Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is Stellar Blade on testosterone, and I love it

Lately, I’ve been thinking about reputation. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about how certain videogames become caricatures of themselves. Dark Souls is perhaps the prime example. Here we have an action RPG that warns prospective players to “prepare to die” in its definitive edition, whose difficulty is so lionized by its community that “git gud” has become its timeless refrain. This forbidding facade meant it took me over half a decade to finally sit down and play Dark Souls, only to discover that it’s my ideal comfort game. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a bit like that.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best action-adventure games, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black impressions, Best old games