Brace yourself for a truly old-school beat ‘em up adventure that’s just snuck onto Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Granted, side-scrolling ninja action isn’t exactly a groundbreaking concept, however the escapades in Shing! feature a wise-cracking bunch of warriors and a few interesting ideas you’ll seldom see elsewhere.
Developed by Mass Creation, the rather old-fashioned arcade beat ‘em up Shing! looks to deliver a spirited affair; one that introduces some twists to the classic genre. Taking on the roles of one of four different playable characters, with each possessing their own unique strengths and jovial personalities, you’ll venture through eight stages. It’s up to you as to whether you use immersive and intuitive controls, or the more primitive technique of button bashing. Given the nature of the freestyle combat in place, you can pull off angled combos, counters, aerial manoeuvres, parries and more as you encounter the likes of demons and mythical monsters.
The neat part is that you will be able to swap between these four characters on the fly – a bit like Battletoads in that sense – in order to chain together attacks, revive fallen allies and even store up a few power-ups in preparation for the epic bosses. Engaging with these baddies doesn’t have to be something you go about alone either, due to Shing! supporting local co-op for up to four players.
If you’re gearing up to give a beatdown in Shing!, you’ll first need to own it by visiting the respective digital store of your preferred platform. For us, that means a trip to the Xbox Store and paying a fee of £16.74, before unleashing our ninja skills. Need to know more? Our full review of Shing! is upcoming.
Game Description:
Experience the most exciting and immersive beat-em-up combat system ever – become a kickass ninja and slice some demons in style! Join a band of wisecracking warriors in a bloody adventure through the land of mythical monsters and mysterious machines.