Nioh: Complete Edition

From the moment I picked up Nioh, I was transported to a beautifully brutal rendition of Sengoku-era Japan, where danger lurks around every corner and only the sharpest blades and quickest reflexes can ensure survival. Team Ninja has crafted an incredible action RPG that blends the best elements of the Souls series with a rich historical narrative and deeply satisfying combat.

Gameplay: The combat system in Nioh is nothing short of spectacular. Each weapon feels distinct, and the ability to switch between stances mid-fight adds a layer of strategy that keeps every encounter fresh and challenging. Whether you're slicing through Yokai with a katana or pummeling foes with a pair of tonfas, the sense of accomplishment after each battle is immensely rewarding.

Graphics and Sound: Visually, Nioh is stunning. The attention to detail in the environments, character designs, and enemy models is remarkable. The hauntingly beautiful landscapes and the eerie soundtracks enhance the atmosphere, making each level a joy to explore (or dread, depending on your perspective).

Story: The narrative, inspired by real historical events and figures, is compelling and well-executed. Following the journey of William Adams, a Western samurai, adds an intriguing twist to the traditional samurai tale. The story is enriched by well-crafted cutscenes and engaging dialogue that keep you invested in the characters and their fates.

Replayability: With a robust leveling system, a plethora of side missions, and challenging boss fights, Nioh offers countless hours of gameplay. The New Game+ mode and the ability to customize and enhance your gear provide plenty of reasons to return to the game long after the credits have rolled.

In summary, Nioh is a must-play for fans of challenging action RPGs. Its seamless blend of fast-paced combat, captivating story, and rich historical setting make it a standout title in the genre. Prepare yourself for an unforgettable journey filled with intense battles and profound satisfaction.

The duo bosses have never, ever been worse, even when paired against FromSoft's collection, but then Team Ninja goes above and beyond and introduces a triple boss fight.

Genuinely speechless, absolutely ridiculous play, so absurd that I simply have to applaud them.

This game is one of the better Soulslike games I've beaten. It's better than the first Surge game, Lords of the Fallen and probably the second game too. Not as good as any soulsborne games, or Sekiro, but still the base game is difficult and punishing but super rewarding in the end! Then I got to the DLC.

I hated the DLC. I tried playing it and wondering "huh, I beat that final gauntlet of 7 bosses in a row without using a shrine or dying on my first try... and I two shot the epilogue boss... why the difficulty spike?". Its because the DLC is designed to be played part way through, or at the end of a NG+ playthrough. That's bullshit. If I wanted to play the campaign again I would. What I don't want to do is play the ENTIRE story again just to stand a chance against DLC enemies and bosses. I read forums, reddit posts and watched some videos about the DLC and the consensus is "beat NG+ then play and its equal to your level and gear". I don't want to play the campaign again, but I also don't want to bang my head against the DLC until I suffer a concussion and die, so I guess outside of making it to the first DLC boss, I won't be playing the game further.

If you want to grind the campaign for hours, or no life the game for 100+ hours doing the Abyss and NG+ to NG+++, play the game and the DLC. But if you just want to play the game, enjoy it for its surface level entertainment value like me, the DLC really isn't worth it. I got a huge backlog of games and don't want to spend 100 more hours to play the DLC. That seems boring to me as a soulslike casual. Good game, punishing but rewarding once you get the hang of it, and a bs DLC difficulty spike made by the devs cause the DLC took too long to drop so everybody playing it originally would've been overleveled. Makes it so somebody doing a first, one time playthrough suffers because other people played the game first. Lame end to my time playing a fun game.

I dare say this is better than any souls-like games in terms of learning and action designs.

