After a plethora of increasingly mundane first person sci-fi shooty bang bangs, it’s refreshing to see that a new school of sci-fi ninjas will be heading to consoles in the future, like the cast of Warframe. Now the iconic, indigo clad, Strider Hiryu wants in on the action.

Beginning life in the pages of Comic Computique a monthly manga anthology illustrated by Tatsumi Wada, Strider made his way onto the NES in the late 1980s. A member of a high-tech ninja-like secret organisation, Hiryu uncovered a massive conspiracy that eventually led him to an epic showdown aboard an orbiting space-station. Armed with his plasma-generating blade the Cypher that had a tonfa-like handle known as the Falchion, the original Strider game inspired many modern third person action titles thanks to its slick quick combat and free flowing path through the game.

Announced today, developers Double Helix in collaboration with publishers Capcom are bringing Hiryu out of retirement as are creating a brand new, side-scrolling title starring the ultimate sci-fi ninja. Who else would have the special skills to eliminate the planet’s newest evil bad guy, the mysterious and omnipotent Grand Master Meio who rules Earth with an oppressive iron fist in an alternate dystopian future?

The action begins in the expansive metropolis of Kazakh City, a mix of ornate Russian architecture and hard-edged futuristic high-rise buildings with sprawling energy cables and pipework. Players will be able to freely explore the city and beyond, gaining new abilities and items which in turn will open up access to a truly massive and expansive interconnected game world. Sci-fi fans will go up against cybernetic soldiers and immense bio-mechanical creatures, by performing breakneck acrobatic jumps and mid-air flips while slicing through enemies with Hiryu’s indestructible Cypher. When the going gets tough, players can also use the climb sickle to gain the high ground, and hit them with a surprise Kunai attack, or call on robot support companions for some extra muscle. The arsenal of moves and weapons to acquire and play with will be vastly improved for the ninja assassin’s latest outing.

Strider is scheduled for a digital release in early 2014 for X360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.