The Ninjala beta turned this skeptical Splatoon fan into a ninja-gum hopeful

(Image credit: GungHo)

It's tough not to compare Ninjala to Splatoon: the Nintendo exclusivity, the family-friendly twist on online multiplayer, and the candy-colored urban fashion. That's what drew me to Ninjala in the first place, and I was curious to see if it held up once I got to play the Ninjala beta.

The test sessions are over now, and though it took a few tries to get past rampant server difficulties, I think I have a good grip on the fundamentals. Some still elude me – I have no idea why I sometimes won a dramatic sword-on-sword clash and why sometimes I didn't, for instance. That's the only big hurdle I had with the Ninjala test beyond the servers: it's confusing to start. You could say that of many online games, sure, but Ninjala's entire vibe invites comparisons to the 800 pound squid in the room. In this case, Ninjala suffers for it.

In Splatoon, you have a squirt gun that covers the stage in ink of your team's color.  Everything you need to play is encapsulated in that sentence, which makes it extremely approachable as competitive games go. In Ninjala, you have a weapon and abilities powered by gum. To get more powerful gum, you should hit drones. Once your gum is powerful enough, you should use it to make a bigger weapon. Then you should focus on taking out other players, being careful to use a combination of your weapon and special abilities to make sure you get an "Ippon" for extra points instead of just a K.O.

I've followed Ninjala since it was first revealed at E3 2018 (since I'm a total mark for anything that looks like Splatoon), and it still took me three or four rounds to get a grip on all of that. A little while longer to get over the fact that I wasn't leaving colorful wads of gum everywhere, which seems like a missed opportunity, though maybe that would be a splat too far. Anyway, once I got over all that, I started having a good time.

Sticking with it

The gum-powered ninjas can jump, double jump, and even run on walls like it's no big deal. By blowing a bubble with ZL, you can power them up even more: hit B to burst into an air dash that's great for clearing distances, hit ZR to fire a bubble at your enemies to damage or stun them, or tap A to disguise yourself as a piece of the environment, Prop Hunt style (listen, it's really good gum). Your usage of gum is restricted by a meter, but it slowly replenishes on its own or with powerups scattered around the battlefield. The meter encourages you to keep moving instead of spending all your time mired in ninja mosh pits like a crowd of kids fighting over the ball at a soccer game (although plenty of players did still do that).

Every hit you land on an opponent puts points on the board. You get more points if you knock out an enemy with a special gum-powered move, splashing a triumphant "Ippon" sticker on your screen. Once I found a weapon I liked – the heavy SK8 hammer – I found a rhythm of abilities and attacks that let me aim for Ippons more reliably.

(Image credit: GungHo)

Figuring out how to string attacks together for maximum points and minimum chance of reprisal reminded me of learning to play fighting games. It wasn't as technically demanding, but I could really see some strategies starting to develop. Then a third player would come up from behind and smack me so hard that I stuck to a wall. All part of the ninja life.

Coming back to what drew me to Ninjala in the first place – the looks – I was also pleasantly surprised. A beta really didn't need to have all those slick outfits and avatar customization options, but there it was. I made a private detective child with bright green hair and a bandage on her nose; she probably got into fisticuffs with some rough characters before being summoned to the all-important ninja battles that we have in this gum-centric society for, um, reasons? I haven't really paid attention to the lore.

Ninjala's proper release date is set for May 27, and after the time I spent in the beta, I'm officially excited. Ninjala may be harder to chew than Splatoon at first, but it's no less flavorful.

Check out our latest Dialogue Options for the next great debate: you can only keep one video game soundtrack - what is it?

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Games
Silent Hill f art showing a person covered in plants
Silent Hill f has been pre-emptively banned in Australia, with no reason given for the 'refused classification' rating
Assassin's Creed Shadows review gameplay showing Yasuke overlooking the sea and lush green scenery
Assassin's Creed Shadows has already "surpassed the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey" with 2 million players and counting
FC 25
FC 25 Dreamchasers tracker and full UEFA promo guide
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
A Dragon Age character stares out against a blue background.
BioWare makes a return to Dragon Age: The Veilguard with a surprise PC update, months after layoffs and a seemingly final patch
God of War 3
God of War PSP's seamless loading was only possible because a Jak & Daxter game was also running in the background
Latest in Features
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal box on a wooden surface
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal pre-orders just went live, and I wish other Warhammer games were this weird
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
DC June 2025 solicitations: 10 must-have comics to pre-order this month
Flow
Flow won big as this year's Oscars underdog against Pixar and Netflix, and it's proof of the power of storytelling over dialogue
Yasuke riding through a village looking for Knowledge in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' prologue is the most gripping in franchise history, but I'm fixated on the tiny details
Naoe blends in among lush trees in Assassin's Creed Shadows while observing Amagasaki Castle from a rooftop perch
After 18 years Assassin's Creed Shadows cracks the ultimate stealth loop with its deliciously dense castles
Cabernet screenshot showing vampire protagonist Liza sucking someone's blood
Cabernet is the kind of vampire RPG I've been looking for since Masquerade Bloodlines, and I'm already plotting my next run 6 hours in