Nioh Review

 
Nioh owes a lot to Dark Souls. That’s a phrase you hear all the time these days, but in this case it’s more accurate than most. From its demanding but rewarding combat to its labyrinthine levels full of thrilling danger and secrets, the influence of FromSoftware’s action RPG series undeniably forms the foundation for Team Ninja’s latest endeavor.
But Nioh also boldly asserts a fresh and surprising identity of its own with an intricately layered combat system that allows just enough room for customization while still adhering to the interesting constraints of its stamina-based framework, forcing you to adapt your playstyle by the second. A welcoming variety of foes to face, clever bosses to take down, and a story that’s equal parts endearing and terrifying make every step in Nioh’s long journey even more exciting than the last.
Nioh’s story functions mostly as interesting flavor for your adventure. You play a fictionalized version of real-life sailor William Adams, who becomes an almost comically inexplicable demon-slaying action hero in the Sengoku period of Japan. William is sadly underdeveloped, but his adventure through the foggy mountainsides, war-ravaged villages, and hellish battlefields of 1600s Japan is captivating thanks to appearances from other famous historical figures like the mysterious Hattori Hanzo and the fierce Tokugawa Ieyasu.

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Nioh has the ability to shift seamlessly from lighthearted to epic to terrifying.

While I never felt invested in William’s personal story, I fell in love with Nioh’s colorful cast of characters and the epic scope of their collective journey, which sets an awesome tone for more than 70 hours of adventure: a quirky mix of history and fantasy that brings an unexpected lightheartedness to what initially seemed like an overly straightfaced action game. I especially appreciate its ability to shift tones so seamlessly. Nioh’s intentionally silly side never gets in the way of its truly epic and terrifying moments, which are in abundant supply — particularly in the final quarter, as it hurtles full-speed towards its thrilling conclusion.

15 Minutes of New Nioh Gameplay

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With effectively two tutorials and myriad systems, menus, and enough skills and item shortcuts that you need to hold down R1 as a modifier to access them all through the controller’s face buttons, you’d think Nioh would seem overwhelming at the start, but the way its opening acclimates you to each mechanic is a thing of beauty. The Tower of London, where we first see our hero, William, breaking free from prison, teaches you the very basics of combat and movement, while the standalone (and conveniently skippable) Dojo tutorial runs down the more complex stuff involving stances and managing your Ki meter.
Tons of handy optional training missions provide a deeper understanding of Nioh’s many systems, including melee combat, ninjutsu, and onmyo magic. While it’s easy to get the hang of these on your own, doing the missions provides some nice skill bonuses that make taking the time to run through each one worth it.

Learning the Ropes in Nioh

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All missions – including main missions, the many exciting side-missions, and training missions – are accessible in an overworld screen that pops up after you’ve completed a level. That gives you much-needed time to breathe, upgrade weapons at the blacksmith, and buy items. While I was initially worried that the disjointed approach to progression would deny a sense of movement through the world, the striking variety of environments more than makes up for it. Each self-contained area is a visually distinct, intricately laid-out space that’s dense with meaningful combat encounters.

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Interesting levels make exploration a fun and important part of the journey.

Even the most generic levels, from a cliffside cave network overrun with crafty bandits to the many war-torn villages of the countryside, have some interesting spin that distinguishes them from the last. But the more unique levels are unforgettable — like a deadly, trap-filled ninja mansion and a sprawling, bloody battlefield crawling with demons. Checkpoint shrines respawn enemies each time you visit one (think bonfires in Dark Souls), but the winding pathways, looping shortcuts, and hidden secrets of each level make exploration a fun and important part of the journey in both main and optional side missions.

Fighting Onryoki in Nioh

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Nioh's charm is a nice surprise.

One of my favorite things to hunt down in each level are the adorable kodama tree spirits. You can guide them back to your shrine for some useful perks, making them more than just cute collectibles. They’ll sit atop your shrine, dancing and whistling a tune with little cracked bowls on their heads. It’s a silly bit of respite after an exhausting run from checkpoint to checkpoint. I didn’t expect Nioh to be charming, but its nonsensical brand of comedy in the face of overwhelming odds and terrifying enemies was a nice surprise that carries into the gameplay as much as its entertaining cutscenes.

Channeling Your Ki

Nioh’s combat is where it shines brightest. It combines the slow-paced and position-based nuance of Dark Souls and the precise, combo-executing thrill of a fighting game to create some of the freshest and deepest melee action I’ve experienced in recent memory. I’d put it right up there alongside Dark Souls and Bloodborne — what it lacks in the purity that makes those games so strong, it makes up for with an even more demanding tactics-based approach that allows it to stand boldly on its own. That’s owed entirely to its Ki system and the compelling dynamic it produces with its weapon options and stance-based fighting styles.

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Nioh's many combat mechanics play off each other in strategic harmony.

In the world of Nioh, Ki is your attack force — effectively a stamina bar that drains when attacking, dodging, blocking, and taking damage. What makes it unique is your ability to execute a timing-based move called a Ki pulse to regenerate stamina mid-fight, reminiscent of Bloodborne’s rally system for health, but much more urgent. The more perfectly timed the pulse, the more Ki you have the opportunity to gain back. Executing a perfect pulse has other advantages, too — just one of the many ways individual mechanics in Nioh play off of multiple others in strategic harmony. Certain yokai (demons) can create what’s called a Yokai Realm, which is an area-of-effect spell that significantly slows your Ki regeneration and adds an extra challenge to fights. The only way to regain Ki in a Yokai Realm is to do a Ki pulse, and if you can pull off a perfect one inside the realm, the realm will disappear.