Team Ninja’s new IP combines Japanese samurai history with gameplay inspired by Dark Souls, and if you are a fan of both, then you are in for a huge treat. However, if you bite too much out of it, you will find yourself spoiled and in the end, bored.
What I mean by that is that at first, Nioh’s presentation, controls and features feel excellent. However, the longer you play, the more you realize that stages, assets and enemies are re-used enormously, to the point that the game becomes repetitive and redundant.
While that is certainly the game’s weakness, it does almost everything else right. It has some of the swiftest combat you might be accustomed to when it comes to gaming, and excitingly, there are 5 weapon styles, which each split further into 3 sub categories, because in Nion, your main character William is able to switch between 3 stances, with different kinds of movesets.
There are also bows and guns to use, as well as various support items. You can block, parry, roll and move away while quickly switching up your tactics as you seem fit, whenever you use Ninjutsu or Onmyo, or special skills, the variety here is satisfying.
While the loot system is at first exciting, again, the longer you play, the more you realize that you will be selling or sacrificing these objects so much for experience currency, that it becomes a chore to constantly equip better stuff, while at the same time dropping much more.
The story is based on famous historical Japanese characters such as Oda Nobunaga and Hattori Hanzo, while a foreigner named William comes to assist and take out the yokai, which are demons consuming the darkness around Japan.
Boss fights are another highlight, and all are entertaining and a fair challenge, except for 1 huge slimy foe with a one hit KO move and water hazards which will also instantly kill you. The normal enemies are fine too, until, again, you will see all of them for the hundredth amount of time.
Optional content includes side missions, but also twilight missions, boosting the difficulty further. The online feature includes Co-op and PvP by use of summoning, while gestures can be made, and you can lose and recover your experience curreny upon death, which are all courtesy of Dark Souls elements.
While Bloodborne played with emphasis on the HP meter, Nioh is more focused on the stamina meter. Not only do enemies fairly have them, you are also able to do a nifty little thing called Ki Pulse, which is a mechanic allowing you to recover faster, and it feels similar towards cancelling moves in fighting games.
In overall, Nioh provides great value for it’s presentation, content and gameplay, but as I said, the longer you play it, the more repetitive it becomes, and it honestly does not hold a candle towards the lore of the games it got inspiration from, despite being partially based on true historical events.
Still, I applaud Team Ninja’s efforts, and can’t wait to see what they will cook up next.
Rating: 8.3
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