Nioh Full Review - The game that started soulslike

Nioh - A soulslike more difficult than the souls games themselves

Image credit: PlayStation / Sony Interactive Entertainment promotional art.
Source: PlayStation

Summary

• Name of the game: Nioh
• Launch date: February 7, 2017
• Developer: Team Ninja
• Publisher: Koei Tecmo / Sony Interactive Entertainment (PS4)
• Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC
• Genre: Action RPG, Souls-like, Hack and Slash
• Context: Inspired by the Japan of the Sengoku period with supernatural elements of Japanese folklore. We control William, a western samurai, in his quest to stop an alchemist who abuses the power of Amrita.

History and narrative

Like most soulslike games, Nioh is a bit complicated to understand, but not that complicated. Actually, if you are a person with knowledge of this era, you will understand quite a bit. In my case it wasn't like that; you have to investigate more of the lore of this game, plus the names of each character can be confusing. Nioh follows William Adams, based on a real-life character whose occupation was a sailor of Irish origin, who arrives in Japan at a bad time, going through a civil war, in search of an alchemist: Edward Kelley. The game is based in Japan and uses many real historical resources to tell its story. Of course, it includes a bit of mythology and fantasy from this country, which is quite interesting.

Getting to know more about Japanese mythology by combining it with real historical events is an interesting proposal. The bad thing is that it is a bit complicated to understand, especially if you have never seen anything about this mythology or these events of that time in Japan.

The game occasionally has cinematics to explain the story. The narrative almost has to be inferred by the lore of the game. The story itself is easy to understand: we have to chase a guy named Edward Kelley, who is an alchemist that uses some spiritual stones called Amrita which is, so to speak, what helps us level up to create demons known as the yokai, which are a threat to the world.

So, in short, is to stop him. At the beginning of the game we confront him without being victorious, and he steals our guardian spirit. Each person has a guardian spirit, which is represented in the form of animals that can be foxes, cats, fish, elephants, monkeys and many more. William's own guardian spirit is stolen, and he must get it back as well. The story is set in the 1600s, bringing in historical figures, clans, feudal lords and elements of Shinto and Buddhist traditions, so if you don't know about this, it can be difficult to understand.

The main characters are well defined. You grow fond of William in your adventure; however, he is not the main focus of the game. The other characters appear and may play an important role, but they are not very memorable. The most you end up remembering is William and Kelley, where Kelley is a pretty bad and disappointing villain from my point of view. You have to chase him for several hours of gameplay and his narrative impact is nil.

The story is simple; the narrative is complex to understand because of the Japanese mythology and historical events of those years, but it entertains. It's not the best or anything impressive, and it's not his forte. Even its lore I don't think it's the best. Compared to other soulslike in narrative, it does fall a bit short. It is better to explore the lore because the game won't explain it to you.

Gameplay

Combat is Nioh's strongest point and where they have invested the most. It mixes several elements of the Souls y Ninja Gaiden, which is a combination of both. You have to master almost all the game mechanics so that the experience is not a torture. Knowing how to choose your build is essential. The game has high, medium and low combat stances. Each one fulfills its function and one stance helps more for certain enemies than others, although they all work the same.

Nioh forces you to perfectly manage your Ki, which is your stamina bar, and is the most important point of your character. There is even a ki pulse, which is to recover your ki or for additional attacks when you don't have enough stamina. Very useful for long combos and to dispel the presence of yokai.

There is a huge variety of weapons: from swords, swordsmen, rifles, cannons, bows, spears, odachis, axes, katanas, among others. Any weapon works to win the game. In my opinion, my favorite was the spear, which is too useful in the game for almost every enemy. It gives you ninjutsus and magic omyo, If you improve them, they are very cool, and with this improvement you make the game easier and more bearable, especially if you use the lazy talisman that slows down the enemies.

We can improve William's body, heart, stamina, strength, skill, dexterity, magic and spirit, which are his stats. It also offers different armors and amulets to enhance our attack and defense in combat.

The controls are responsive, except for the occasional weapon change or when picking up a consumable item in combat. In general, it offers a lot of items, armor, weapons, skills, which make the gameplay varied and fun. It is worth your time to read the descriptions of items that can help you defeat enemies. I recommend a build samurai with spear, with magic and handle ranged weapons well. With that you pass the game.

A big problem with Nioh is the lack of enemy variety. The game is long for the small amount of enemies: they are too repetitive in a very short time. And yes, they are tiring because there are parts of the game that are too repetitive. When you have 20 hours, they become boring and tiring. The only thing that makes it varied is using other weapons or objects, or the boss fights.

A normal point of the game is its healing system. I wasn't very convinced by the way elixirs are administered, because if you lose too many, you run out of elixirs. When in other games you are already given a number of heals that can be improved, here it is not so.

