Shing!

Shing! has a few decent ideas and a reasonable premise up its sleeve but all of these things collapse under the weight of poor performance issues combined with scrappy combat and shoddy enemy AI and placement. The game's unique right-stick control mechanic could have worked a treat but isn't refined enough or even given the room to breathe and the story that backs the whole thing up is let down by atrociously dated writing. If you're desperate for a four-player co-op side-scroller you may find something to enjoy along the way here, but otherwise, this one is almost impossible to recommend.

But ultimately, I don’t know if SHING! will find its desired audience. The control scheme and deviations from genre standards leave a sour first impression, and it’s not helped by the vapid quality of the story and writing. The game is filled with schlocky Shadow Warrior style jokes at the expense of the Far East setting (fake-Asian words which sound like English swear words!), and bloody violence despite the immature Saturday-morning-cartoon simplicity. If a game is crass, it needs to have other qualities to redeem it, and SHING! unfortunately fails to justify its shortcomings. I can respect the desire to experiment and to break from tradition, but this game doesn’t do enough to be worth the investment.

Fantastic fun beat em up but not quite the evolution it claims

Sexy, sultry ninjas and pretty vistas can't save this from being a mediocre brawler; one with a couple of good things to talk about, but mostly with plenty of flaws. The gameplay can get repetitive, and the action, while somewhat enjoyable, can soon turn into an irritating chore that has you multitask, in a game that doesn't really let you do so. Small tip for those who still want to try Shing! out (this does have sexy, sultry ninjas, after all): do avoid the default control scheme, and don't play it on your own under any circumstance.

Shing! has some bad, though it's balanced out with some good. The look, story, and some of the mechanics won't please everyone, but after about 20 minutes I had no issues having fun. The mechanics might be rough, but they're fairly accessible and this allows Shing! to feel less like an impossibly hard experience and more a silly game you and a buddy can play without a ton of skill needed to feel like you're a badass. Naturally, this won't resonate with everyone, though I think those willing to give Shing! a chance will be pleasantly surprised.

Shing! is a fun and innovative co-op beat 'em up that has had its potential unleashed on PS5. While most elements remain the same, the upgrade in resolution and general technical fixes, make the game a significantly more immersive experience than the PS4 version. Certainly, the PS5 version is the more recommendable for those looking for a good co-op game full of wise-cracking ninja fun.

Overall Shing! is a fun addition to the beat’em up genre. While it does lack a bit of depth and feels a bit too simplistic, its unique combat mechanic makes it stand out from the rest despite being unnecessary and lazy in some aspects of the game. With its challenging boss and unique levels, fans of the genre should definitely look this one up.

Developers of 'Shing!' praises their title as what could be the future of all arcade style beat'em-ups. As expected, the game requires fast reactions of the players in control of their characters, who will then be rewarded with seamless action and enemy encounters. Even with its old-school spirit, some of the meaningless conversation dialogs and confused enemy AI may feel a little lackluster and could defuse the intensity build up you've created along the way. In the Nintendo Switch version, we could notice some minor glitches during progress and struggles to display optimal frames-per-second visuals which made it difficult to enjoy all the combos and juggles. What's worse was when entering stage 6B, you'll encounter an inevitable error in the Switch version(v1.0.06), which wouldn't allow the players to see the game's ending.

When it comes to beat-em-ups the Switch has really fleshed its line-up out since the early days, which generally makes it tougher for new titles to make a strong impression with something new...

Whilst Shing! is guilty of feeling a bit repetitive in places, the slick and intuitive combat mechanics do enough to make it a worthwhile venture in the beat ‘em up genre. Don’t get me wrong, your thumb may ache after a couple of hours of play and it doesn’t do much to evolve upon the genre outside of the controls, but there’s enough charm on show with the story and enemy variety to keep players invested in Shing!’s perilous ninja-fuelled escapade.