It's hard, but instead of being "here's how you move and attack, now beat this Boss", like other FS souls, You are progressively introduced to the game's core combat mechanics and gimics against certain types of enemies and Boss. "Here's how you use Zanshin. Now try using it on this Elite. Good, practice a bit more on this stage then beat this Boss that requires you to use Zanshin effectively." Same with many other designs and systems. Instead of being constantly fraustrated by the slightest mistake in dodging, you are actually getting better at using all the means available to you and beat the game more smoothly rather than getting stuck at every Boss for 10 hours because of the same mistake or "cheat moves".
Actions and skill designs are also miles better than FS souls games. Thus it encourages you to "actively seeking ways to defeat the enemy" over using typical souls game "hit-roll-dodge" pattern. Difference is one is designed to reward you to be better and the other is to "cheese to make you lose" so you think it's difficult and thus play with the safest "hit-roll" pattern.
Just watch how 1st time players of the 2 games approach the mid-end game Bosses, you'll see the difference in mindset and combat pattern.

Great game, among the better non-From soulslike titles. Theres a lot of depth to the combat system with the stances and skills and some really cool enemy designs.

My only issue was with the diablo-like itemization. IF you like that stuff you'll see it as a positive, but personally I'm not into grinding for loot drops. This isn't an issue at all on an initial playthrough, you can beat it with anything, though you can make things much easier with a good armor/weapon set. But when you get to the various NG+'s you start NEEDING a build and thats where the grinding comes in. I stopped playing at that point, but I enjoyed playing through NG and the first NG+ a lot so I still got a lot of enjoyment out of the game.

I have another 100 hours of Nioh played on PS4. This game is a great buy for any dark souls fan. Prepare to die.

P.S.
When initially buying the game I'd get a black screen upon launching but a simple file verification and re-download fixed the problem for me on the first try. This took me 3 days to figure out. Tell your friends.

Great souls-like. About halfway through it and its better ever step of the way. Would recommend to anyone who likes these type of games.

beat the white tiger and just made the decision that this game is just not for me honestly. Combat is really gimmicky and the boss quality isn't very good (probably has improved with nioh 2 tho). There are way too many enemies and bosses that can just randomly one shot you as well. Like I enjoy difficult games, but in these type of games with many enemies and enemy/boss movesets I feel like one shot potential should be lessened down a bit, it feels a bit too unfair imo. Level design was pretty good surprisingly but I wasn't a big fan of the loot system. Overall, very different from souls but if u enjoy a lot of team ninjas other games like ninja gaiden then you'll probably enjoy this one. Like I said just stating MY opinion and just being completely honest.

not a souls-like but still pretty fun. kind of liking the traditional one mission level after the other design after playing too much open world with too little guidance

A superb game to play if you want faster pace when compared to souls game. But NiOh stands out from all the "souls like" genre being a game of its own flavor.

Strongly recommend to anyone who likes a game with great combat system.

Nioh is a game which has a special place in my heart. I've loved its aesthetic since I first laid eyes on it. It invokes in me a sense of impossible nostalgia, a longing for a time I've never known. So many of my hours spent playing this game were spent as I was thinking about this feeling. The game is so distinctly of it's time (the mid 2010's) that it endears itself to me on that alone. The atmosphere is something akin to the caliber of Dark Souls, or Subnautica (not in the type of feeling, but how the game makes you feel). The best example of this to me is the first half of the 'The Spirit Stone Slumbers' stage. I still think about that level when remembering this game.

The combat is distinct and almost fighting game-esque. Being able to block attacks makes it quite different than most souls-likes (Especially since 95% of attacks can be blocked without sustaining any damage, with the only exceptions being elemental attacks), and this allows for a much more defensive playstyle to be viable (which is how I approached the game for a majority of my playtime). Despite it having a fair bit of depth, I didn't engage with most of this depth and just used Dual Swords for 90% of my playtime, so even if you don't want to interact with all of the gameplay mechanics the game has to offer, you can still enjoy yourself and succeed (though some gameplay mechanics are more dangerous to ignore than others, so beware). The 'Living Weapon' mechanic can be extremely powerful with the right setup and situation (look up some videos on Youtube if you want to see it for yourself).

