Seriously, I hope you like scrolling through hundreds of items checking the massive stat list to pick the perfect gear. Nioh 2 is a loot-based game, it throws so many variations of weapons and armour at you, it gets nauseating. This is where I figured out what type of game this is. This is great because it gives so much flexibility just with weapons.

Also, each type of weapon earn XP and you dump them into a massive skill tree. Credit: Team NinjaĮach weapon has 3 stances (high, mid, low) as well as an affinity bonus for those who stick with it. The Anima bar is also used for Burst Counters and these function like the Mikiri Counter from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. These moves depend on which Soul Core you have equipped and can save you in a pinch. Even if your Yokai meter isn’t full, you can still use your Yokai related abilities with the Anima bar, this bar refills when you attack the enemy’s Anima bar or purify areas around an enemy. This is a simple system but gives players struggling a fighting chance. You pick a Yokai form and throughout battle you fill a meter that turns you into your Yokai form and you deal massive damage, and this meter stacks on respawn. The biggest difference comes in the Yokai system. The bread and butter of the combat is very similar to Souls, so let’s focus on the differences. Maybe it’s because I jumped into the sequel first, but new players be aware, this game won’t even make the beginning of your journey easy. Nioh 2 does everything it can to say “I’m not a Souls knockoff, trust me!”, and boy, does it change things up.

The merchant requests Hide’s assistance in collecting the rest of the stones but after a brutal betrayal Hide finds himself alone until the wandering samurai Hideyoshi Toyotomi comes to his aid. In battle, Hide loses control of his Yokai spirit but is rescued by a travelling merchant who uses a stone to calm him. Yokai are demons that take many forms and devastate the lands during the Sengoku era, famous for constant bouts of war. You play as Hide, a half-human, half Yokai who hunts down Yokai as a mercenary. With a stress ball in hand….it’s time to die a lot. This sequel was also received very well and now a complete package with all the additional content is my first jumping in point with Team Ninja’s attempt. A few studios tried to mimic the formula but Team Ninja (Developers of the famously difficult Ninja Gaiden series) threw their name into the hat with Nioh, which was received very well. Dubbed ‘Souls-Like’, these games harken back to the days of old, brutally difficult and absolutely demand your attention. Ever since Demon’s Souls released, a new genre was born.

Nioh complete edition review ign