10 Best Samurai & Ninja Video Games Of All Time

In 2012 Mark of the Ninja was put out by Klei Entertainment, the folks who would go on to make Don’t Starve and Invisible, Inc. Originally conceived because the company’s founder, Jamie Cheng, lamented a lack of stealthy ninja games out there - with most ninja games being action vehicles, such as the aforementioned Ninja Gaiden remakes.

Mark of the Ninja follows an unnamed member of the Hisomu ninja clan who is given a magical tattoo. The tattoo is a double-edged sword because while each added bit of ink unlocks new, more powerful techniques and abilities for the player to use, it also leads the main character further down a path toward insanity.

Fighting against other ninja, cybernetic security systems, desert bandits, and military contractors in a 2D world - the player is able to climb walls and ceilings, hide in floors and behind flower pots, and can choose lethal or non-lethal methods of dispatching his foes. Working alongside his new teammate Ora, he must avenge the attack on his clan and find out the truth over why they were attacked, why his master stole from an Eastern European warlord, and what is real or not. Aside from the great gameplay, the story is intriguing with cut scenes produced in the style of an old cartoon.