Nioh is difficult to dissect without comparing it to its most obvious points of inspiration.
The game effectively captures the intimate, methodical nature of combat seen in Dark Souls,
as well as liberally borrowing from that series' character progression and level design.
There's also an unmistakable "Team Ninja-ness" to Nioh that radiates throughout.
The flexibility of movement, flashy combos, powerful super moves,
and an outlandish story all make perfect sense
when you consider that this is the studio behind Ninja Gaiden.
Yet Nioh never falls into any one camp too completely.
The game finds its own niche and confidently marches forward,
making for a remarkable action game.
Whereas Dark Souls features a large, meticulously interconnected world,
Nioh has relatively compact, singular stages
that are densely crammed with enemies.
While that may initially sound like an unfavorable comparison,
it feels like Nioh is going for a very different thing.
It's not a seamless journey but rather a series of broken up obstacle courses.
Although there is very much a story and a mythos to dig into,
it's all ancillary to the game's primary focus: combat.
You spend the overwhelming majority of your time
demolishing demons, bandits, and warriors.
It may sound overly simple, but Nioh manages to stay fresh
because of the sheer amount of depth present.
The game takes a very familiar template, breaks it apart,
and then adds onto it in several inventive ways.
The most vital addition is ki, or rather how the game asks you to manage it.
Ki functions like stamina.
The more actions you take, such as attacking, blocking, or dodging,
the more ki is drained.
The twist is that by timing it just right, there's a small window after an action
where you can instantly recover a sizeable chunk of ki.
Those that master the mechanic can squeeze in extra attacks,
block for a bit longer, or restore enough ki for a crucial dodge.
Ki recovery does several things,
the most important being that it promotes very active play.
Not only do you have to be aware of space and an enemy's attack
but you're also strongly incentivized to perfect a timing mechanic
and smartly capitalize on the advantage it provides.
There's such dexterity to it that you can rarely afford to get careless.
After those moments where you make it through by the skin of your teeth
thanks to smart ki recovery,
you feel a rush that's rarely matched in gaming.
Another thing that ki recovery plays into is Nioh's flexibility.
Your character is quite mobile, even in the heaviest of armor.
You can dash out of attacks,
quickly roll out of danger in almost any situation,
and easily sprint behind enemies.
Much like with attacking, dodging at just the right moment can also recover ki.
Unlike Dark Souls, where you're more committed during a single attack,
Nioh allows you to dart in and out with relative ease.
Such mobility gives the game a fast and engaging pace,
preventing combat from getting tiresome.
Stances go even further in offering you an abundance of choice during fights.
Each weapon has three stances: high, mid, and low.
High-stance attacks do the most damage but are the slowest
and cost the most stamina.
Low-stance attacks are fast and weak.
Mid-stance attacks are a balance of the two.
The right stance at the right time
can easily turn a troublesome brawl into a simple one.
Experimentation is encouraged with the various weapon types as well.
Every single weapon is powerful in the right hands.
Dual katanas cut down small enemies in seconds,
the spear has unparalleled range,
and kusarigamas have wide, sweeping attacks perfect for taking on groups.
Since the use case for each weapon is so strong
and because there are so many different attacks and skills available,
the curious player is the one that will get the most out of the game.
To any that love mastering combos in Devil May Cry or other comparable games,
there's absolutely a similar sort of satisfaction to be found here.
The variety and usability of weapons is impressive enough on its own,
but there's also ninjutsu, onmyo magic,
and nearly two dozen guardian spirits to collect.
Ninjutsu lets you act out your inner ninja.
By spending the appropriate skill points,
you can learn how to utilize things like shuriken, kunai,
and a poison weapon effect.
Investing in onmyo magic gives access to a series of useful spells,
including elemental blasts and debuffs
that target things like defense and movement speed.
Guardian spirits essentially act as super moves
that can and will get you out of many tricky situations.
The player becomes invulnerable while living weapon is active
and does increased damage.
Knowing when to best activate living weapon
becomes crucial for finishing some of the more daunting stages,
adding yet another consideration to the already intricate skirmishes.
The sheer amount of moving parts present in Nioh's combat is a lot to take in,
but that's not impressive in and of itself.
What makes the game so excellent
is that each of these pieces is extremely well thought out
and has a clearly defined purpose that makes the game more enjoyable.
At the same time, those intimidated or overwhelmed
by the abundance of options actually have very little to fear.
Competency is more important than breadth of skill or knowledge,
so while you can make your life easier
by learning and mastering as much as possible,
you can also find something that works and just stick with it.
In that way, Nioh strikes a delicate but crucial balance.
Even the most adept and brave players will face resistance at certain points,
but the game is never so unfairly difficult
that it can't be overcome with sheer determination
by those with less experience.
Nioh is a rare game where it offers so much choice
and actually makes that matter for a wide range of people.
The same mentality can be applied with the loot and weapon upgrade system.
Nioh constantly dishes out a ton of gear, much like like Diablo.
With loot, you can equip it, dismantle it for materials to forge better gear,
use it to strengthen less powerful gear, sell it for cash,
or provide it as an offering at a shrine to earn extra experience.
The rarity of gear determines the number of special effects it has.
You may find something like an axe that does extra lightning damage
and can heal you when delivering a crushing final blow.
Of course, it's possible to run into a weapon or piece of armor
that's better than what's equipped, but has some bonus effects
that don't fit your playstyle.
Upon unlocking the blacksmith, all it takes is a quick trip to the forge,
and the player can change those effects to other random ones,
provided they have the appropriate cash and materials.
It's even possible to change the look of gear
to match the style of anything else collected if they're of the same category.
A pair of boots can't resemble a chest piece, for instance.
