Review for Nioh. Game for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 07/02/2017
At the beginning of the year Nioh was welcomed by the owners of Playstation 4, as our review also demonstrates, thanks to an original reinterpretation of the "souls-like" genre. The announcement of a complete edition has certainly made PC gamers happy who since November 2017 can get their hands on the work of Team Ninja thanks to Steam. What do we have in Nioh: Complete Edition? The already rich content of the base game experience plus the three released DLCs and an exclusive item: the “Dharmachakra Kabuto”.
Déjà-vu
Far be it from us to want to make comparisons but our story begins in a way too similar to Dark Souls: the samurai William finds himself locked inside a gloomy cell. However, we will not be in the "Refuge of the undead" but in a much more famous place: the Tower of London. After an incipit tutorial that contributes to that sense of déjà vu with the Souls series, we will definitely change the setting: William will travel to Japan in the Sengoku era, upset by infighting and the invasion of the Yokai demons. Our protagonist will then interact with real characters but his contribution in the historical events of Japan will in fact be accessory in that William's real purpose will be to recover his guardian spirit, stolen from him by the mysterious alchemist Edward Kelley.
If you thought you were facing a surreal, dreamlike plot to discover by studying the game world, you will be disappointed as Nioh does not aim to be a new Dark Souls and proves it in several ways. On the one hand, on a narrative level, we will have a linear plot, certainly structured, but unfortunately not very incisive and engaging while on the gameplay side the detachment from the souls is represented, in a positive way this time, by the recognisability of the protagonist and by the different styles of combat.
The way of the sword
We forget the physical and class personalization of our character, no longer anonymous but recognizable and in possession of a precise identity. This differentiation however vanishes in the growth system, all too similar to the Souls: through the payment of the Amrita we will be able to enhance our characteristics and thus level up. On the pure gameplay side, leaving out a classic system of anchoring the enemy on duty and the use of weak and strong blows, we will discover the originality of Nioh. Regardless of the type of weapon we will have the possibility to exploit very different approaches thanks to the type of handle we will adopt (low, medium and high).
Depending on the style chosen, the speed, power and stamina consumption (Ki) of each shot will vary. To the sidearms are then added some ranged weapons such as the bow and the rifle and, in addition to this, we can also use spells (a bit like already seen in DS). Our equipment will be enriched through the random drop of items, hack'n'slash style, and not thanks to classic predefined chests and hidden treasures. In fact any enemy, from the weakest to the boss, will be able to release weapons, armor and accessories of varying degrees of rarity and power upon his death.
The enemies we are going to face will divide into humans and Yokai, the latter will be more difficult depending on their type. It will also be possible to summon the revived, spirits of dead players in the various game areas, in this case moved as NPCs, difficult and able to release various interesting objects. But the real focus of the fights will be the boss fights, spectacular but, unfortunately, too monotonous.
The approach to defeating bosses will almost always be piloted and it won't be possible to improvise too much or try original tactics. Even so, it will be rewarding to finish one of these battles and get Amrita and rare items.
A tea with friends
Single player and multiplayer modes collide, as well as in Dark Souls, also in Nioh thanks to the possibility of summon other players by offering an Ochoko cup at various shrinessave point. The summoning will be very useful for overcoming difficult areas as we will only be able to summon players who have already completed that certain level and therefore expert connoisseurs of the pitfalls of the moment.
In the same way we will be able to go to the rescue of other players by using the Torii Portals. But it does not end there, in fact from the same portals we will be able to face challenges between clans and make exchanges in hidden teahouses.
One of the greatest advantages of Nioh is the technical sector, really well maintained and also optimized on PC. There are some problems with the camera, sometimes a dancer, especially in hectic phases and in tight spaces where the slightest mistake will mean death while a special mention should be made to the care placed by Team Ninja in the character design and the scenography work done to recreate medieval Japan: evocative and suggestive.
Also stands out the disturbing magnificence of Yokai and boss on duty, as well as the various weapons and armor that we can wear. All moved perfectly by the graphics engine of the title.
The audio sector also defends itself well with a nice English-Japanese dubbing supported by Spanish subtitles. Nioh has been fully translated but, fortunately, not redrafted. The effects are credible and consistent while the soundtrack seems decidedly subdued compared to the other technical aspects of the title, a real shame considering the fact that musical accompaniment can give emotions equal, if not superior, to the visual impact that is offered.
Nioh: Complete Edition is definitely a title that PC gamers will appreciate thanks to a successful mix of gameplay and general difficulty. A graphics with attention to every aspect and the great variety of weapons and fighting styles will largely cover the shortcomings of a non-exceptional plot and characters not very charismatic. At the level of pure gameplay, one cannot but appreciate the drop system of objects in pure hack'n'slash style while the boss fights disappoint in part, because they will be challenging but based on a single approach. Overall, Team Ninja, with Nioh, has packaged a valid action RPG that perhaps, thanks to a few more tricks, could have entered the ranks of unmissable titles.
► Nioh is an Adventure-type game developed and published by Team Ninja for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 07/02/2017
Our latest game news: How to get started in Nioh
