What is... Nioh

 

 

 

 

 

“Great artists steal, they don’t do homages.” - Quentin Tarantino.

While ‘steal’ might be a strong word, inspiration comes from many sources, in everything we see in life, anything can inspire us. 

 

Nioh is an action-RPG video game developed by Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo and was released in early 2017 first on the PS4 and later on the PC. The thing about this game and the quote from the respectable film director, Quentin Tarantino, is that Nioh took heavy inspiration from the Souls series (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls). The similarities that Nioh and the Souls series have are present and ample enough to make a fair comparison between the two games. But I am not here to compare them both, I am here to discuss what Nioh is and what take I have on this game.

Fresh but not novel, I believe this is the phrase that can be the best impression you would have when playing Nioh for the first time, assuming you have played or at least heard of Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls before. Nioh borrowed almost everything that the Souls series has in terms of gameplay mechanics and yes, that includes the infamous difficult and challenging gameplay that the Souls series are known for. When I watched the gameplay trailer I was in doubt and was beginning to think that Nioh was going to be a blatant Dark Souls ripoff, therefore I opted to skip the game. Yet after trying it myself, the game proves me to be wrong. Despite borrowing almost everything from the Souls series, the developer behind Nioh still managed to produce something that is fresh and very enjoyable.  

 

Various cutscenes are used to tell the game's plot.

 

 

Strike Back Harder!

Types of weapon players can choose.

 

Players will take on the role of an Irish sailor-turned-samurai named William who is loosely based on the historical figure William Adams, one of the very few western samurai. William will fight utilizing various types of weapons that were used during the Sengoku period, for instance sword, odachi, kusarigama, tonfa, spear, axe, and, dual sword. Various weapons will lead to various fighting styles, for example the sword will offer an all-rounded performance both as offense and defense whereas the axe will offer a more impactful damage by sacrificing William’s maneuver. On top of that, William is able to utilize gadgets during combat such as throwing kunais, shurikens, bombs etc, this technique falls under the category of Ninjutsu. In addition to this, William can also use magic to create a more creative combat style such as attacking enemies from a distance or to apply specific elements the enemies are weak against.

 

Running out of Ki might be your certain death.

Nioh reinvents the stamina system that the Souls series has by naming it as ‘Ki’ and introduces different mechanics as compared to the traditional stamina system that Dark Souls utilizes. Moves such as dodging, running and attacking will consume stamina, this is something common in notoriously difficult Souls-like games. Nioh also wants to punish players for abusing their Ki use. As intimidating as we all expect it would be from such a game, the developer offers a feature called ‘Ki pulse’ that will reward players who can perform perfect timing to activate the pulse. When attacking, William’s Ki will deplete, however, a pulse can be performed to assist in recovering the lost Ki. If timed perfectly, Ki pulse will replenish a great deal of Ki allowing players to attack aggressively before running out of Ki.  

 

Apart from Ki, players are able to switch between stances. There are three fighting stances which are low, mid, and high. Depending on the situation, these stances will offer various offensive and defensive mechanics. For instance, low stance will offer lower Ki consumption and higher attack speed at the cost of lower damage, meanwhile high stance urges players to dish out heavy damage at the cost of slower execution. 

 

 

Low stance allows rapid succession of slashing. 

Another feature that I really love from this game is the ‘Living Weapon’. This is the best countermeasure the game provides us to play around the nightmarish difficulty that players must go through. By merging the power of the Guardian Spirit with his currently equipped weapon, William will unleash a powerful attack move called the Living Weapon. In this state, William’s health and Ki bars are amalgamated to create a new gauge that acts as the duration of this power up state. Should William manage to eliminate enemies this gauge will be refilled. Any damage taken will penalize the Living Weapon duration. William will not die in this state, instead he will return to his normal state once the gauge is exhausted. Therefore, use this power-up wisely. Accumulate the meter by fighting and farming enemies and save it until you are in a sticky situation!

 

Just because you are powered up does not mean you can escape death.

 

Getting Along 

Players can travel from one region to another.

 

The game will allow players to choose quests and each quest will be set on different maps. This is something new that Nioh offers considering it is inspired by the Souls series. Players will be able to navigate on the menu for character customizations such as upgrades, and weapons forging. Players are able to visit the dojo for combat practice to better understand Nioh’s playstyle. The menu also offers players information about the in-game mechanics as well as bits and pieces of the lore. 

 

You may customize your weapons and armors that suit your playstyle.

  

What players must expect from Nioh’s combat system is that no matter how strong you think you have built William, enemies can still kill you with one or two hits. This applies to lesser type enemies and of course the boss type enemies. Something that we should expect from a Souls-like game. Therefore, dodging is always crucial. Players are advised to take their time and seize the right opportunity to strike their enemies and always pay attention to their Ki gauge. 

Gameplay might be grindy because players have to farm EXP by defeating enemies to acquire ‘Amrita’ the in-game EXP currency that is used to level William up. However, thanks to the quest system the game offers, players can visit and revisit various maps to farm EXP and materials to upgrade William.

Various missions are available for farming purposes or to progress the main story.

Nioh also introduces a loot system with a level of rarity ranked from white (common), yellow (uncommon), blue (rare), to purple (exotic). These loot can be acquired by defeating enemies or opening chests. Something that I enjoy and what motivates me to progress the game further despite the difficult and borderline annoying enemies.

 

Loots act as the reward after all the hardwork.

 

 

The Story 

 

Edward Kelley, William's arch enemy.

The story takes place during the Sengoku period, William, an Irishman, was sent by Queen Elizabeth I to retrieve an Amrita, a mystical stone believed to be the key to England’s victory during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604). But what William did not expect was a formidable adversary went by the name Edward Kelley, who possessed similar interest except with malicious intent. Kelley sealed away William’s guardian spirit and fled to Japan in order to hunt for the Amrita native to that country. William was then forced to make a detour to the land of the rising sun, encountering Yokais and Onis infestation as well as new allies that would assist him.

The Verdict! 

 

 

Whatever you do, do not get overwhelmed by the enemies.

Overall, Nioh successfully delivers a satisfying reward/punishment gameplay mechanics that without doubt pays homage to the Souls series. Personally, I respect the production style that the developers decided to implement on this game. From the art style/direction, gameplay mechanics, user interface to the story, again, Nioh offers a fresh but not novel experience to its players. The story is significantly easier to follow as compared to the Souls series thanks to the reliance of cutscenes and dialogues that are self-expository. Item descriptions are available for those who are interested to delve more into its lore. The maps are unique, dangerous and at some point will be annoying (as expected from such a game), the combat albeit annoying, (again, as expected from such a game) is surprisingly satisfying thanks to the Living Weapon feature. My love and hate relationship with this game is compensated by the finesse it presents to me. Beautiful Japanese aesthetic, satisfying reward, interesting story, and of course, dark and twisted monster designs. Although Nioh (along with the other Souls-like games) is not for casual gamers, it is indeed a gem worth your time to be admired upon.

 

 

Expect the unexpected.