None of these systems are necessary to reach the end.
It's doable to just equip stronger weapons as you collect them without further fuss,
but the abundance of customization options and the utility of equipment
make Nioh a richer experience
because you have so much control at nearly every step.
Despite the fact that every player is taking on the role
of an Irish-born English sailor named William,
there are so many options for tinkering that he really feels unique to you.
Speaking of characters, they're often introduced so haphazardly
that it can be difficult at times to care about the story, especially early on.
In the grandest sense, the plot is rather straightforward.
An evil man named Edward Kelley takes a guardian spirit,
something that's been with William since childhood,
and you're on a quest to get it back.
The search lands him in Japan
where he gets embroiled in a war amongst various lords.
The quest for a friend is a fine motivation,
but it's in the details where things get hairy.
Vital characters are brought into the fold so abruptly
that it's difficult to invest in them, especially since the context provided
is occasionally rushed or minimal.
Things take a turn for the better
as the narrative builds toward its conclusion.
Secondary characters fade away and Nioh focuses on core components.
While it never rises to an exceptional level,
the absolutely ridiculous ways
in which the game plays with several prominent historical figures
can be humorously entertaining if you're willing to go along with it.
Those familiar with notable Team Ninja games of the past
will have a rough idea of what to expect.
Despite many mission areas being somewhat small,
they're largely well designed and varied.
In a few missions, you'll explore the ruins of a shrine demolished by the sea.
Interspersed throughout are wrecked ships,
making for perilously narrow wooden walkways
where one wrong step could land you at the bottom of the ocean.
By taking so much space away from you, it's an area that demands caution.
Other missions have you traipsing through the manor of a great ninja,
replete with hidden doorways, trap floors,
and rooms that can be turned upside down.
While what you're exploring manages to remain interesting throughout,
the enemies that populate the various stages become predictable.
From roughly the 60 percent mark onward,
Nioh has precious few new enemies to throw at you.
The ones it does are generally only slight upgrades
from things you've killed a hundred times before.
The once fierce, lumbering red Yokai that are initially so intimidating
become nothing more than fodder later on simply because they're overused.
Worse still is that the placement of enemies also gets predictable.
It's effective early on when an enemy with a bow or gun is just out of sight,
catching you off guard and shooting away
while you deal with a distraction on the ground.
When it happens in seemingly every single area, though,
it becomes a hassle rather than a challenge.
Thankfully, the strength of combat overcomes a lot of this
and the lack of enemy variety never bothers quite as much as expected.
Even at its most predictable, Nioh still provides a challenge
and enough mechanical depth that slicing things apart doesn't lose its shine,
even after 50 hours of play and nearly all missions complete.
Not to mention new game plus, which significantly ramps up the difficulty,
but provides much better gear.
If the lust for loot ends up possessing you like it did us,
it's an enticing proposition.
Boss fights almost never let us down and there are a ton of them.
Between main missions, sub missions, and extra hard twilight missions,
Nioh is regularly throwing a huge nasty thing with a giant health bar in your face.
While not all of them are especially difficult,
you may even defeat quite a few on your first try,
most make for thrilling fights.
The first real boss battle takes place aboard a burning ship
where an enormous orange demon whips giant iron balls at you.
The second boss is an agile, vampire-esque creature that can paralyze quickly,
suck out your life, and take flight at moment's notice.
Regardless of what you're fighting, each battle is very readable.
Every boss gives obvious tells for their attacks,
making it easy to block or dodge once you get the timing down.
Additionally, the arenas you're fighting in are generously large,
providing plenty of room to maneuver and study a foe before making an attack.
A boss may initially seem impossible,
but all it takes is a few patient attempts as you learn the ins and outs.
The fights are so finely tuned that co-op actually destroys a lot of their appeal.
Another person turns even the most stubborn boss into a joke.
The same is true of the general missions as well,
and as a result, we prefer playing alone.
At least co-op is easy to engage in if desired,
since all you need to do is visit a shrine, use a specific item, and wait.
Keep in mind that whoever you’re teaming up with
has to have already finished the mission,
making it impossible for you and a friend to go through the first time together.
Those that want to help others can simply select a mission
that's already completed and offer their services.
Other online features include clans, which provide passive benefits
and players can enhance those benefits by doing well in the game.
There are also revenants littered throughout
which signify the location of where another player died.
By interacting with the graves,
you fight what is essentially an AI version of that player.
Defeating them can net you gear as well as Ochoko cups
used to summon an ally for co-op.
While these online features are useful,
they all feel pretty tangential to the overall experience.
We never feel compelled to interact with them all that much.
Upon starting Nioh, you'll be asked to choose between three different modes:
movie mode, action mode, and variable movie mode.
Movie mode looks the best, but the framerate is capped at 30.
In action mode, the framerate is a wonderful 60,
but the visual fidelity isn't quite as high.
Variable movie mode is a combination of the two.
While it's a good idea to try everything and see what works for you,
action mode suits Nioh best.
In a demanding game like this,
a consistently high frame rate can make a huge difference.
When Team Ninja revived Ninja Gaiden in 2004,
it was a studio at its absolute peak.
Ninja Gaiden felt incredibly polished, brutal,
and well ahead of many of its contemporaries.
In a way, Nioh evokes many of the same sentiments.
While perhaps not reaching the heights of Ninja Gaiden during its prime,
it's nonetheless a revitalization.
Nioh is much, much more than a summation of its influences.
The game's white-knuckle action demands a high degree of determination,
but controls so well that any failure can be attributed solely to the player.
Although finishing a mission in Nioh is exhausting,
especially the times when you walk away with only a sliver of health,
it's very much a mountain worth climbing.
There are few games currently available that are so utterly rewarding.
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