Another point that seemed to me nefarious is the repetitiveness of even the bosses. Using main bosses to put them in other side missions, and even repeating them in main missions, is a bad idea. In the last mission, this happens a lot.

The online system works, but it's not the best. It's still a game more offline than online. Another negative point may be the issue that the enemies are hit sponges. To kill a yokai you need 10 hits at the start or more, and these are normal enemies at the end, which is tiring. It takes a lot of time to defeat one, and too many of them, it's tiring. Exploration, being by quests, is more limited, but it rewards you for facing tougher enemies.

The strongest point, as it should be, and therefore I share with you my opinion of the main heads, which are not in order:

1. Derrick the Executioner: An introductory boss of the game, it's more like a tutorial boss than a boss per se. Derrick is very easy to beat and doesn't pose much of a challenge even if you don't know the game mechanics well. The difficulty is 2 out of 10.
2. Onryoki: In my game this guy killed me like 7 times, it seems an impossible boss to be just the second, however, once you understand the game it really is simple. To begin with the game is complicated and the level with which we face it is a joke for the boss, but it is not so complicated. The difficulty of this boss is 4 out of 10.
3. Hino-Enma: The first challenging boss and a very good one, it actually took me 3 tries to beat it, but I thought it would be more. I think I was a bit lucky or at the time my concentration was good, but Hino Enma is a challenge that can frustrate some players, mostly with paralysis attacks that if it hits you, bye-bye. I really liked its combat design and visuals. The difficulty of the game is a 6 out of 10.
4. New: I dare say it's the hardest boss in the game, it's not optional and it's one of the first bosses yet, it's crazy this boss, I don't remember how many times he beat me, it was very frustrating and he appears again almost at the end of the game. If you manage to beat this guy, I'm telling you, you'll be able to beat Nioh. The difficulty of this one is 8 out of 10.
5. Tachibana Muneshige: After a complicated fight with the previous boss, this one is a breath of relief. It's another human which I consider human bosses to be easier and here's the first evidence. It doesn't pose much of a challenge and I beat it on my first try. The difficulty of this boss is 2 out of 10.
6. Umi-bozu: This boss is garbage, I have no words and I think it's the boss I've hated the most in a video game. Umi basura bozu is an unbearable boss and poorly designed, its combat sucks, I died more times because of the level and combat design than because of the boss itself. When he uses minions to defeat you, you know that the combat is going bad, this is a boss that without a doubt whoever designed it should be fired without employer's responsibility, you can't do a job as bad as this boss, it's terrible in every way. The difficulty of this boss is 6 out of 10 because of its design, if you cover the places where you can fall I would lower it to a 3.
7. Yuki-onna: One of the best bosses of the game without a doubt and also one of the most difficult, she has too many attacks and powerful almost insta kill, the best is to use fire attacks or enchant the weapon to cause more damage, but still does not leave much room for you to counterattack. Its level design, art, sound and even narrative made it a memorable boss. The difficulty of this boss is 7 out of 10.
8. Ogress: I loved this boss, both its combat, its soundtrack and the design of the boss, I thought it was very good. This boss is complicated and does pose a challenge, although it can be somewhat predictable in some moments in others I felt it was very random. The difficulty of this boss is 6 out of 10.
9. Great Centipede: It's an interesting boss, I remember that the way to get to him was complicated, his combat has a trick beyond skill I think he beat me about 3 times, it wasn't very complicated to understand his pattern. His combat and visual design were good. The difficulty of this boss is 3 out of 10.
10. Joro-Gumo: It is a striking boss, however, its design did not feel very original and seemed to me a copy of the spider woman from Dark Souls 2, so although the combat is good, I did not like its design. The difficulty of this boss is 4 out of 10.
11. White Tiger: This tiger was complicated, it is very fast and aggressive, you have to be very attentive throughout the fight because it does not leave you alone. There isn't much room to run away because of its size and range of attacks, so you have to plan a strategy. For me it was one of the most memorable, but it was frustrating eliminating me about 10 times. The difficulty of this boss is 6 out of 10.
