'Nioh' Review: This Is The Samurai Game We Needed - Forbes

TL/DR: Nioh is a fantastic Samurai action-RPG with excellent Dark Souls inspired combat, multiplayer options and tons of content. Not for the ... 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TeamNinjaisbackinfightingshapewithitslatestrelease,whichblendsthecombatandgameplayofthe NinjaGaiden serieswiththemodernsensibilitiesof DarkSouls and Bloodborne. Asderivativeasthisallsounds,somehow Nioh stillshines,tinkeringmasterfullywithitsinspirations.Itmayowecredittogameslike DarkSouls,but Nioh isitsownbeastentirely. Andwhatabeastitis. Nioh isagauntletofbrutalcombatsetinademonicfeudalJapan,anditwillbeatyoudown,chewyouupandspityouout.Andyet,ashardasthegamemaybe, it'sevenhardertobeatthatsenseofsatisfactionyoufeelwhenyoucrushyourenemies, masterthegame'ssystems,and emergevictorious.Thestruggleisreal,andit'spreciselywhatmakes Nioh sobloodygood. (Youcanreadmyin-depthlookathowthegamediffersfromits Soulsborne rootshere;Ialsogointomuchgreaterdepthonhowcombatandmagicworkinthegame.) Combatisslickandresponsive,withahugevarietyofpotentialcombinationsofweapons,skillsandstances, aswellasmagic.Swords,bows,spears,guns,throwingstarsandatonofotherchoicesmakeupyourcharacter'sarsenalasyoudobattleagainstwickedmenanddemonsthroughmissionafterperilousmission. Enemiesaretough,butbossfightsareevenmorechallenging.Indeed,ifIhadonecomplaintaboutthegame'sdifficultylevel(whichissteep,evenforactiongameveteranslikeyourstruly)itwouldbethatthebossfightscanbeabittediouswhenfightingthemalone. Bosseshaveatonofhealthanddealatonofdamage,andthecombinationcanbefrustrating.Evenwhenyou'vediscoveredtheirvulnerabilities(orhowtocountertheirtoughestattacks)thesefightscandragoninawaythat'sultimatelylesssatisfyingthanthequicker,morevisceralfightsagainstregularenemies. Credit:TeamNinja Thegame'smultiplayerallowsyoutocircumventthistosomedegree.Likeinthe Souls gamesyoucansummonhelp,orofferupyourownservicestoaidinmissionsyou'vealreadycompleted.Thiscanbeincrediblyhelpfulinthornybossfights.Co-opcanbeplayedforentiremissionsaswell,whichservesassomethingofan"easymode"forstrugglingplayerswithdecentinternetconnections. Actualgameplayissimilartothe Souls games,withsomebigchanges.Thisisa3Daction-RPG.Playersengageenemiesbylockingontothemandunleashingvarioustypesofattacks.Youhavebothmeleeandrangedoptionsatyourdisposalandwillneedtomakeuseofthemalltoreallymasterthegame.Ahugeselectionofconsumableitemscanbefoundandusedtoeitherbuff,healorimbueweapons(andsoonandsoforth.)Combatisfastandbreathless,anddeathisalwaysjustasliceortwoaway.Masteringthesystemisfun,andwhenyougetgoodatitthewholethingfeelsgreat.Anyonewholoved Bloodborneinparticularwilllove Nioh. Eachstageisprettyhuge,withsecretdoorsandshortcuts,windingpassagesandshrinestorestandprayat.Theseshrinesserveasanexusofsorts,whereyourcharacter,William,canlevelup,summonhelp,andperformvariousothertasks.Restingatoneresetsmostoftheenemiesinthelevel. Unlike DarkSouls,themissionsthemselvesarenotinterconnected.Youselecteachfromaworldmapandwhenyoufinishoneyoureturntotheworldmap.Hereyoucanalsoplayreallyhardtwilightmissions,orsub-missionsthattakeplaceinadifferentversionoflevelsyou'vealreadyplayed(usually)thatofferreallyworthwhilerewards. Levelingupisdonewith'Amrita'whichisbasically