14 DAY TRIAL // 
I launch a shuriken to the right and I do not even look to see where it lands before I dash to the right, do a double jump, slash to take out an enemy, reverse course, stop short of a few spikes, launch another shuriken, miss and I understand that this run is done.
I restart the level probably 20 times before I first reach the end of the current level of 10 Second Ninja, but I then play it about another 20 before I finally move on to the next one, simply trying to improve my overall time by even just one full second.
10 Second Ninja might be the most speed-focused video game that I have played in recently, a game that asks the player to reconsider how he experiences time and to desperately try to find a way of shaving previous seconds by both planning better and by executing his moves in a more perfect fashion.
Developer Dan Pearce has simplified platforming and action to their bare bones and has created a fast, smooth, cool and occasionally infuriating game that will entertain and frustrate in equal measure.
There’s almost no story in 10 Second Ninja and no information on the character that players are controlling other than that he is a very capable little operator (maybe a prequel will explore his years of training) who needs to take out, as quickly as possible, robots that are based on Nazi soldiers.
Hitler also makes an appearance and there are story-based cutscenes between the levels, but the narrative threat should not be the reason for a player to pick up and play this game.
The player needs to use jumping, running, sword slashes and shuriken attacks to take out all the robots, while avoiding both spike traps and other environmental challenges, with some areas where Hitler needs to be directly confronted.
The core mechanics can be learned in just one level, but 10 Second Ninja is not concerned with becoming competent at something but with proper mastery of all these actions.
In 10 Second Ninja, just getting through a level under the time limit is not enough to generate a sense of accomplishment. Just as the on-screen character moves to a new area, the mind of the player will continue to explore how he could have shaved a few seconds in order to get a better result.
I questioned my moves and my plans and sometimes managed to upgrade my performance to reach two golden stars, but only on one stage have I managed to get the best evaluation and that only happened after I tried it over and over in order to basically imprint the entire set of moves I needed to perform into my muscles.
That moment feels incredible, but 10 Second Ninja soon throws more stages at the player and asks him to deliver even better performances.
As I played the title, I got noticeably better at running through, but I also became rather frustrated at the seemingly impossible limits.
The graphics of 10 Second Ninja are clean and functional, although a little bit more precision when it comes to the actual reach of the sword move would have been appreciated.
The music is also well adjusted to the theme of the title and mercifully stays in the background, which allows gamers to focus on their unrelenting attempts at getting three-star ratings.
10 Second Ninja needs to be played with a controller in order to reach even sort of solid results and even then, gamers will need some time to adjust to the way the developer has mapped the buttons.
The entire experience is clearly aimed at gamers who do not mind spending time, mental power and finger effort to chase an almost impossible to reach goal.
I liked the time spent with 10 Second Ninja, although I wish it would just a little bit less punishing.
