The Messenger
Worth it · Action · 2018
Steam Deck VerifiedThe verdict
BUY IT.
Worth it at $19.99, a BANGER if it drops to $12.26.
- Length
- 12h
- Value
- $1.67/hr
- Reviews
- 93% positive
Watch this gameOne alert when it is worth buying.
Minimum on the Steam store: 2 GB of memory, Intel HD Graphics 4400, 1.2 GB of storage. Windows only.
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.
What drives the score
How to read this
Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
The value story
The lowest price on record is $3.99, set in March 2024. It has been discounted 72 times in the 8 years tracked here, typically at 60 percent off, with about 5 weeks between sales. Past sales have already crossed the $12.26 BANGER line 62 times.
Against its own genre it lands in the top 1 percent on value. It is pricier than 93 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 98 percent. Among the games that feel like it, VVVVVV ($4.99, scores 96) beats it on value, while it beats Owlboy ($19.99, scores 51).
Critics scored it 83. Players sit 10 points higher at 93 percent, which usually means a game that plays better than it reviews.
Steam's global achievement data puts 30 percent of players at this game's ending achievement. The median game this site can measure sits at 15. This site sampled 800 of its Steam-purchase reviews; 4 were written by buyers who refunded it, sampled from reviews written December 2021 to September 2026. Inside the two-hour refund window, 81 percent of the 539 reviews written there were positive, against 93 percent overall, and those are 5 percent of everything written about it.
Valve rates it Steam Deck Verified, and at 12 hours it is short enough to finish on one.
The drop-off
90% start to 30% finishSteam counts a larger share of its players at the ending achievement than it does for most games this site can measure. Steam global achievements
Players
42 players online when we last checked, on Sep 26, 22:46 UTC.
Player counts from the Steam Web API.
What players say
The Messenger is an hommage to the NES Ninja Gaiden series but midway through the game it transforms into a metroidvania! Great bosses, memorable NPC`s, an amazing present/future mechanic which pays tribute to 8bit and 16bit action games and graphics and above all else, The Messenger will actually make you laugh out loud with its humour and witty dialogue! Hands down one of the best games I have ever played!
A very nice action jump and run; skill focused. Great Soundtrack, a lot of stuff to discover and explore, good sense of humor. I recommend it completely.
Solid game with solid concept. It's not as intense as Celeste when it comes to platforming puzzle, and the action/progression is not as intense as Hollow Knight. It's a nice hybrid between the two, that makes you feel like a ninja with all the mobility tools when you nail it. And above all, the game is relatively easy. I did have some minor complaints: 1. Backtracking sucks. Fast travel is almost none existent and...
Steam reviews, mixed to match its Steam ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
Cite this score
The Messenger scores 77/100 on the BANG Score (worth it) as of Oct 2, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/764790/the-messengerReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 17, price as of Oct 1.
A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.