Nioh 2 Review (PS4)

Nioh 2 is one of those soulslike games in which you'll be totally destroyed if you try to play it like one. Despite being tagged as a sequel to the original Nioh game, this is, in fact, a prequel, which means you don't have to play the first one to understand what's going on in the game.

Another important thing worth adding is that unlike other sequels that completely change combat or gameplay systems, Nioh 2 is 90% the same game as the original, but the 10% that's new makes a huge difference. There's more weapon variety, customization options, gameplay mechanics that radically change the way boss fights play, and much more.

The premise of Nioh 2 is deeply rooted in Japanese history, more precisely in the Sengoku era. A time of political strife, Japan's Sengoku period has been painted in much darker shades in Nioh 2. While many of the characters appearing in the game did exist in Japan at some point in time, they are now fighting alongside or against supernatural creatures called yokai.

Yokai are a class of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore, and many of them appear in other countries under different names. Aside from the historically accurate characters included in Nioh 2, the game also mentions some of the battles between various factions that did exist during the Sengoku era.

In the first game, you play as William, an Irish-born English sailor who meets a guardian spirit called Saoirse. After she saves him from death, Saoirse gifts him with the ability to see the normally invisible spirits.

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William's saga ends in the first game, but the prequel, Nioh 2 explains to us where it all started and answers a few important questions we had after playing the original game. The main difference is that in Nioh 2 you're creating a new character and make it look like you want. You can even do that throughout the playthrough.

Another important improvement is that you'll now be able to specialize in any of the nine different weapons available in Nioh 2. Each new player can choose the main weapon and a secondary weapon at the start of the game, as well as a spirit guardian. All weapons in Nioh 2 scale off several stats: constitution, heart, courage, stamina, strength, skill, dexterity, and magic.

Moreover, each of these physical attributes offers bonuses to general stats like life, Ki, Ki recovery speed, Anima, Agility, and equipment weight. All of these influence how your character will perform in combat throughout your entire playthrough.

When it comes to building your character, the possibilities are almost endless in Nioh 2. You can choose to be an indestructible ax-wielding warrior or a nimble ninja killing enemies from afar using his/her kunai. More importantly, every weapon in Nioh 2 is viable as long as you get the right stats and abilities.

Nioh 2 introduces an enhanced skill tree for each weapon. In addition to the nine skill trees for weapons, you'll get three more for Samurai, Onmyo (magic), and Ninjutsu. The more you use a certain weapon in Nioh 2, the faster you'll get skill points to unlock new powers and abilities for your character.

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Combat in Nioh 2 is ruthless, just like in every other soulslike game. Just don't try to play it as a soulslike game because you'll be destroyed. Parrying in Nioh 2 is hopeless while dodging is the road to victory. One important combat mechanic that's been introduced in Nioh 2 is called burst attach. All monsters in the game can execute “ultimate attacks,” which can be countered with so-called burst attack counters. These ultimate attacks are marked in red and you'll know when they're coming, so you should have enough time to prepare. You can't parry them traditionally, but you can dodge them if you're not feeling sure about your reflexes.

Depending on what spirit guardian you chose, you can burst counter a special attack when the monsters start one or just before the attack it lands. If successful, the enemy you're fighting will fall prone and you'll be able to execute a devastating follow-up attack. It's an easy to understand mechanic, which once mastered can make your life much easier in Nioh 2.

As you progress into the game, all bosses and some monsters will drop their Soul Cores, which you can equip to gain their abilities. You can use a soul core's ability just like a normal attack, you need to wait for it to recharge. For a soul core's ability to recharge you need to obtain anima, which drops when you hit monsters. Your burst counter will also consume anima when used, so make sure you have enough before you use it.

All these changes make Nioh 2 a vastly superior game than the original. But wait, there's more! I didn't even mention that you can now craft your equipment at the Blacksmith. Not only that, but you can dismantle all gear you don't use to obtain material for what you actually need. You can even upgrade existing weapons or simply sell it for cash. There's also a familiarity system included in the game, which boosts your weapon's damage by a lot the more you use it. Every time you switch to a better weapon, your familiarity level will drop to zero.

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The mission structure in Nioh 2 is well-thought and split across different maps. You can go back and replay any mission that you finished if you feel that you're under-leveled for a main mission. The level design is similar to soulslike games, which means that you should be looking for shortcuts to avoid fighting the same monsters again and again. If you die in Nioh 2, you'll be returned to the last shrine you've visited and all monsters will respawn, except for the mini-bosses from the Yokai realm that you've managed to down.

All missions have a boss at the end that you must defeat and obtain its soul core. Every boss fight is unique, but you can only meet two types of bosses: human and yokai. Depending on which type of boss you're facing, some of your abilities might be less effective, while others will make it much easier to kill it.

In the end, I'd like to talk a bit about the multiplayer aspect implemented in the game. Nioh 2 lets you interact with so-called Bloody Graves that appear on all maps. They look like red graves and summon the Revenant of other players who died there. Once summoned, they become AI-controlled specters and you'll have to fight them for loot and experience. So, you found a Revenant that wears equipment that you'd like? Summon and kill it and you might be lucky and that missing piece of gear will drop.

Throughout the levels, apart from Bloody Graves, you'll find Benevolent Graves. To use these blue-looking graves, you'll need Ochoko Cups, which can either be bought from the Shrine or obtained from Bloody Graves by defeating Revenants. The character you summon from a Benevolent Grave will help you throughout your adventure until it dies its countdown timer reaches the end. The character isn't controlled by a real player, but at least you'll be able to see its level and gear before you summon it.

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Each player can place up to three Benevolent Graves in Nioh 2 using Righteous Jasper. If another player summons your ghostly character in his/her game, you'll get special rewards of Ochoko Cups and glory proportionate to the number of times other people have used that particular grave.

Also, Nioh 2 features a co-op mode where you can invite a friend into the game, but you will not be able to use any Shrines. You can resurrect your friend mid-fight as many times as you can, but there will be no checkpoints until you kill the final boss or complete the mission's objectives.

The Good

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