Inven Global

A vast array of games greeted visitors at TGS 2026. From titles announced well in advance to games shrouded in mystery right up until the show floor opened, a wide variety of titles made an appearance. Among them, one game was particularly intriguing: GungHo's 'Ninjala 2'.

It is the official sequel to 'Ninjala,' GungHo's PvP action game released back on June 24, 2020. With virtually no news regarding a sequel over the past four years, the sudden appearance of 'Ninjala 2' caught attention in many ways. While the original game was relatively lesser-known domestically, the fact that a title silent about a sequel for four whole years suddenly returned in a new form raised even more curiosity.

Returning after four years, 'Ninjala 2' showcases major changes. First off, visually, there was no drastic departure from its predecessor. While closer inspection would likely reveal more refined details, the fundamental character design and overall visual tone directly carry over from the first game. Anyone looking at it could instantly tell it's an official sequel.

The core combat concept also mostly follows the original. To briefly touch upon the previous 'Ninjala,' it was a PvP game where players subdued opponents using a combination of bat-swinging melee attacks, long-range Gum Shoots, and Gum Ninjutsu packed with various skills. Despite its adorable visuals, it was a game requiring quite intense mind games—spacing against opponents to look for strike windows, blocking or dodging right when an opponent attacks, and counterattacking with Gum Ninjutsu.

'Ninjala 2' brings over this combat system almost intact. Players can still utilize various gum-based techniques like melee attacks, blocking, dodging, and Gum Ninjutsu. However, that was about as far as the inheritance went. Many other aspects have undergone significant changes.

First off, there are changes to playable characters. While the original game had players select from characters with predetermined appearances and characteristics to battle, 'Ninjala 2' allows players to create their own avatar to enjoy the game—though the character creation process itself could not be tested in this demo build.

This doesn't mean the playable characters from the previous game have vanished, however. As you wander around the hub town, the World Ninja Association (WNA), you can meet the original cast. Rather than just serving as static NPCs, players can summon them like ultimate moves to receive battle support. While the protagonist role has shifted to the new custom avatars, the classic characters still assert their presence in their own way.

The single biggest change is undoubtedly the introduction of an open world. This is closely connected to the game shifting its focus toward PvE. Since the original game centered on matched PvP battles, its stages were inherently limited in scale—if maps were overly vast, meaningful combat encounters would have been hard to come by.

However, 'Ninjala 2' takes a different path. Although a full story or complete progression structure wasn't visible in this demo, the game provided a glimpse of a loop where players defeat monsters and conquer bosses occupying each biome to liberate regions. For a PvE title, it's a conventional structure, and expanding the fields into an open world aligns with this vision.

With the shift to an open world, traversal mechanics play a much bigger role. Players can attach Ninja-Gum to trees to swing through the air like Spider-Man's web-slinging or ride minecarts to get around. Wall-running actions carried over from the original game remain alive and well.

The one disappointing aspect was that due to a ~20-minute time limit, it was hard to evaluate side content and see what activities the region offered. The moment the demo started, an objective popped up directing players to kill a boss deep inside the mine, leaving only a brief moment to look around before facing the boss before time expired. Consequently, it was impossible to properly verify what content fills out the expanded open world, leaving a lingering sense of regret.

The PvE combat system left a solid impression overall. Enemies have a groggy gauge alongside their health bar. As you attack enemies, the gauge fills up, and once it hits max, the enemy enters a Gum Bind state. This becomes the golden opportunity to unleash a concentrated barrage.

Attacking an enemy in Gum Bind knocks them far back, allowing players to quickly give chase and string together follow-up combos. Furthermore, defeating an enemy in this state triggers 'IPPON!', sending the enemy flying into the distance just as it did when knocking out opponents in the original game.

In the original game, 'IPPON!' was a mechanic guaranteed to activate when winning weapon clashes in rock-paper-scissors tie-breakers or defeating an opponent while stuck in Gum Bind. Since it awarded significantly higher points than a regular K.O., aiming for an IPPON was crucial whenever possible.

However, in 'Ninjala 2,' it was hard to find a compelling reason to actively hunt for IPPONs. Because the game has pivoted to PvE, racking up higher scores isn't as central as it was in the original. Of course, in the full release, there may be benefits like extra experience points or increased monster crafting materials upon landing an IPPON.

Boss battles were arguably the highlight of combat in 'Ninjala 2.' Players had to read patterns while parrying or dodging boss attacks, and with unblockable moves requiring distance or unavoidable patterns, fighting them felt quite engaging.

On top of that, certain patterns led into special cinematic cutaways upon a successful parry, enhancing combat tactile feedback. Rather than just porting over the original combat mechanics, the developers added thoughtful twists tailored for PvE boss encounters.

However, that 'engaging' feeling only went so far, as parrying and dodging were exceedingly forgiving. On the first few attempts, I occasionally got counterattacked by attacking immediately after a parry or dodge, unaware that the boss had multi-hit attack strings. After observing the patterns a few times, however, I rarely got hit by the same attack again. In fact, on the show floor, many attendees were easily beating the boss without much trouble.

Of course, it's difficult to judge overall difficulty based solely on this demo build. However, if the full release adds deeper tactical mechanics requiring players to study boss patterns more carefully, the combat loop will likely feel much more satisfying.

In summary, 'Ninjala 2' takes the signature systems of its predecessor and expands them into an open-world PvE game. From that perspective, the carryover of visual tone and core combat is crystal clear. The series' signature cute character designs and gum-based combat still display distinct 'Ninjala' identity—enough that anyone looking at it would say, 'This is Ninjala 2.'

The real question is what comes next: how well these elements are executed within the new framework of an open-world PvE game. The demo made it difficult to assess this properly. An open world should allow players to enjoy various activities across an expanded landscape, but due to limited demo time, verifying what content lies across the open field was tough.

The PvE elements left a similar impression. While the basic flow of defeating minor enemies leading up to the boss was clear, progression and challenge didn't feel particularly prominent. The step-up in combat difficulty and mechanics between standard mobs, stronger foes, and the main boss felt somewhat insufficient to make each tier stand out.

Ultimately, what 'Ninjala 2' needs to demonstrate going forward is clear. The key lies in what story it tells as an open-world PvE game and what content populates its expanded world. Furthermore, if boss fights move beyond repetitive parrying and dodging to offer the fun of discovering distinct strategies for each boss, combat depth will shine much more brightly.

Returning after four long years, 'Ninjala 2' preserves the identity of the original while donning the new attire of an open-world PvE experience. How this transformation comes together in the final product will be critical. It will be worth waiting for the official release to see if 'Ninjala 2' can successfully expand the fun of its predecessor into a fresh format.