Ninja Theory: We’ve Been Lucky That We’ve Been Able to Survive

UK-based independent video game developer, Ninja Theory, considers itself lucky enough to have survived in the industry following some commercial failures. Despite a decent reception, neither Heavenly Sword nor Enslaved: Odyssey to the West sold as well as the developer would have liked. Despite this, it secured a deal to develop DmC: Devil May Cry for Capcom, which may just have come at the right time for the studio

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

These guys are cool devs. Too bad their games get obscure by other games, and the DMC controversy didn't help either. Here's hoping their next vames succeeds and someday they make Heavenly Sword 2

[Summons75]

Yeah so cool to insult gamers and other devs just because they point out a bug or make a better game then them....

They're right, they are very lucky they have survived with their unprofessional attitude. I still refuse to support them long before DmC happened but that certainly cemented it.

[SmielmaN]

I would love HS2. Enslaved was better than I thought too. They are pretty good.

[phoenixwing]

Heavenly Sword is way underrated. Definitely a fun game. The DmC controversy didn't help even though it was a solid game if you're not being a fanboy.

[Dravidian]

I can't talk about DmC since I haven't played it, but I loved Heavenly sword. Gameplay was solid (though slightly floaty at times), the story was interesting, and characters wer freakin brilliant imo.

I'm excited and want to see more of Hell Blade.

[robtion]

MS or Sony should snap these guys up if they are at risk of closing. They are AAA devs and could churn out some great exclusives.

[_-EDMIX-_]

They are not bad devs, but their games are sorta a hit or miss. DmC didn't really help with that and neither did Enslaved. Hellblade looks amazing, but I question if it might suffer from some of the same issues their previous titles have had.

I can't really had the AAA title to them, they are like AA and a half or something lol. Production is always great with them, the quality of game play is always something up to question.

[BG11579]

It would really be a good deal for the company that acquires them.
I hope these guys end up doing games for a long time.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Enslaved was one of my favorite games last generation.

[Relientk77]

Heavenly Sword
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
DmC: Devil May Cry

I love these guys and I hope they stay around

[NarooN]

These guys are an underrated dev if there ever was one.

[Spectre_StatusN7]

Get on this Sony, Heavenly Sword was underrated and a lot of that was due to the PS3's launch failure. Buy Ninja Theory, boost up the dev size, have them make Heavenly Sword 2 and watch it sell really well. PS4 sells software Sony, get on that.

[triple_c]

I agree. That developer is a good buy. They make good games and not too long ago I read that they only have about 13 developers working for them so they're a relatively small team as well. Buying them is low risk and high reward

[Mikefizzled]

I personally don't think it would be a good buy. They make great games but they don't sell well. They are just the western version of PlatinumGames. Great devs, great games, low sales.

[Roccetarius]

They lack good sales, professional attitude and quality gameplay. I'd say they're not even close to what Platinum games are.

Bad investment.

[Nodoze]

Sorry but Platinum is in another league. These guys are NOT PG equals.

[TwoForce]

All my anger had passed, i hope ninja theory will success their carrer.

[poppinslops]

I get the feeling I made a huge mistake by opting not to download Enslaved when it was free on XBL... since then I've heard nothing but good things about it, so now I'm gonna have to scrounge around for a 2nd-hand copy.

That said, I can see why it didn't sell (the lead character's design, the 'Monkey Magic' plot, releasing alongside established AAA games), but I can't understand why Heavenly Sword didn't... last night I watched some clips and it looked frikkin' great, with an epic setting, speedy combat and an attractive protaganist - so what went wrong?

At least the DMC reboot seems to have done okay... it got great reviews and a slightly less-controversial remaster, which had a blonde Dante for all the hardcore DMC nuts.

If Hellblade ever comes to Xbox, I'll get it... I doubt that my laptop is up to the task, even with Win10.

[TheDetective]

i'm sick of hearing About the freaking hair, if you don't know why the fans where upset then Don't speak about it

[poppinslops]

Sorry - I thought it was the hair... if 'Wild Hunt' had released with a brunette Geralt I'd have flipped my lid.

[robtion]

Heavenly sword was awesome at release. The graphics were amazing at the time, the story and cutscenes are great, and the combat has lots of depth if you learn the combos.

