Hook up a controller or use the mouse and keyboard together in 10 Second Ninja for the Windows PC and Mac OS X operating systems. After a lengthy introduction of audio hearing what sounds like “blah, blah, blah” but is being typed out as dialogue explaining the backstory to this game (Nazi Robot Hitler has a Nazi Robot Army trying to take over the world, you know typical Saturday stuff!), Gameplay becomes fast-paced and unforgiving. From the start 10 Second Ninja is fun and although it is not pixelated like many games as of late the art design and style used here is actually a nice refreshing take on 2D Gaming with some hints and nods towards the older era seemingly featured here and there as well as chiptunes sometimes playing in the background of the game’s soundtrack.
Each mission players do, must be done in 10 Seconds – or you die! No, really you just try it over again, very rapidly. So in the way that games like Angry Birds, Gravity Badgers, and Tiny Thief become (or recently the more well-known Flappy Bird phenomenon), missions are tried over and over until the best scores can be accomplished. In this case that’s determined by the 3 Star System but players must finish killing all enemies as quickly as possible. However, 10 Second Ninja is also nothing like the games aforementioned, and instead presents an experience with much more traditionally expected gameplay elements such as full control of a character that does live action attacks and kills opponents with weapons. Don’t get me wrong, those other games are very fun too – but this is more of a gamer’s game! For retro gamers like myself, imagine going back in time and handing yourself as a kid playing Ninja Gaiden on NES a copy of a game called 10 Second Ninja that asked you to play 500 times faster, you’d die.
The Controls are dead-on and work well with the game’s engine performance to provide a smooth and solid experience that doesn’t feel like it’s falling apart underneath your fingers. Players jump, double jump, stab, and use thrown weapons in order to clear levels. Let’s get one thing clear – THIS GAME IS HARD!!! The creators of the game know that and want you to still have fun but not hate your life like Flappy Bird fans. That’s why you’ll be earning some hilarious achievements for running on a ton of spikes by accident (to your death), upwards of a certain amount of times in a row – proving you are truly trying to be the fastest ninja you can. The music at the main menus also makes you want to keep on going forward through the game as what seems impossible becomes possible through mastery and efficiency.
10 Second Ninja’s enemies are more like targets and obstacles, and there are  definitely some noteworthy levels in the game. 10 Second Ninja doesn’t allow you to pass on to a new World of levels until you’ve gotten a decent amount of Stars first from the levels in your world. Which means, perfection is optional still but you can’t just be terrible at this game and unlock every single level.
Replay Value: High – The intrinsic value of this game is found in its simple gameplay design elements which focus on the fundamental definition of the gameplay experience being speed, fun, and challenge. There are over 40 levels full of enough variety to keep players scraping this game for every last piece of content and/or accomplishment. The fact that you might totally do one part wrong but still pass a level by the chin on your hair, means that you’ll move forward and play more levels but still have a desire to go replay the previous level perfectly. Players will not be able to just blow through this game, either way, as a considerable amount of difficulty is presented. A controller is supported though, and this makes things a bit more tactile for those with experience on one.
Final Verdict:
10 Second Ninja is one of those great gems you find on the Steam marketplace that really seal the deal with fun factor and could have only come from the indie development world as the focus here is on great gameplay design not marketability or accessibility. You might think that just because 10 Second Ninja uses some of the formula presented by touch and go mobile games that it wouldn’t be too hardcore, but you’d be wrong. I highly recommend this game to gamers looking for a more advanced fast-paced version of the games it borrows level scoring mechanics from. 10 Second Ninja gets a 9.5 out of 10 from RealGamerNewz, making it an RGN Platinum Game.
Overall Score: 9.5 / 10
RGN Rating: Platinum Game
Available Now On Steam
Developer: GameDesignDan
Publisher: Mastertronic
Available On: PC | Mac OS X | Linux
Played On: Windows PC
Review Copy Info: A digital copy of this game was provided to RealGamerNewz by the publisher for the purpose of this review.