Nioh Review
-
Developer: Team Ninja
-
Publishers: Koei Tecmo Games Co., Ltd., Sony Interactive Entertainment
-
Genres: RPG, Hack'n'slash
-
Platforms: PS4
-
Release date:
-
North America: February 7th, 2017
-
Europe: February 8th, 2017
-
Japan: February 9th, 2017
-
-
Playtime: Over 95 hours (base game; obtained the Platinum trophy)
-
Reviewed on PS4
Nioh, at its core is a "Dark Souls-like" game as people would say nowadays. However, talking in those terms, it is far more than a simple clone, it manages to stand out on its own feet unlike many of its "peers".
Nioh, rather than focusing on mob management, tends to hand the player the chance to focus on one-on-one fights, very much focused on player skill. Though, this doesn't mean there aren't fights against multiple enemies in the game, it's just that when players are faced with an area full of enemies they are given options such as ranged weapons or luring and fighting one enemy at a time, instead of being overwhelmed with enemies.
In terms of actual gameplay, there's the main melee combat, but it's also possible to ranged builds. Nioh offers options for close-range combat in the form of spears, swords, dual swords, axes and kusariganas (do note the paid dlc expansions are bringing more options). For the ranged weapons, we have standard bows which are excellent for stealthier (ranged) combat, along with rifles and hand cannons which are much more powerful but make too much noise when you want to kill enemies without being noticed. Beyond this, we also have Ninjutsu and Onmyo magic abilities, which are much less straightforward. Ninjutsu is focused on giving players means to “distract” enemies during fights, be it with traps, inflicting continuous damage, and many other ways. On the other hand, the Onmyo magic is focused on buffing yourself with damage bonuses/resistances, and inflicting debuffs to the enemies, such as making them moving (much) slower.
One thing players need to know about this game is that it is different from the open-world of Dark Souls and Bloodborne: it doesn't exist. In Nioh, there are missions, with each one being a big sandbox the players can explore and play in. These are very well designed, having its areas connected via shortcuts to give the player a sense of progression and accomplishment throughout the levels, with plenty of hidden Kodamas in nook and crannies (the green adorable species that grant bonuses to the player in the form of acquiring extra gold or experience points just to name a few).
For players coming from the SoulsBorne series (and if by chance you have experience with the Betas/Demo) the game will be fairly easy with some more challenging bosses here and there. However, for people who aren’t used to these games or have a bad impression of them, then this game might pose more of a fight. Translating into other words, players can't go all-in against enemies without taking into account their surroundings, what type of enemies they are fighting or the current player condition. To put it bluntly, the game is tough but fair: just like in the SoulsBorne games, timing your dodges and managing your greed for damage is halfway to victory. Besides that, once your Amrita Gauge is filled (by killing enemies) you enter sort of an invincible mode, which grants attack and defense buffs, while also dealing elemental damage to the enemies. While this mode is short in duration and getting hit actually shortens it even more, your health isn't affected, so this is a perfect time to go all-out while still trying to avoid as much damage as possible.
In terms of visual performance, Nioh is a stunning game as is in a regular PS4 with no major dips in performance or problems such as textures popping out of nowhere. However, the developers give the player a choice: fps (frames per second) or resolution. Even though it’s nice to have a choice, in a game like Nioh where every second counts it’s a no-brainer to go for higher frame count.
For the audio, Team Ninja doesn’t disappoint at all! The soundtrack is incredible and always fits the gameplay: if you’re fighting a boss you can expect the music to give you the adrenaline rush you need or if you’re in a calmer scenario then the game will play a much calmer and fitting music. Even while you're on the map setting up your gear or deciding what mission to play next the soundtrack is great and keeps you in the spirit of Japanese mythology.
For the voice-acting, it is top-notch. In many cases for Japanese games, the developers give the option of either English or Japanese voices. However, in Nioh, due to the British-origins of the main character, William, and the antagonist, Kelley, and the Japanese setting for what is almost the entirety of the game, there’s a mixture of both Japanese and English voices. My opinion about this? It gets away with this very well. The voice actors do an incredible job with their characters, allowing for the William’s foreign-ity to blend just in with the Japanese cast.
Before my final thoughts on this amazing game, here's some gameplay I've recorded in case you want to see the game in action:
From my personal point of view both as a gamer and as a reviewer, Nioh is an incredible game through and through. The attention to detail from the developers, on top of the refined systems, mechanics and gameplay make this a complete package that stands out from its peers and a must-buy for every lover of the genre. Furthermore, when you first buy this game, you get a complete package with hours and hours of content on its own. Buying the dlcs/season pass simply expands this incredible game even more instead of buying content that was clearly part of the main game!