Problem was most people were on the ps3 hate train back then, including much of the media.

[kaixxi]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this that developer said that they were disappointed with the heavenly sword sales? And then turn multiplat devs cuz they want more money and got screwed, and the one ones who don't give a damn about the fans of Dmc and turn insulting them, is it them? Well wow they are still around.

[Roccetarius]

Yep, they're still around, but other developers have been shuting down left and right over the years.

It's a cruel world indeed.

[TheDivine]

NT are one of the best devs out there hands down. Enslaved was a masterpiece IMO. Brilliant storytelling and the most epic and action packed set pieces. Didn't get the props it deserved.

[PS3gamer4life]

Enslaved 2 please

[franwex]

I don't remember Ninja Theory insulting anyone. Okay, so they changed Dante's hair...HIS HAIR! Fanboys get to emotional over stupid stuff sometimes.

To be honest at first it was a little jarring for me too; but after awhile I didn't even noticed anymore. I remember the slight jab at the hair too that Dante makes about 15 min. into the game! It's about time to get over it guys and let it go!

[Eiyuuou]

You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

I'll give you a hint: it's not about the hair.

[Roccetarius]

New players, or just players with less of a clue generally don't understand why we (understandably) rejected that game. It's a common thing, unfortunately.

[franwex]

I guess I don't. Why don't you enlighted me then instead of giving clues then?

[Adrian_v01]

After so long you still choose to believe that it's about the hair? And not insulting anyone? lol

[Eiyuuou]

I suppose I could. It's slightly different for everybody though. 1 little detail before I start: DmC was the first DMC game I played, and I'd be lying if I said that I hated it it. It's a good game, just not a good DMC.

So what it did wrong imo:

-I didn't like the music. Dubstep-like shit is not really my thing. It didn't bother me though.

-Combat: Difficulty = nonexistant. If you'd compare the final bossfights of DMC3 and DmC (both bosses are Vergil ^^), DmC would look like a game for toddlers.

They also butchered the style system. In almost every confrontation I had at least S-rank, and at the end of every mission SSS or SS rank. Needless to say, in the previous games I had to work my ass off for even a S-rank combo.

It didn't have the same amount of depth like DMC4 due to not having the 4 styles that let you do the most crazy of combos. (still better than Nero combat though)

Weapons: I only liked the looks of the Arbiter and the Aquila. I dislike the rest. Also near the end of the game, the Osiris and gauntlets (omg so ugly) become useless due to their counterparts being better). Guns are also quite useless here damage wise.

Devil trigger: Wow they fucked up. minimal regen, neglectable damage boost, a change in appearance (obviously to "please" the veterans) that sucks, and floating enemies who are way harder to hit. Was it so hard just to turn him into a demon?

I'm not gonna mention lock-on and colour coded enemies for obvious reasons.
- I feel the story is of the same quality as the previous games. They never had great stories anyway. As if we play them for it.

But, now the big nono. The characters that inhabit the story.

The one that I hated with a passion wasn't Dante, but Vergil. Up to a certain degree, they tried to make the new Dante behave like the old one (but failed). But they totally screwed up Vergil's character. A cowardly man who schemes in the shadows, let's Dante and Kat doe all the work, and worst of all shoots a woman in the back like an honourless bastard.

Then there is Dante. We don't dislike him because of his hair (although the style is fugly...). Even if he were to have white hair from the get go, we'd still dislike him. I mean, they replaced our favorite charismatic devil hunter and gave us an arrogant foul mouthed douchebag. I don't like dick jokes, nor do I like a "fuck you" every now and then.

And that's a summary of what I think of DmC (and many at that).

Have a good one.

[Tru_Blu]

Make Heavenly sword 2 and they'd get some cash.

[Roccetarius]

It's unfortunate that developers like these survive, while better developers have been shutting down over the years due to not being mainstream. They're certainly not more than B developers at best.

Especially Capcom was foolish to outsource DMC, because it was a game that wasn't needed, and it was their own fault for not finishing DMC 4.

[Picnic]

I played a bit of Heavenly Sword and Enslaved. In both cases, I felt that the characters had no physical weight to them and that made it difficult for me to invest myself in the games.