Very Quick Tips: Strider

Go ninja, go

Strider isn’t a particularly tough game on Normal mode, but it can get a bit dicey on some of the more involved boss encounters.

It also has a number of advanced techniques that can be employed to slice up even more dudes than you’re used to, so use the following tips to become a true master ninja. 

General tips:

• Veteran action fans will want to start on Hard right away. Trust me. Note that you can’t start over with a New Game+ unfortunately, so don’t accept the final prompt unless you’re sure you’ve explored everything.

• Take advantage of the rapid slice ability on bosses. Although it’s tempting to slowly move in and hit bosses intermittently, it’s smarter to hack away as fast as you can press the button and take some damage.

• Remember that you can directional slash, especially in the air. Odds are you can always hit something no matter where you are. This is useful for jumping and slicing upwards for out of reach enemies.

• Always queue up a charged slash when running around — you never know when you’re going to need it.

• You can go directly from crawling on a wall to a ceiling, and vice-versa. As long as you don’t press LT or get hit you won’t fall.

• If you reach a dead end, try slide kicking the wall or climbing the ceiling. You might find a hidden area that’s obscured from view.

• Enemy guns will often telegraph when they’re about to let off a shot with a light. Use this to your advantage, because some weaponry can inflict massive amounts of damage.

• You can use the slide move to “phase” through many enemies. Use it if you’re stuck against a wall with nowhere to go.

• Since the game moves so fast, it’s best to just pick up all the health containers you come across. Sometimes you won’t even know when your health meter dips.

• When you obtain the catapult move (R1, RB), it will stall you in the air temporarily, like you’re floating — use this to dodge attacks like ground explosions and other projectiles.