12. Obsidian Samurai: A human boss that has very strong attacks, but beyond that, I don't remember having much difficulty in defeating him, it is best to avoid using double swords because they are almost impossible to dodge, it is best to be at a good distance from him and attack at the time. Difficulty 4 out of 10.
13. Giant Toad: The attacks of this boss are brutal, they do a lot of damage, luckily he's not that fast or at least his moves are more predictable, so it's not that complicated, in a few tries you can defeat him. Its design is striking, it reminds me of a toad from an anime. The difficulty of this boss is 4 out of 10.
14. Saika Magoichi: This guy is very annoying and his mechanics too, in my opinion he is a bit unfair since he can fly and has ranged attacks, the unfair thing is the area where you fight that is surrounded by fire and causes too much damage in a short time. You're going to need a lot of KI because a shot from him is deadly, it's also better to use everything at your reach to defeat him, because he's very annoying. Difficulty 6 out of 10.
15. Honda Tadakatsu: This shouldn't even be a boss, it's very easy. You only have to destroy 3 purple crystals in the combat zone without fighting him, once the crystals are destroyed the guy falls alone. Undoubtedly the easiest, difficulty 1 out of 10.
16. Okatsu: This boss was a challenge for me, I think it cost me more than it should by killing me about 10 times, it is very fast and does not leave you alone for a moment, the advantage is that its attacks are not so strong. The problem is that its speed and insistence make it a boss of a few attempts. Difficulty 5 out of 10.
17. Ishida Mitsunari: For many this one is difficult, for me it was not. I think the most dangerous thing about it is its elemental attacks that can't be blocked, but beyond that it doesn't have a very difficult pattern to learn and the space in the area helped a lot. Difficulty 4 out of 10.
18. Shima Sakon: The amputee boss, the boss with the electric prosthetic I don't know how many times he killed me, it was very frustrating and certainly one of the most difficult, his electric attacks are brutal even with lightning Omamori and talismans. His prosthetic attack comes with a very high voltage level when he hits the ground, you'll think this can't be so, but it is. A curious boss that looks weak, but it's not. Difficulty 7 out of 10.
19. Gasha-Dokuro: This is a huge yokai, now it's more of a puzzle than combat, if you solve it it becomes a walk in the park. If you don't beat it, it becomes a challenge. I think the most complicated thing is to get to him because of the excess of yokai in the area. Difficulty 2 out of 10.
20. Oda Nobunaga: This guy was tricky, I found his design and skills amazing and it's a very good battle. The boss is so complicated that you just have to lower him a 75% of his life so that a cinematic pops up and we advance. Oda is one of the best bosses in the game without a doubt and his attacks are brutal, if it wasn't for the combat conditions it would be more difficult. Its difficulty is 7 out of 10.
21. Yokai Realm Encounter Hundred Eyes: This is so to speak the hidden final boss of the game, it is more optional, but it is part of the story. It is not very difficult, getting behind him helps a lot and you just have to be careful with the rays he shoots, the rest is easier. This was a better final boss than the one presented in the game, it is worth unlocking it and close the game well with this boss and not the other one. Difficulty 4 out of 10.
22. Edward Kelley: A total disappointment, we have invested many hours and gone through many obstacles to catch this guy, they sell him to us as the strongest villain and the antogonist of everything we have seen during the civil war so that the combat is a joke. The boss is pretty straightforward and more so when you have mastered the entire game, the combat feels like a tease to the player and we thought it would be the final boss, but nope. The difficulty of this boss is a 3 out of 10.
23. Yamata-no-OrochiThe final boss of the game is a disaster, frustrating and disappointing. Yamata no Orochi is a multi-headed snake and we face it on a rooftop, each head throws elemental attacks at you at the same time, the combat is long and tedious, it has nothing to do with your skill, the level, combat and visual design is dire, there are no more words and whoever designed this is for dismissal, truly one of the worst final bosses I have ever played, in my opinion the second worst in this game. The difficulty of this 5 out of 10 boss would be easier if it was better designed.