Nioh's versionofsoulsfrom DarkSouls. Whenyoudie,youdropyourAmritaandyourSpiritGuardian(basicallyapowerfulattackthatyoubuildupandunleashonenemies)andhaveonechancetoretrieveyourAmritabeforeit'slost.Youcanthenspendittolevelup.YoualsofindgoldwhichyoucanuseattheBlacksmithbetweenmissionstoforgeitems,buysuppliesandsoforth. Credit:TeamNinja Graphically, Nioh isgorgeous.It'saPS4exclusive,andit'sthefirstI'veseenthatreallyletsyouchoosehowyouwantthegametolookandperform,emphasizinghigherframeratesovergraphicalfidelityorviceversa.OnthePS4Proyouhaveexpandedoptions.Thevariouslevelsofferupreallywonderfulvariety,fromshipsdockedatnighttopoison-filledundergroundchamberstoJapanesevillagesbathedinblood-redsun. Likewise,sounddesignisterrific.Youcanoftenhearenemiesapproachingbeforeyouseethem.Musicisfairlysparse,butalwayslovely.Andincombat,soundeffectsaddgreatlytothatsatisfying thwackyouneedtohavewheneachblowconnects. Asfarasstorygoes,while Nioh isn'tquiteassparseasthe Souls seriesitfavorsminimaliststorytellingtechniques.Somemissionshavecut-scenesatthebeginningandend;othershavevoice-overplayingoveranimation.Youfindbitsandpiecesoflorein'Amrita'memories.Thestoryisfine,butnothingspecial.Iwon'tgiveanyofitsdetailsaway.Sufficetosay,you'reanEnglishmaninademonic(or'Yokai')riddenJapanonamysteriousquestthatleadsyouintobattleafterbrutalbattle. It'sthatbattlingpartthatmakes Nioh sogreat.Thecombatstandsshouldertoshoulderwithmyveryfavoritegames.It'severybitassatisfyingasthe Souls gamesand Bloodborne. That'snotsomething I've ever saidaboutagame. Souls knock-offsalmostalwaysfailtocapturethemeatofwhatmakesthatseriessobloodygood. Nioh managestonotonlygraspit,buttoaddthingslikestanceswhichinsomewaysdeepenandimproveuponit. Ontheotherhand, Nioh neverquitecapturesthatbroodingatmospherethatmakes Souls gamessodistinct.There'snothingherequitesopowerfulas Bloodborne. Andnomatterhowgoodthegame'sindividualmissionsare,theuseofaworldmapratherthananopenandinterconnectedworldmeansyou'reneverleftinquitethatstateofaweyoufindyourselfinwhenplayingthrough DarkSouls. There'sneverthatsensethatthisisalloneorganicplace,nomatterhowricheachindividualmissionmaybe.(Indeed,missionsaren'tevenasconnectedastheyarein Demon'sSouls,whichusedahub-and-spokesdesign.) Alltold, Nioh isatremendousgamethattranscendsitsinspirations.Whatmighthavebeen,inlessskillful hands,littlemorethanaSouls rehash,inTeamNinja's isits veryownmasterpiece. Igivethegameaglowing Buy onmyBuy/Hold/Sellscale.Thisisthebest Soulsgamesince Bloodborne.(Note:It'salreadysellingoutonline,sodon'twaittoolong...) Nioh TL/DR: Nioh isafantasticSamuraiaction-RPGwithexcellent DarkSoulsinspiredcombat,multiplayeroptionsandtonsofcontent.Notforthefaintofheart.Bossfightscanbeastediousastheyarechallenging. Platform: PS4 Developer: TeamNinja Publisher: KoeiTecmo Released:February7th,2017 Price:$59.99 Score:9.5/10 Areviewcopy wasprovidedbythepublisherforthepurposesofthisreview. Gallery:NiohBullshots 11images Viewgallery Followmeon Twitter. Checkout my website. ErikKainEditorialStandardsPrintReprints&Permissions