Mexican Ninja Review: A Well Done If Unoriginal Brawler

It’s rare that I have a hard time making my mind up about a game. Sometimes it takes a bit of time, but usually by the time I sit down to write a review about a game I have a strong opinion, and I’m ready to firmly recommend it, or not recommend it. Even as I write this though, I’m still of two minds about Mexican Ninja. On the one hand, this is a very competent roguelike beat ‘em up. On the other hand, from a gameplay perspective I don’t think it has a single original idea.

An Interesting Mashup

In my first hours with Mexican Ninja, it really wasn’t clicking for me. While it all felt competent, I couldn’t get past the idea that I’d rather be playing a different version of it. Perhaps it was the flavor of the game, which I feel will probably work for some but really didn’t for me.

This world mixes Japanese and Mexican influences, creating a very unique vibe as you fight through the streets of Nuevo-Tokyo as the namesake Mexican Ninja. I appreciate the mashup, but the humor here just strikes me as a bit juvenile. Sure, there’s a bit of joy in seeing my character let out a giant fart to harm enemies, but I need more than that, and I don’t feel like I ever got it. Still, I appreciate that Mexican Ninja has a strong identity that certainly sets it apart.

Playing The Hits

That’s the only truly original aspect of this one, though. From a gameplay perspective, you’ll find that this is very much what you’d expect of a roguelike beat ‘em up. You start as a fairly weak ninja, likely to be defeated against bosses. As you make multiple runs through Nuevo-Tokyo, you’ll unlock resources that can unlock new moves and power your character up. Soon you’ll be far more powerful and able to defeat foes that in the early going would have taken you apart. You’ll unlock additional special abilities and have the opportunity to level up your existing ones.

Your character moves quite well, with an excellent dash and a camera which does a good job of showing off a twisting 2.5d world. There are multiple paths through each stage, and there’s reason to explore to get additional resources and upgrades. Early on, I wanted a bit more impact from the combat experience, but the more I played, the more I felt this was the right amount. You’re not supposed to be a tank. You’re a ninja. That means quick attacks and movement are the way you are meant to approach each situation. If you approach the game from this mindset, it all starts to come together.

Something Missing

The other thing that comes together is your abilities and the boss battles. The more I played Mexican Ninja, the more impressed I was by how well it executed various aspects. I consistently enjoyed the boss battles, which make you vary your tactics. I like a lot of the special abilities you find, and I think enough of them are good that I rarely found myself on a run where I just didn’t get anything I liked using. The nature of a roguelike is that every run isn’t going to be your best one, but there were very few which felt like they were wasted. More and more, I found myself having a good time and not thinking about what else I could be playing because most aspects of the game are just very solid.

Still, that doesn’t mean they stand out, and that is the biggest problem for me when it comes to Mexican Ninja. Both the roguelike and beat ‘em up genres have become incredibly crowded in recent years, and there’s no shortage of great options out there in either. While Mexican Ninja is a very solid game, even after spending a ton of time with it, I can’t really point out anything it does better than a number of other excellent titles unless you really connect with the game’s style. A beat ‘em up with new multiplayer is also a huge missed opportunity in my books. This would be so much more fun if I could run through it with a buddy. Playing a beat ‘em up on my own just feels like something is missing.

Conclusion

Still, if you’ve played most of the other great games in the genre in recent years and still want more, Mexican Ninja offers a very solid experience. The more I played it, the more I was impressed by how many things are well done, even if I never entirely got past the fact that it doesn’t quite live up to the best of its competition. If I’d connected with its world, if it offered multiplayer, or if it had a few more elements that set it apart from the pack, I might have fallen in love with it, but it’s ultimately a good game worth considering.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Available on: PC (Reviewed), PS5, Xbox Series X|S; Publisher: Amber Studio; Developer: Madbricks; Players: 1; Released: August 20th, 2026; ESRB: T for Teen; MSRP: $16.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of Mexican Ninja provided by the publisher.