Mr Future Ninja

Visually, Mr Future Ninja is stunningly gorgeous and is what I would consider some appealing eye candy. With the game taking place in a futuristic world, it clearly shows with the architecture of each stage, which consists of isometric-like grids, similar to what you would find in Monument Valley. Mr Future Ninja packs in a lot of pizazz with the bold and vibrant neon lights, and some levels feature slightly blurry dreamscapes and softer hues that are pleasant on the eyes. Animations are smooth and fluid on my iPhone 7, so there was no issue with lag or choppy frame rates. The ambient soundtrack is delightful to listen to, and the sound effects are a fun touch. Huijaus Studios did a great job with the visual and audio design of Mr Future Ninja, which shows how much thought and care they put into it during the two-and-a-half years of development.

Like other games of the genre, Mr Future Ninja is level-based, and players must clear the current stage before they are able to move on to the next one. At the moment, the game can be considered fairly short, because there are only 19 levels total, which is a bit of a letdown. Maybe more levels can be added in the future, but who knows. Regardless, Mr Future Ninja has a basic plot going on, which involves a ninja clan that's been captured by an evil corporation that wants to conduct experiments on all clan members. This experiment involves cloning the ninjas and sell them as mindless servants in a service called Mr Future Ninja. One lonely ninja manages to escape, and then it's up to him (and the player) to free the rest of the ninjas. The goal in each stage is to help the ninja(s) get from the starting point to the glowing portal at the end, all while avoiding dangerous obstacles and dispatching your foes. Mr Future Ninja starts off simple enough, but things get a bit more tricky as you rescue other ninjas and they join you on your quest.

Controls in Mr Future Ninja are simple enough, though it does take time to get used to and master. To move around, there's a virtual joystick in the bottom left corner of the screen. This joystick is not permanently affixed in the corner, so you can place your thumb somewhere else and the joystick will follow. If you need visual confirmation of the joystick, there's an option to have it displayed whenever it's active.

In the bottom right corner will be action joysticks for your ninjas. You first start off with the purple ninja, who is able to throw shurikens to attack guards and activate switches on the walls. Moving your thumb around on this joystick lets you slow down time while you aim your shuriken, and releasing your thumb will throw it. The green ninja can dash, and the functionality works similarly with the purple ninja. Eventually you will get a third ninja as well. You can have all of the ninjas group together by running by them, and if you want to separate them, just drag their button away from the cluster. Switching to a different ninja is done by tapping on their button.

Again, the game starts out easy but as you add ninjas to your group, things get more complicated. You'll have to solve puzzles by working together as a team, which means thinking about each ninja's abilities and using them all together to get past tricky obstacles and enemies.

Though the control layout is decent, I found the controls to be a bit clunky when it came time to quickly switch characters, separate them, and aim their unique abilities. Sometimes I ended up doing an action that I did not intend to do, and it would mess up my flow. I would like to see better control optimization in a future update.

Mr Future Ninja was in development for a long time, and it shows in the final product. The game itself is beautiful with exquisite graphics, and the sounds are satisfying. The gameplay proves to be rather challenging, despite the short nature of the game, and it's actually hard to stop once you get going. It's a fantastic mashup of three different genres, and I like how each ninja has it's own contribution to the group.

While Mr Future Ninja is a good game, that's not to say that it doesn't have its own set of flaws. The controls work decently enough, but can feel clunky at times, which lead to mishaps during the game. Hopefully the developers can better streamline the controls in a future update so that it isn't so easy to make mistakes. Also, it would be nice to see more levels, because for the price, there should be more than 19 stages.

Overall, Mr Future Ninja is a good game for those who like stealth, puzzle, and platforming games all combined into one title. I fell in love with this game as soon as I saw the unique visual style, and I'm not disappointed in that area. The gameplay is fun too, and rather challenging as you get further along in the game. I just wish that the controls were better, and it wasn't so short. I'd recommend this game if you don't mind the shorter length, and also enjoy stealthy puzzle games with a dash of platforming mechanics. But if you prefer to get games that give you the most bang for your buck, then I'd look elsewhere.

Mr Future Ninja can be found on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.