When he announced that he would be making a sequel to Nioh at E3 2018, a lot of questions arose in my mind. In what period will the game take place? Are we going to play with William, who looks like he came from The Witcher again? Will we be able to understand something from the story of the game this time? How much can they improve the already successful combat system? They said Nioh 2, but will they make minor additions to the previous one and bring it like a DLC package?
Welcome to my review, where I will answer these and similar questions.
Game Type
Action
Hack'n Slash
Role Playing Game
Pluses
+ More fluid and enjoyable fighting mechanics than before
+ Detailed character creation option
+ An engaging and well-told story
+ Over 100 - 150 hours of gameplay
Cons
- Repetitive enemies can be annoying
- Tough sections and enemies
- Grinding to get the equipment you want can be tiring
Set in the calmer periods of the Sengoku period and telling the prequel to the first game, Nioh 2 offers the opportunity to witness how the struggles begin.
Published in 2017, Nioh can be considered one of the most successful names among Soulslike games. Nioh, which was released exclusively for Playstation 4 and met with PC users after a while, received great praise for its combat system, which offers a completely different experience with each weapon, as well as its world, which includes real names and places in the history of Japan.
The first Nioh took place in the 1600s, in the late Sengoku period. In this game, we go back to the year 1555. Set in the calmer periods of the Sengoku era, Nioh 2 offers the opportunity to witness how the struggles begin. Our main character, the child of a human father and a yokai mother, is a samurai who lives by hunting evil yokai. Yokai, a general name given to beings possessed by spirits in Japanese culture, are the type of enemy we will see most in the Nioh series. The story, in which we partnered with a merchant named Toukichiro and started working as a mercenary, continues as we enter the service of Oda Nobunaga, who wants to gather Japan under one roof in the following chapters.
One of the weakest parts of the first Nioh is the storytelling. Although it offered a very nice alternative world with its cast of characters, almost all of whom are real people in history, it was really difficult to understand what was going on due to the disconnection between the cutscenes and the game. In mind “We were just having tea, why am I chasing creatures in the rain?” It was one of the most criticized aspects of the game. In Game 2, the story of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who is known as the great unifier of Japan, is handled in a very fluent and understandable way with the help of both intermediate videos and NPCs in the game. So yes, we can definitely follow the story this time!
The story takes place 50 years before the first game. A new name comes to the fore in the story that started before the birth of our main character, William Adams, in the first game; Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, who has a very important place in the history of Japan, is the common name of two different characters in the alternative world of Nioh 2. Our partner Toukichiro, with the character we created ourselves, takes the name Hideyoshi as the story progresses. While we try to serve our lord with our team, where we gather different types of people, we try to find the person responsible for what happened to our family.
The character creation screen of the game is quite detailed. We can create our character in accordance with the style of the period. It is also a semi-yykai, so we can choose what shape we take when we change form. It is possible to edit the hair and horn shapes of every form we have. Considering that the game has a detailed armor and weapon-looking modification option, it is possible to seriously customize the character we play. Actors who said, “I don't want to create characters, I wish it was William” were also considered. If you have a Nioh save file on your console, it's also possible to play with the William skin. In addition, we can buy the skins of the characters we see in the game through the Hidden Teahouse added in the later parts of the game.
One of the biggest factors in Nioh's success was its gameplay. The game, which had a balance between Bloodborne and Ninja Gaiden, offered the player a lot of options with many different weapons and techniques. My biggest worry about Nioh 2 was the possibility of coming across without putting too much on the first game. Although it has a successful system, we do not want what we are sitting on as the second game to be the first game presented with a different story. Team Ninja managed to dispel my worries about this.
If you played the first game, you can get used to the second game very quickly. The attacks that change according to the way you hold the weapon, the "Ki" defenses used instead of stamina and the abilities that you can learn more as you use still remain. We can say that we had a very satisfying skill tree in the first game, but with the new game, this tree has reached another level. There are 11 different weapon trees to be developed, ninja techniques, magic abilities aside, different skill trees for our samurai and yokai powers.
Dark Realm is a newly added area to the game. In these areas contaminated by a strong yokai or soul stones, our character's mobility is severely restricted. Although the negative effects of the field disappear when we switch to the Shiftling form to move comfortably in these areas, which we also encounter in boss fights, it does not help much because we have a limited time. Therefore, it is necessary to develop skills. In the Shiftling skill tree, there are passive abilities that reduce the effects of the region, while it is possible to find spells that completely remove the effects in the Omnyo part.
I can say that the game satisfied me in terms of graphics. The cutscenes are already quite beautiful visually. It is possible to see the effects of the past years on the characters. It is clear that a lot of work has been done on character designs and environments. Especially when you see the cherry blossom trees in Japan's unique gardens, you will understand why I am impressed.
Graphics are at a satisfactory level
The game has two different options for performance. It is possible to choose between visual beauty or fluency by choosing one of the “Action Mode” or “Movie Mode” options in the menu section. The "Action Mode" game allows you to see 60 FPS on both regular PS4 and PS4 Pro. While it displays 1080p resolution on PS4 Pro, it offers 720p dynamic resolution on regular Playstation 4. “Movie Mode”, on the other hand, allows you to play at 30 FPS 1080p resolution on both consoles.
Although Movie Mode offers a smoother picture, remember that you are playing a game where instantaneous reactions are very important. Even though I'm playing on a regular Playstation 4, I haven't been bothered for most of the game. Only the videos in which the spirits who joined our team introduce themselves seem to be prepared with low FPS in a way that I can't understand.
In general, Nioh 2. A game that has managed to take all the good aspects of the first game and add a lot of innovations to it, even though it makes you say "this is the same as the first game", you continue to play without getting bored. Choosing missions on the map instead of an open world was a point of complaint in the first game as well. As time progresses throughout the story, it has to be admitted that choosing a quest is a very logical method. Repeated enemies can be annoying from time to time. You might be a little upset when the skeleton that scratched your armor two episodes ago drives the same spear through your head.
If you like Dark Souls - Bloodborne style games and enjoyed the first game, Nioh 2 will definitely please you. If you're not familiar with the Souls series, but want a decent action game, give Nioh 2 a try. I finished Nioh 2 for this review a little fast, in about 60 hours, without getting too hung up on the side missions. Putting aside the troubles I mentioned above, I enjoyed most of this time immensely. In fact, I plan to play again with different weapons and techniques soon. The game hosts an adventure that will last at least 100 - 150 hours, while exploring hidden areas on the maps, chasing different weapons and armor, side missions, more challenging missions called "Twilight Missions".
With Bloodborne, it may be hard to say the best action game of Playstation 4, but Nioh 2 has already entered my list of the best games of the year with its innovations and fluid combat mechanics on the first game.