The enemy design is generally well-managed, with only certain enemy attacks being problematic or difficult to deal with. The rough spots can be quite rough, however, such at the Giant Skeleton Warrior having a whirlwind spinning attack which hits 4 times, and the first 3 hits are almost always enough to break your guard, making the fourth hit essentially unblockable (this was changed in Nioh 2, thankfully). Another rough spot is the Rokurokubi, which is one of the most frustrating non-boss enemies to fight in the entire game, as it has attacks with massive range and little opportunity to counterattack (in Nioh 2, this enemy is also nerfed significantly). The Raven Tengu is another often-cited source of frustration, with it having great range and mobility, in addition to a variety of attacks. These are the exception, not the rule, however, since most enemies like the One-Eyed Oni, Spider, and Sentry are perfectly fine to fight against provided you take sometime to learn their patterns and attacks, and can feel trivial to beat if you don't overextend.

The story is the most flawed aspect of the game. It's very much 'this thing happens, then this thing happens, etc.', and while it didn't bother me per se, I can't say that the story is a strong point of this game. It's fine, it's there, but there could have been a lot more done to make it actually compelling. The lore is fine though.

Overall, Nioh is an extremely good game overall, with great combat and unparalleled atmosphere, but it has some rough spots that can make it a bit frustrating at times (especially in the beginning), but if you don't mind some challenge, the game can be great fun. Overall, I give Nioh a 9/10.
(Yes, that's how strongly the atmosphere sells it for me).

I've been in the first scenario for almost 3 hours, my god I love this game, I've already adapted to the gameplay, NEVER TRY TO PLAY ON THE KEYBOARD, it's horrible, a controller is mandatory, but the game is really cool and the challenge gets me hooked.

Demasiado bueno y muy infravalorado. Desarrollé mucha mas tolerancia a la frustración con Nioh que con Sekiro (Juegazo igual pero con distintos tiempos). Recomendadísimo incluso luego de 4-5 años. Espero que el Nioh 2 sea igual o mejor aún.

the worst soul game ever, so many item in the game but all useless bc yokai enemy will always 1 shot u, there is no point upgrade equipment in this game bc u will not getting any stronger also its expensive
element weapon dont do dmg, every status elemental will make u slow the dev really dont know how elemental work in video game.
the game is repetitive and boring, after playing this game i really dont want to play the squel for this game
this game trash not fun

if i knew it was the love child between dark souls and yakuza i would have played it much sooner

This game is fine, playable, and people worked hard on it. The control scheme is absolutely atrocious and this is not fixable. Pick it up when it's on sale and you're wanting a Dark Souls experience but for some reason can't play Dark Souls.

this game was ok on ps4 when i played it so figured id grab it on sale but apparently on pc they didn't care about the product cause the game only opens in windowed mode so you have to manually reset it to fullscreen every time you launch the game. that's already atrocious for a game from 2017 but i cant get it to fullscreen at all whenever i set it to fullscreen it stays windowed and from the troubleshooting i did even if you can get it to fullscreen its resolution is ruined. if you can get it to fullscreen without the resolution tanking its a passable soulslike but its too much work in my opinion for a mid game

Regarding multiplayer, I would absolutly NOT recommend this game.
I tried to play it in co-op with a friend and it couldn't be more complicated.
Online settings: No Epic, local search, set password -> main menu -> Tori Gate -> Same Mission -> select password -> invite via Steam overlay) AND we even had to play solo for over 2 hours to unlock coop. So he can't return it ... and that's not even the worst part.

If you both die at the same time in co-op, the mission fails. No checkpoints. You die from an unfair action by the boss? Tough luck, you'll have to play the WHOLE mission again.

Imagine having to create a new character every time you die against Margit in Elden Ring.

You even some kind of separate bar for your group health.
This is used up with every death and when it's empty, the mission fails.
Even if only one player dies and can't be revived, the mission fails.

That's fucking ridiculous.

I don't think any new players will ever finish the first mission this way. It's only for experienced people, with characters who have already completed the game.

Even the solo experience is nothing to write home about. It feels okay, but not as satisfying or polished as a FromSoft game. The stance mechanic is okay, but the game feels super arcady and looks like a PS2 game.

