Action · August 30, 2018
The Messenger (2018)
As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clan’s survival. What begins as a classic action platformer soon unravels into an expansive time-traveling adventure full of thrills, surprises, and humor. Dynamic, acrobatic gameplay and ultra tight controls worthy of an epic ninja adventure. Character upgrades, new abilities, hidden levels, and branching paths to discover. Meticulously designed 8-bit and 16-bit sprites, animations, and backgrounds in the spirit of the classics. A memorable cast of offbeat villains, bosses, and associates. Original soundtrack by renowned chiptune composer Rainbowdragoneyes, handmade using Famitracker.
Action releases from 2018
175 Action titles launched in 2018 — top 6 by review volume.
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Retro · 281
- Platformer · 274
- Pixel Graphics · 269
- Metroidvania · 261
- Ninja · 259
- 2D · 257
- Great Soundtrack · 232
- Indie · 223
- Action · 197
- 2D Platformer · 155
- Singleplayer · 136
- Funny · 128
- Action-Adventure · 118
- Difficult · 116
- Time Travel · 97
Position in Action
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 11.9k Steam reviews | Top 36% in Action |
| Positive rating | 93% positive | Genre average: 83% — this title sits in top 24% |
| Metacritic | 83/100 | Genre average 77 — top 27% of Action titles |
| Engagement hours | 8 h average | Top 54% for session depth among Action |
Peer Action titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Reception Metrics
Steam community
93%Very Positive · 11.9k reviews
11.0k positive · 830 negative
Metacritic
83/100 critic aggregate
Metacritic user score
8.4/10
Curator recommendations
10.2k
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (10)
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish - Spain
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Japanese
- Korean
- Portuguese - Brazil
- Russian
Press Quotes
“The New Leader to Beat.” 10/10 – Destructoid “The Messenger is the Real Deal.” 10/10 – US Gamer “Masterful and Smart Adventure.” 10/10 – Nintendo World Report
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
8h
short (5–15 hours)
Median
5h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
2h
Current engagement
Achievements
48
Steam unlocks available
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
- Steam Cloud
- Remote Play on TV
Input & Comfort
- Full controller support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Release & Availability
| Release date | Aug 30, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Sabotage |
| Publisher | Devolver Digital |
| Base price | $3.99 -80% |
| DLC / Add-ons | 5 released |
| Platforms | Windows |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Editions & Packages
Buy The Messenger