enemies and gather 100 scrolls within the allotted time. One type of enemy will stop appearing in the stage once you've defeated the necessary number of them. After completing all objectives, you gain access to the next run, which has more enemies that must be eliminated. The backgrounds and enemies in endless runners typically change relatively little. In this game it’s even worse because you see the same thing from start to finish. I took a few screenshots and they’re all the same. The game has only one location where the only interesting thing is the wall you can jump on. Ninjas, wolves and tornadoes are the only threat. Not even their color changes. Mistakes are possible over these lengthy runs because you must eliminate hundreds of foes. Smoke bombs can be used to stop this. But they are tied to an intriguing mechanic. The quantity of scrolls you gather throughout a run will indicate the likelihood that a smoke bomb will detonate. At 50 scrolls, activation is essentially a coin toss; at 100 scrolls, activation is guaranteed. Moreover, the activation wastes a number of scrolls. If you're not extremely unlucky, you won't lose in the early stages because they’re so inexpensive.

Cool pixel art and the sounds really fit the theme. It's a nice scroller and the achievements keep me going. Well done!