Ninjin: Clash of Carrots

I'll be upfront: this is not a shooter and I came in skeptical. Auto-running beat-em-ups are either slick little arcade machines or padded-out button mashers with a coat of cute paint. Ninjin lands closer to the former, at least for the first few worlds. The core hook is clever enough: it grafts auto-runner momentum onto a side-scrolling brawler, so you are always moving right, dealing with enemies coming from both directions using a melee attack up front and a dash-cancel attack behind you. The projectile slot adds a second attack layer, where you are constantly reading the room on whether to close distance for the heavy melee hit or sit back and whittle with throwing stars or bouncing shurikens. That push-pull stays interesting longer than I expected. The loadout system is where Ninjin earns its replay value. You collect carrots as currency from downed enemies, then spend between stages at the Corgi Store for melee weapons, or the Shady Shop for special projectiles and cosmetic masks. Melee options split across weight classes: short weapons swing fast with low stamina cost, heavy axes hit hard but drain your bar and leave you exposed. Projectiles each have distinct behavior, piercing through enemy clusters, bouncing off walls, or targeting the flanks. The game has over 150 items across both categories, which sounds inflated but the spread genuinely changes how specific enemy types feel. Some stages are built around forcing you off your comfort loadout, and the better difficulty spikes work exactly like that. The honesty check: repetition does creep in. The campaign runs about four to six hours on a first pass, and critics are right that the back half leans on enemy density rather than new mechanics to raise the challenge. The Oni TV Show survival mode extends things with endless wave runs for rare loot, and S-ranking stages requires equipment experimentation and stage memorization, but that replay carrot is dangling on a short stick. Online co-op exists, though the player pool in 2025 is what you would expect from a 2018 indie. Local co-op is the real pitch here: two players with split enemy targeting and some chaos when projectile spam meets a crowded screen is legitimately fun, even if coordination goes out the window at higher speeds. The visuals are anime-inspired pixel art, colorful and readable, which matters in a game this busy. Enemy designs are distinct enough that you pattern-match fast, which is the difference between a chaotic mess and actual skill expression. Achievements have had some reported unlock issues in recent Steam discussions, worth noting if you care about completion. Controller support is solid, as it should be for a brawler. Bottom line: this game is not for someone chasing ranked ladders or deep netcode. It is a short, cheerful arcade brawler with more loadout depth than it has any business having at this tier. If your Saturday plan involves a couch, a friend, and something that does not require a manual, Ninjin delivers that cleanly. Fred, Scout Team