Nioh 2

Probably the best iteration of souls-combat out there. Having growing up playing the souls games my brain has efficiently turned this style of methodical combat into a constant stream of dopamine hits and this game best exploits that. The numerous systems at play here at first seem like way too much to truly ever grasp but this game demands at least a practical understanding of each system here such as: leveling up, looting, foraging, weapon skills, magic/ninjitsu, soul cores, etc.. luckily the combat is engaging enough that learning these mechanics occurs swiftly through the first playthrough of the game. Some of the gripes I had with Nioh 1 have been improved such as visual and level design are much more diverse and interesting. The story and music are super generic and uninspired which is fine for me because I usually listen to music while playing this anyways. The real core of this game is the combat anyway. Action RPGs tend to be my favorite genre of games, my favorite franchises being the post demon souls from software games, monster Hunter, and now Nioh. These are games that require a degree of skill in reaction times and pattern recognition but what I also find to be engrossing is the variability in difficulty that comes with a comprehensive understanding of their mechanics. What Nioh does is bring a linear, level based and extraordinarily focused combat experience with an incredible level of depth and customization. There are times when playing the souls games where I get exhausted with exploration or in monster Hunter I get tired of all the preparation and grinding for equipment. Not to say these aren’t integral aspects of their design but sometimes I wish the down time was condensed while the mechanics maintained their complexity and this is what Nioh accomplishes. I’ve been playing this game off and on for over a year now and it still manages to provide an incredible unique gameplay experience.

Nioh is a game I played over 3 years ago and it was a fun game that I felt had a number of flaws and repetitiveness that could be greatly improved in a sequel. Well, Nioh 2 really doesn't fix the main issues with Nioh, but it does add a few things. The main thing Nioh 2 adds is the ability to do a thing called Ki pulse to regenerate stamina faster after every attack combo you do, and the other is Yokai abilities to counter and do special attacks to enemies. Nioh 2 is a lot more difficult than the first game and I feel a bit more unfair. Often times you'll get your ass handed to you and die in just a single combo from a boss. Hell early game is absolute hell and anything can kill you quickly. I didn't have this problem in Nioh, sure it was often difficult and had some difficult fights, but Nioh 1 felt fair most times and I could usually approach most areas cautiously. In this game I was often cautious but still would end up alerting multiple enemies and getting my ass handed to me early on. Now it does improve a bit later when you start leveling up and getting better weapons and armor, but for roughly the first half of the game, it feels extremely difficult and like they just throw too many enemies at you for the sake of difficulty. The other thing is Nioh 2 also has all the repetitive and mindless side missions. Most side missions have you going back to the areas you've already been to in the game or areas from the first game and taking out a mini boss, usually a beefed up regular enemy or a boss you fought earlier in the game. The side missions in this game are mostly filler and not any better than the first game. The other thing is the whole weapon/armor system is still a random mess, enemies drop armor and weapons that level with your character and it defeats the purpose of the blacksmith. Often I found myself having too much armor and having to dismantle it at the blacksmith, which got super annoying after having to do that every few missions. I would rather the game just had a handful of weapons than throwing weapons and armor at you like candy that you don't even have time to test it all out.

Now in terms of main mission design and bosses I found the game weaker. I did like the missions having shortcuts that led to earlier parts of the level or shrines and that was well done in some of the missions and reminded me of the older Souls games that used to do this, hopefully Elden Ring can bring back the clever short cuts that Dark Souls III was mostly lacking. But most missions just were oddly paced, you had many missions that just would throw too many enemies at you at once and throw in multiple big enemies that can rip you apart in a single combo and dying means you have to go through those dozens of enemy hordes again, and without regenerating healing items, you often find yourself either having to trial and error without healing, or heal and then die after a ton of fighting, then having to farm all the healing you've used up. Bosses are very hit or miss in this. Some bosses in this actually provide a fair challenge and I found to be fun like the first game, but many also just feel like they unfairly spam attacks and destroy you in one combo, and the dodging in this game just isn't as good as the Souls games, so often I found myself still getting hit trying to dodge. A lot of bosses in this game are just sort of forgettable too and aren't as memorable as the bosses in the first game. Still, the bosses are probably the best part of this game but aren't really anything special either.

Nioh 2 for the most part was a disappointment because it didn't improve on the first game and actually was a lot more frustrating and didn't make any significant improvements. Nioh 2 just didn't have the great level design and I felt it tried too hard to cram too many enemies together and not give you enough breathing room between shrines, I prefer the fair and balanced over the spamming you with tough enemies and giving you long spaces between checkpoints. Also the bosses in this game also can be excessively brutal and some of them just tear you apart and have too much health. There are a few annoying gimmick bosses in this game too, mostly later in the game. Overall, I found Nioh 2 to just not be the amazing experience I had like the first game. Sure the first game had issues and annoyances, but they were minor compared to this and even when I was more rounded with my stats later in the game and I could take on most enemies and bosses without dying as much, I still found the game to be less engaging. Nioh 2 can be fun if you want to play around with different styles and offers at least a dozen different weapons you can raise your proficiency in and there are tons of skill trees for every weapon, plus the game allows you to use magic, but I really had no desire to go back to this considering it just didn't have the great design and atmosphere the first game had. Nioh 2 is a decent experience but it just has too many flaws for me to enjoy as much.

Nioh 2 is a very frustrating experience, but at the same time a remarkable improvement over the original's formulas. The slight touches to the living weapons, visuals, stat based progression and level design all do wonders to make it a very enjoyable experience to anyone that enjoyed the first title.

THe problem is that it does very little to solve the issues the first game present to people who didnt enjoy the experience. Namely the loot system which actively discourages exploring the levels for secrets since you will get crap loot more often than not. The story is all a bit wacky and hard to get any sort of investment in.. The enemy variety has been increased by a lot, but the way you fight them, and bosses, still really amounts to basic attacks with the occasional very situational special attack spiced in.

And there is also the difficulty of the game particularly at boss encounters which present themselves like this huge barrier. And unlike souls games there really arent any solution to build your character differently or permanent offline coop to help you ease into this challenges. It all amounts to this very polished but frustrating experience. I actually had more fun in side quests rather than the main ones, because despite the resused environments they felt easier and the game is much more enjoyable because of it.