There are three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and Ninja Gaiden games kicking your butt. Long before souls-like games were the focal point for discussions on video game difficulty, Ninja Gaiden was testing the reflexes of players with its signature fast-paced action. For Ninja Gaiden 4, you can expect the game to keep you on your toes, but if you'd rather have a more leisurely hack-and-slash experience, you'll be catered to as well. For those of you who want the complete opposite, you might want to stock up on spare controllers if you decide to play the game on its highest difficulty settings, as a single mistake can spell the end of your run.Ninja Gaiden 4 will allow players to choose from three core difficulties--Hero, Normal, and Hard. Hero Mode can be customized through menu settings, and when active, protagonists Ryu Hayabusa and Yakumo can focus purely on fighting as the mode enables automatic blocking, evasion, healing, and movement features. Each setting can be toggled on or off at any time during the campaign, and it's designed to help familiarize you with the intense action of Ninja Gaiden 4.Once the campaign has been cleared for the first time, the Master Ninja difficulty mode will be unlocked. This increases the challenge, as even a single hit could mean death. Tougher enemy-types will appear sooner in the campaign, they'll strike from beyond your view, and they'll hit harder than ever before. To make things even more difficult, soldiers wielding rocket launchers will be positioned before each checkpoint, so you'll need to be on high alert constantly. This difficulty option cannot be changed during the campaign, so once you select it, you're locked in for a painful experience.For the apex difficulty setting, Death Wish mode pushes things to the extreme. The entire goal of this option is a deathless run through Ninja Gaiden 4, but it's easier said than done. The game will include a training mode to help you learn the ropes in your quest to be the ultimate ninja. "Ninja Gaiden 4 is shaping up to be a fun reunion for series veterans, as well as a great entry point for newcomers," Jessica Cogswell wrote in her preview of the game. "Ninja Gaiden 4 is whatever style of Ninja Gaiden you want it to be."Ninja Gaiden 4 launches on October 21 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5, and it will be available as part of the Xbox Game Pass catalog. If you're planning to pick it up for PS5, there'll be a physical edition of the game alongside the digital release.