Close enough to the Fromsoft formula to scratch that itch, different enough to bring a breath of fresh air. can be a bit rough but if you've beaten Sekiro or Bloodborne then you'll be A-OK. a few minor complaints besides, this is a great game. 8/10

the game isnt bad, just isnt my style of game. kinda like how i like darksouls 1 but hate dark souls 3. sure, this game is still good, but i just feel like its missing something to make it great instead of something mediocre that i can pass up without hesitation. id grab it on sale but never at full price

Honestly its just okay, game was a little too easy and it got tedious at times.

If you can get it for 10€ its probably worth it, but honestly I cant recommend it, its just not fun after the first hour or so

Still unique combat style a definite play for soul combat aficionados

It is not the best dark souls like game but it is the most fun - simply because the combat has planty of possible attacking moves which cause the entire battle to be really fun. Should buy it on sales.

its really easy and its fucked please play at your own risk

Ways harder and stiffer controls. But still one of the best action games out there

traps that kicks me out of the road after spending long time to find my way in this messy world environment
is the only things I hate in this good game

It's less about skill and more about gear management with a side of cheese. Don't underestimate Onmyo and Ninja abilities. You either crush, be crushed, or bang your head against a wall kiting a boss for two hours. Nothing embodies that more than the DLC. Good fun if you can accept that. There's a lot to love about Nioh, but it can easily be extremely frustrating or unsatisfying at the same time.

Nioh 2 is simply better than this in every way.
In other words, this game is worse than Nioh 2 in every way...If you must, play Nioh 2

Im gonna be honest I didnt even get to playing the game. It is locked at 60Hz, doesnt have 3440x1440 resolution, the UI is horrific and it feels like it was made in 2005. Now I understand I am not commenting on the Story or gameplay but for me these things make it unplayable for me.

It won't let you change your resolution, and if you, like me, don't like using onedrive and disabled it, it will just lock you out of configuring your game at all.

I kinda like it kinda hate it 7/10 , map design sucks , same looking dungeon areas that annoyed me to hell bragging this game is like 70 hrs long but when u running around like a donkey. But cause its hard and i love the setting

After finishing the game, I must say it was a great game. The weapons are fun to use and the difficulty was fair for all the bosses. If you're a fan of Souls-like games, definitely give it a try.

The game has an inverse difficulty curve for the most part. It starts rather challenging, then you slowly get access to more useful magic/ninjutsu, and then you overpower everything until it picks up at the end again.

Also don't try to play it with some other soulslike games, it's its own thing. For example builds don't come into play until the highest difficulty and your stats are best rather even until like 20 in everything basically.

Have fun!

good game in 2024 :)

same machenics as Pascal Wager, pretty good so far

love this greatest game

love this game--finished the main story line a little over a year ago but still have some main and submissions left in the regions..been playing it off and on for some years and improved a whole bunch--used to hate the game because i thought it was hard and kept getting my ass beat but i learned and eventually things got easier. now im noticing alot of the upper missions are super overleveled like im at lvl 178/179 and im getting absolutely plowed on lvl 200 missions and it takes me forever to cut through guards and mini bosses let alone the main ones...so im back at the point where i need to retrain and learn and farm for a very long time...just sucks because i have to complete other missions with bosses i hate to get there. overall enjoy the game because it somehow makes something super repetitive, hard, and annoying fun at times. theres always room for improvement and it requires some dedication. im grateful to have played this game for as long as i did and i cant wait to 100% this. im sure ive encountered all the new main bosses in the game but i gotta say the fucking electric dog boss is the most annoying one ever. gotta say the devs did a great job designing some annoying ass bosses that test tf out of you.

Tried it as it was compared to the Dark Souls games that I like. Did not enjoy, but unfortunately took too long to return.

If Dark Souls made love with Monster Hunter, you would get Nioh

Amazing game, highly underrated!

Very good game. Some call it souls-like, some call it hack-and-slash. I'd say it leans towards the latter. 8 different weapon types with customizable movesets means combat is as dynamic as you can make it. Both the player and enemies have stamina and mastering the timing on your combos makes your stamina last longer. You can also shoot people with bows, guns and cannons.

