Retrieving Stolen Carrots in Ninjin: Clash of Carrots

By: GeekyGamerGirl87

Developed by Pocket Trap and published by Modus Games Ninjin: Clash of Carrots is a beat em up action adventure game that is well done and is fun for all ages. When I first saw Ninjin: Clash of Carrots I thought the games graphics were very beautiful. Another good thing  that was going for it was it has online co-op.  As I am always on the hunt for online co-op games; it made me even more excited for the game and after playing this game both solo and for a co-op online session. I can say I am thoroughly impressed especially since this is a game that can be appreciated and played by all ages.

Ninjin: Clash of Carrots isn’t just a Beat ‘em up and it’s not just a Shmup (shoot ‘em up). No, Ninjin: Clash of Carrots has transcended both genres and found a way to combine both a beat ‘em up with a shmup . Therefore, my boyfriend and I have dubbed the new genre as  a “Beat ‘em Shmup.”  So , if you enjoy Beat ‘em up games, Shmups, or both this is most definitely a game for you. Now before I go further into my review, I would like to take the time to thank Pocket Trap and Modus Games for providing me with a free copy of the steam version of the game.

The game starts of with you choosing between Ninjin, a ninja rabbit or Akai, a ninja fox from a small farming village, who has had their carrots stolen by the Mole Shogun for his own personal consumption. Therefore, you set out on the quest to recover the carrots that has been stolen. Along the way you will go through a few waves and fight quirky and funny characters such as Mole Jr., Kuma the bear, a General Elk, and an Ice Troll to name a few.

The game graphically is very stunning,  and I love that it is bright and colorful. The game will catch the eyes of children and you will be happy to know that if you do have little ones the game is completely kid friendly.  The dialogue is done so tastefully that you don’t have to worry about your kids picking up any bad language. Although, it is kid friendly I will admit that my boyfriend and I really enjoy the game as well.  It does provide a challenge as you get further into the game which I was happy that it did provide the challenge, because I love games that offer challenges. Although it looks like a child’s game; even your most veteran gamer will find this game fun and interesting.

Not only does the game offer  local co-op, but you can play the game online which was a really big thing for me . Majority of the time you see a lot of indie companies going to the local co-op when it comes to co-op, which I am not saying this isn’t a good thing. I understand the whole perspective of they want to bring back the nostalgia of playing games with your friends, like many of us grew up doing  before online gaming became a thing. However, sadly not everyone has someone they can co-op with locally. Therefore, the fact the Ninjin: Clash of Carrots  offers both online and local co-op made me happy, because now I can play the game with my friends who are not near me.

Another thing  I enjoyed about the game that at first, I was indifferent to was the fact that the game is a bit random in terms of the number of waves you must go through. What I mean by that is when it comes to the waves of enemies you fight it varies. Some levels you might fight eight waves of enemies another time it may only be as few as five waves. For a person who loves things to be routine, the game was so much fun that I didn’t even let it bother me that the waves for the fights were all over the place. Even though it does announce which wave you are on. You will be so drawn into the game that you won’t even be paying attention to the wave numbers. I speak from experience because there were a few times that I was so into the game that I didn’t pay attention to the waves, I just wanted to collect carrots and beat up things.

There is one mechanic in the game that did bother me a little bit. It was the use of the super ability. When I first preview the game, you had the option to use the special ability when you wanted too. I thought that was neat, mainly because I am one of those who only want to use their special ability when I really need to use it.  However, in the release of the game the special ability will trigger as soon  as you fill the special bar. Which can be good at times, but bad when  the ability activates on a minimum number of enemies or just right before a boss encounter.  I still wish the game had the ability to use the special ability when you wanted to.

When it came to the controls for the game you can use both keyboard/mouse or gamepad. I have played the game with both sets of controls and honestly, I can’t decide on which controls are better. This is because they are both pretty good, but both also has its flaws.  For example, moving around the level with the gamepad is great, but I had issues with being able to aim my projectiles because it didn’t feel comfortable to me.  On the other hand, with keyboard /mouse attacking with the projectiles was a lot easier with the aiming and even the regular attack was better to me. However, using WASD to move around does take some getting used to. If I did have to pick a set of controls and as I do like to do a lot of range attacks I would say that keyboard/mouse would be the winner between the two, but again that is just to me.

If you are someone who enjoys collecting collectibles in games well then you are in luck. Ninjin: Clash of Carrots features a lot of different collectibles and I’m not just talking about the thirty-three achievements that the game offers. There are two different currencies you collect. The first currency being  regular carrots; which can be used to purchase swords, projectiles, and artifacts from Corgi’s shop. Then the second currency are rainbow carrots that can be  used in the Shady Shop. The shop is ran by a merchant who is not Corgi ; in which you can buy cosmetics for your characters. There are 101 swords, 40 different projectiles, and 28 different artifacts to collect. I am not sure how many cosmetics there are, but I do know that they are adorable.  For the artifacts you can have up to three equipped, so make sure you choose the correct combination as this can be a crucial strategy on helping to get you  to a successful run. In addition, you do receive gems from some bosses that allows you to harness your special abilities. You can only have one of these gems equipped at a time.

When it comes to the trading cards, the game does not have trading cards yet. I do hope that they do offer the trading cards soon. Although, I normally don’t collect the trading cards, this is a game that I would collect the trading cards for. I know that it does take some time for the games to get trading cards, so again fingers crossed that this game offers them as well.

Overall, I highly recommend Ninjin: Clash of Carrots. The game is loads of fun and again is kid friendly, which is a big plus for those who are looking for games for their children. If you are looking for something that  can hold your interest and offers a challenge, this is a game for you. Also, again if you are into Beat ‘em ups and Shmups then this is a game for you as well. If you would like to give Ninjin: Clash of Carrots a try for yourself you can do so by purchasing the game on Steam, PS4, XBONE, Nintendo Switch for the price of $14.99 USD.

For those who maybe interested in actual gameplay of the game I have posted below a link to my gameplay video of the game. The video has no voiceover. So that you can enjoy the gameplay.