Overall the bosses are okay, challenging and mostly a test of skill. There are only 3 main bosses that I hated and I thought they were horrible.

Graphics and visual design

It has good graphics according to its year. The design of the yokai is interesting and visually some can be intimidating. The bosses, yes some could have a better visual design, mostly the yokai; however, I think it delivers. They are not exceptional like other bosses in others of its genre, but it delivers well. The problem in terms of design and scenarios is the bad thing about this section. The scenarios are very weak and not very memorable, there are environments that become very repetitive or outdated, plus the variety of enemies and areas is scarce. In many missions you will feel that you are doing the same thing on the same map.

There are some side missions that are the same as a main mission, but if you were going from A - B before, now it's B - A. It's interesting when it's a mission or two, not several missions with the same scenarios over and over again, which rather lets interpret that the game is either lacking in budget, or just a lazy job.

And let's see, there are missions with very poorly designed scenarios, with meaningless shortcuts. There aren't many, but there are, and sometimes you feel that they are very generic, without much detail. The landscapes are not the best of the game; the map feels very empty in this section, for not even being an open game. Being a more linear game by missions, it seems to me that the design is not very polished, beyond the enemies and weapons, which are fine.

Its art style is dark and full of Japanese folklore. That said, it definitely stands out in atmosphere: you know it's a Japanese style. Perhaps at times the excess of yokai can make it feel like something different. The designs of the spirit guardians are attractive. In summary, the graphic quality is fine for its year, but the design of scenarios, bosses and enemies is something that needed to be improved.

The menu is complex to navigate and understand at first, the interface is not the best. For those who have played the game, you know how much time is spent just navigating the menus of the game, the shrine, the hut can be a bit overwhelming.

Sound and music

The soundtrack is fine. There are memorable parts, but they are few. An important point of these games is its background music in a boss fight. While it succeeds in ambiance and precision depending on the boss, there are few that you remember. The most memorable was Yuki Onna. The music adds to the tension of the fight and generates a bit of adrenaline. In the moment they are very good, but not in the long run.

The sound effects of weapons, yokai sounds, magic and ninjutsu are memorable, especially the magic. The bad thing is that they don't have many sound effects with the environment, almost everything is only in combat. There are no sounds when you hit a wall, for example. It's nothing critical, but they are details that increase the immersion.

Being a game not very focused on narrative, the voice acting delivers, however, without standing out in any way. The Japanese are experts at this and that helps, so I recommend it over English. Now, the game doesn't lend itself to the actors standing out.

Difficulty and accessibility

As a player of games of this genre, I can say that Nioh is difficult. There is no difficulty selector, it is made for you to learn that your mistakes have consequences, and yes, it punishes a lot. It has a high learning curve, even for other players of the Souls sagas, for example, because it happens to have a similar style, but it's not the same. People who come from a Dark Souls, Bloodborne and so on, this is a radical change because it is not the same. Its mechanics are more complex and abundant, so learning is not something of a few hours.

For me, it took me several hours to understand how to play Nioh. It's one of the few games that have made me have to replay a tutorial. It even happened to me that I didn't even know there were magics or ninjutsus, which makes the game easier to play. Many find it more difficult; however, if you use everything the game has to offer, the experience becomes much easier. If you don't learn everything the game has to offer, the frustration will be great.

The game is not accessible to everyone, which is a detail that you should take into account. Its options are very limited. There are no aids for people with visual or motor disabilities. It is a game totally focused on experienced players.

Additional content

The campaign can last between 35-50 hours just the base game, maybe even more. I have taken more than 100 hours because I got all the platinum, but you can perfectly last up to 70, depending on your skill and adaptation to the game. It has a very high replayability, many different builds to play, loot, level up to have all the skills in a single character make it replayable.

The problem: not many are willing to go back for a second round because of how long and complicated the game is. As in my case, I explored everything and I don't think I'll go back. There are side quests, training in the dojo, challenges, hidden tea room which is complicated to understand. It offers content; however, its additional content is very repetitive and unoriginal. You practically face the main bosses in different conditions or go through a map that you have already explored, but now looking for a specific object. There are few really quality side quests.

It has three expansions: Dragon of the North, Defiant Honor and Bloodshed's End (not included in this review). I have not tried them. I think I was satisfied with the base game and it didn't make me want to buy its expansions, although you may like them.

Technical Aspects

I found its performance stable. On PS4 it has two modes (action and movie). On PC and PS5 it can reach 60 fps stable without complication. Yes there were a few bugs, but nothing serious for the amount of elements there are.

A good technical work and it shows in its optimization, although I emphasize that their menus or systems are not friendly. In the end you get used to it by repetition, but not because it is well done.

Value for money

Its launch price was $60, which I think is not bad. However, I wouldn't pay full price for it, because while it has good length, gameplay and so on, it is very repetitive. Much of its content is of poor quality or repeated in various parts of the game.

I think the most I would pay for Nioh is $40. Now, in my case, I got it as a gift from a friend who couldn't get through it and I gave it a chance, and I liked it in the end.

Trophies / Achievements

• Platinum obtained: Yes.
• Percentage of trophies: 100%
• Estimated time: 60-80 hours, I lasted about 100 hours.
• Platinum difficulty: 7 out of 10. It's a difficult platinum because of the gameplay, adapting to it takes a long time and you have to learn almost all the game mechanics well. The most complicated thing is to have complete mastery of all weapons, a few missions with unfair combats and everything related to the blacksmith is a headache. It requires a lot of farming and hours where they are more a test of endurance than skill, at other times it only requires skill.

Conclusion

Nioh is a challenging action RPG that rewards patience, learning and strategy. It is a game more to test you than anything else, the story, soundtrack comply, but are not memorable. The best thing is its combat and defeating the bosses which give a great satisfaction to defeat them. I think it's a good game, however, it's not up to the level of other games of its genre.

My final rating for Nioh is:

4.3/5