Game review
Ninja Stealth
3.6 / 10
- Developer
- SC Jogos
- Publisher
- SC Jogos
- Released
- 29 September 2016
- Platforms
- Windows
- Genre
- Strategy
- Monetisation
- One-time purchase, no DLC or in-app purchases.
- Players
- Single-player only
The short version
Ninja Stealth casts players as a ninja sneaking past lasers, guards, and cameras to steal computers from an enemy facility, in a top-down click-and-play stealth puzzler. Steam's aggregate reads Mixed at 64% of 681 English-language reviews, and given the scale of that corpus, this review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of 246 total, alongside a wide sample of the positive side.
The core game, as originally released, draws measured but real credit from reviewers on both sides — a basic, short, Flash-era-style stealth puzzler that several call decent value for its low price. What overwhelmingly dominates this review's negative sample, though, isn't the original game at all: it's a later update that added roughly 5,000 achievements, many unlocking automatically every second or two just for having the game open, rather than for any real accomplishment. Reviewers describe this widely and consistently as "achievement spam," with several saying it actively degraded their Steam client's performance and buried a basic but functional game under a gimmick.
Biggest strengths
- A basic but functional Flash-era-style stealth puzzler at its core, with several reviewers calling the concept and progressive difficulty genuinely decent for the price
- Very cheap, limiting the financial risk even given the game's short length and simple design
- An easy, fast way to pad a Steam achievement count for players who specifically want that, according to reviewers who use it exactly for that purpose
Biggest weaknesses
- A widely and consistently condemned later update added roughly 5,000 achievements, many unlocking automatically every second or two just for having the game running, rather than for any real in-game accomplishment
- Multiple reviewers report the achievement spam actively degrading Steam client performance, with one specifically citing issues even on a 32GB RAM system
- Poorly designed hitboxes and clunky detection reported by several reviewers, describing being caught by lasers or guards even while correctly hidden behind cover
Who it's for: Steam achievement collectors specifically looking to pad their profile numbers, or genre completionists curious about a decent, very cheap Flash-era-style stealth puzzler underneath.
Our recommendation: Skip it unless you're specifically achievement hunting — the core game is a forgettable, if inoffensive, basic stealth puzzler now defined entirely by a widely mocked achievement-spam update.
3.6 / 10
Introduction
Ninja Stealth casts players as a ninja sneaking past lasers, guards, and cameras to steal computers from an enemy facility, in a top-down click-and-play stealth puzzler. Developed and published by SC Jogos, it launched on Steam on 29 September 2016 at NZ$7.40. Its 681 English-language reviews sit at 64% positive, Mixed. Given the scale of that corpus, this review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of the 246 total, alongside a wide sample of the positive side.
A basic but functional core game
Set aside from the controversy that now defines it, the original game draws measured but real credit. "Ninja Stealth is a classic 2D stealth game," reads one early review, describing evading lasers, guards, and cameras across progressively difficult levels. Another calls it "a decent little stealth game. The mechanics are very simple, and the puzzles are very straight forward... The game is pretty short, but with the price set as it is, it's certainly decent value." Even a critical reviewer concedes: "although this game was an achievement spam, at least this game still playable and challenging."
A widely condemned achievement-spam update
What overwhelmingly dominates this review's negative sample is a later update that reviewers describe consistently and specifically. "Dev is a achievement spammer... spamming your achievements profile," reads the sample's most-upvoted review. "Low effort stealth game... I think the point is to just give yourself 5,000 achievements," reads another. A third reviewer describes a genuine technical consequence: "the 5000 achievements (one per second or two) just kill not only the Steam client (even with 32GiB of RAM!!!), but also the fun of the game." Even reviewers who recommend the game frame it around this same gimmick rather than disputing it: "this game is a series of cheap bare bone games ideal for achievement hunters," reads one, treating the achievement farming as the main draw rather than a flaw.
Verdict
Ninja Stealth started as a basic, inoffensive Flash-era-style stealth puzzler that reviewers on both sides agree was decent value for its low price. But this review's full sample confirms that the game is now defined almost entirely by a later update that added roughly 5,000 largely meaningless achievements — a change reviewers consistently and specifically condemn as achievement spam that buried the actual game and, for some, degraded their Steam client's performance. Skip it unless padding your achievement count is specifically the goal.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A basic but functional Flash-era-style stealth puzzler at its core, with several reviewers calling the concept and progressive difficulty genuinely decent for the price
- Very cheap, limiting the financial risk even given the game's short length and simple design
- An easy, fast way to pad a Steam achievement count for players who specifically want that, according to reviewers who use it exactly for that purpose
- Runs smoothly with no reported crashes, according to several reviewers, unlike some other rough edges elsewhere in the experience
Cons
- A widely and consistently condemned later update added roughly 5,000 achievements, many unlocking automatically every second or two just for having the game running, rather than for any real in-game accomplishment
- Multiple reviewers report the achievement spam actively degrading Steam client performance, with one specifically citing issues even on a 32GB RAM system
- Poorly designed hitboxes and clunky detection reported by several reviewers, describing being caught by lasers or guards even while correctly hidden behind cover
- A very short, basic core game that several reviewers say offers little depth once the achievement gimmick is set aside
Screenshots
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Ninja StealthImage: SC Jogos via Steam -
Ninja StealthImage: SC Jogos via Steam -
Ninja StealthImage: SC Jogos via Steam -
How the review scores each part of the gameWanderer Editorial -
The essentials at a glanceWanderer Editorial -
The short versionWanderer Editorial