Story is a retelling of the final stage of the Sengoku period, after the deaths of the legendary conqueror Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. William Adams is an Irish pirate that was imprisoned by the British crown for his ability to find magical gemstones called Amrita, which Britain used to win the war against Spain. When people die, they leave behind Amrita. This Amrita can be used for calling forth powerful demons and sprits. An evil alchemist named Kelley is heading to the feudal Japan to sow discord and reap Amrita, carrying William's spirit friend with him by force. William joins the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu to stop Kelley from completely ravaging Japan and to save his spirit friend.
TL;DR - Irish guy goes to Feudal Japan but with demons, wizards and magic.
William himself is pretty silent and stern: He doesn't have much of a character himself. The historical figures like Hanzo, Muneshige and Hisahide have more personality. William is meant to provide an outsider perspective for the player entering the setting. It works, especially when Hanzo speaks heavily accented Engrish and none of the demons pointing a sword at you have subtitles.

There are some subtle translation errors and missteps; Nothing that jumps out immediately, but if you look you'll find it. e.g. "Parry" has different meanings in different stat modifiers, sometimes it refers to guarding in general and sometimes it refers to guarding at a specific time. Ailment duration modfiers won't specify if they are applied to you or the opponent. Annoying for min-maxing, but nothing that will get in the way of a casual playthrough to about NG++. Sometimes the enemy bestiary will tell you the enemy named "Hino-Enma" is pronounced "HEE no En mah" and explain what the name means. Other times it will say the boss named "Giant Toad" is pronounced "Giant Toad." Armor and weapon flavor descriptions feel off at certain points. Nevertheless, these aren't bad enough to affect the core of the game negatively: Pick a weapon, equip some armor and a spirit, then combo enemies to death. When you die, run like hell back to your spirit buddy and get back to killing.

Great game, but my one gripe is that the human bosses don't follow the same or similar battle logic as the player. It is dumb they are able to use their spirit power again and again while we as the player not only have to wait before we can charge it but we have to beat a bunch of enemies to charge it.

Love the weapon choices and the unique setups you can have. the magic and ninjutsu add another layer to the combat giving you many options. It is nice they let you reset your level easily enough to try different builds as every weapons seems to have one it is great at fighting and one it isn't.

Performance is great and graphics are great for its year. It doesn't suffer the same crap darksouls did with the platforming which is nice. I even find elden ring has less precise movement compared to this game.

One part Onimusha, another part Dark Souls. That's the best way to describe this game!

So fun and not bad!!

It's a great action role playing game just like Nier, except with a title name that sounds more like Japanese than German.

Good Game And So Close To Ninja Gaiden And Shinobi Game With Souls Games System

Very good. I love all the souls games so I'm used to always dying constantly.

This game is enjoyable if you only play the game once. New game plus and forward offers no real enjoyment. It all revolves around repetitive grinding, frustrating and cheap deaths, same boring enemies, horrible loot drops, and reused maps. Every time I start a new game plus, I always feel weaker than the last. The sense of progress is none existent, you can still get one shoted by the weakest enemies even with high level gear. I have level 310 (+130) ethereal armor with graces on it and still get destroyed if I make a mistake. The balance in this game is garbage. If you play on higher difficulties get ready to die in 1-3 hits by every single enemy in the game, but if you go back to lower difficulties you 1-3 hit everything. Now the dlc for the game does nothing to solve any of these issues, as a matter of fact it takes the worst parts of the game and turns the dial up by 10. Some maps are reskins of the base game maps. You can count with one hand the number of new enemy types they introduce. Get ready for cheap and headache inducing enemy placement. Oh and don't get me started with the abomination of a map that is siege of osaka winter. The replayability of this game is a real chore because you never seem to get stronger, its only for those that like the tedium of memorizing every single enemy pattern. If you play the game once its really enjoyable, but the more you play the less fun it becomes.

For me this game will always be 10/10.
Game is already a classic, still waiting for Nioh 3 and really hope we gonna see it soon.

Even for a souls-like, this game is too hard.
Enemy attacks can lock you in place, making a second/final blow unavoidable.
The game is poorly optimised for keyboard and mouse.
Dark Souls 2 was better than this.
Don't waste your money on this.