The Messenger (2018) - Mobygames

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.

Leveraging players expectations as a core game design ingredient, The Messenger is first presented as an 8-bit action platformer with a simple story, that unravels into an epic time traveling tale, eventually revealing itself as a 16-bit Metroidvania game packed with replay value and deadpan humor.

• An epic ninja adventure with challenging gameplay and tight controls
• Legit 8-bit and 16-bit art and music reminiscent of your favorite NES and SNES games
• Memorable cast of (often silly) villains, bosses and associates
• Catchy soundtrack by renowned chiptune composer Rainbowdragoneyes, made in Famitracker
• Character upgrades, new abilities, hidden levels and story arcs to discover
• Challenging and visceral gameplay where mastery is a thing to behold

Source: Steam Store Description