It’s taken a while, but I think we may finally have a perfect stealth game. Most other games in this genre have needlessly complicated controls that frequently don’t allow you to do what you want to at the right time. They give you useless information and withhold important details, meaning that you make errors that you never would have if given proper data. Sure, it’s not exactly realistic to know the exact line of sight an enemy guard has, but it makes for a better game.

Mark of the Ninja is different. Everything is made clear to you, because you’re a freaking ninja. You have the ability to maneuver about the environment in consistent and understandable ways, like a freaking ninja. You can be a predator, eliminating your foes with deadly precision and efficiency, or a shadow, sneaking past them without leaving a trace. BECAUSE YOU’RE A FREAKING NINJA.

In Mark of the Ninja, you play a ninja not named Mark as your clan, which has survived since its inception in the feudal era of Japan, retaliates from an attack by a private military corporation led by a crime lord named Karajan. While the story itself is fun but unremarkable, the themes it discusses are harrowing.

As your character takes on the Marks, special tattoos that grant magic stealth abilities, it is revealed through your master that the previous Mark-bearers have been driven insane by them and are expected to commit seppuku (a form of ritual suicide in Japan after a samurai or other warrior has been dishonored) to prevent them from ending the clan.

It brings up themes of honor when it comes to upholding the clan. If your mission is not finished when the Mark begins to affect you, is it more honorable to commit seppuku, or try to save your clan? The game’s final moment was so powerful that I immediately played through the final mission again.

The gameplay, however, is where Mark of the Ninja really shines as one of the best downloadable games this year. There are a stagger number of options available at your disposal at any one time. Depending where you are in the environment, what kind of distraction and murderous tools you have equipped, where enemies are and what they can see, where lights are and what they illuminate, what sounds are being made and how far they reach, you can react in a multitude of different ways.

Movement is smooth, with jumps that are precise, wall-running and jumping that makes maneuvering simple yet full of possibilities, and a grappling hook that allows you to zip to clearly designated points in the environment quickly, but somewhat noisily. You can hang from certain points, as well as string up enemy guards, in a manner similar to the World’s Greatest Detective, and it is as satisfying as it sounds.

You can also initiate stealth kills on enemies (it’s not worth talking about the hand-to-hand melee, as it is so ineffective as to deter you from using it and sticking to the shadows), followed by an action prompt that determines whether or not you kill them silently or sloppily.

Sound and light are either your greatest allies or greatest foes, depending on how you use them to advance throughout the game’s ten or so levels. Making too much noise on accident (or perhaps on purpose) will attract a guard to that area if he is within the aural range, either making him an easy target or leaving his position unattended.

The levels are populated by patrolling enemies with flashlights, spotlights, or lightning that threatens to betray your position. If the ninja is caught in the light, he immediately goes from his silhouetted form in the shadows to being fully colored. This quick and distinctive visual change makes it clear when you are in light and when it’s easier for guards to spot you from a distance.

Just as making sound can be an advantage and a disadvantage, light can be used to your benefit. The game implements a terror mechanic in guards, where if they see a friend of theirs dead in a spotlight, they start screaming and firing their gun out of panic. Nothing scripted in my playthrough excited me as much as when I took out a guard and tossed him into a street light that was being covered by a sniper, which resulted in the sniper freaking out, instantly killing one of the heavy enemies, backing himself into a corner, and walking onto a spike trap.

The very best thing about the game, however, is the synthesis between the visual presentation, including Klei’s brilliant trademark comic book-style animation with thick lines and expressive characters, with all of the complex gameplay systems.

Blue rings show the range of sound, and they ripple through and distort the environment in a beautiful fashion. Light is a clear, stark yellow, contrasted against the often dark backgrounds, letting you know which spots to avoid. It’s easy to determine which enemies have night-vision capabilities, how far the guard dog’s sense of smell stretches, what kind of sensor you’re about to walk under.

Every piece of information is conveyed to you in a clear, concise manner, and most importantly, it’s all visual. You know what each thing on screen means and what will happen when you try to interact with it.

The music is great and fitting, too. Sneaking around is scored by beautiful, subtle ambient pieces, and being caught results in a shift in tempo and volume, often spelling your quick demise.

I feel like over the past month I’ve been saying this a lot, but Mark of the Ninja is an honest contender for Game of the Year for me. It’s polished to hell, and tons of fun. Also, ninjas.