Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 63 | 5 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 79% | 74 | 491 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 1 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 4 reviews sampled · 3 total reviews in window · weighted 0.9 up / 0 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (15)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
- 50
“Oniken is a faithful reproduction of something that wasn't very good to begin with.”
read full review ↗ - 55
“One look at the title screen or any of the action and it is clear this is intended to be a retro throwback starting at the visuals...”
read full review ↗ - 60
“With Oniken, what you see is what you get, and your first impression of the game is probably spot on. If you miss your friendly, Tecmo ninja man, you might want to give this one a look. For everyone else, leave this one in 20XX.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Oniken: Unstoppable Edition is meant for a certain kind of NES fan; those that revel in that sort of old-school challenge will find little else like it on Switch. ”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Oniken has plenty of passion put into the game. The 80's action film styling are cool but the game design itself is sadly stuck in a time where gaming was still feeling itself out.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Considering how this version is also double the pricepoint of the original Steam version for some baffling reason, I think you should definitely wait for the patch and maybe even a sale on this one if you’re remotely interested. You can have a decent enough time once you’re able to get past all this, but it’s still not an excuse for how the port came out this way, especially since this game has a lot of great ideas buried within.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Oniken does a few things right, but flounders when it comes to the most important parts of the experience. The visuals and audio of the game are a faithful and accurate tribute to the style of classic NES action games, sure. All of the artistic flair in the world can't help a game that simply isn't fun to play, though. Action in Oniken is consistently stiff and frustrating, and while boss encounters can provide brief moments of gratifying gameplay, only the most dedicated of action platformer fans will have the patience to reach those encounters.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“WORTH CONSIDERING - Oniken is a solid 2D action/platformer and I had a fun weekend playing through it. However, it doesn’t do anything extraordinary or original. There are plenty of games that overshadow this, but the $9.99 price tag is perfect and for that affordable price, anyone who picks this up will surely get their money’s worth.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Coming back to how Oniken plays, it is clearly trying to be a loving homage to 80’s side-scrollers, but it misses the point in how it uses its challenge. Rather than have proper structure and reliance on muscle memory as the games of that era did, Oniken often relies on cheap and nasty death traps that are very much designed to be ‘tough’ instead of challenging. Yes, you can ‘beat’ it and muddle through, but there’s little warmth or enjoyment to it. On the upside, playing it on the Switch’s handheld mode in bursts does alleviate some of the frustration. The only problem there being the Switch already has plenty of 8-bit games of higher quality both old and new to play. So, pretty or not, it’s hard to recommend Oniken to all but the most ardent retro gaming fan.”
read full review ↗ - 40
- 76
“An extreme exercise in nostalgia, which works perfectly at transmiting "retro feels". It needs some polishing on the controls side, though.”
read full review ↗
Fintendo
VGChartz
Nindie Spotlight
NintendoWorldReport
Nintendojo
CFG Games
Seafoam Gaming
TheSixthAxis
Nintendo Times
Bloody Disgusting
The Nintendo Nomad
Hobby Consolas…and 3 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Oniken Update!Feb 10, 2014
- Oniken Update!Feb 10, 2014
- First Update!Feb 5, 2014
- First Update!Feb 5, 2014