[ENG] Nioh 2 - Review
(Polska Wersja dostępna tu! - [PL] Nioh 2 - Recenzja)
(I think I don't have to say this but – this review is purely subjective and based on this one should decide if the game sounds interesting or not really.)
(Following review presents the game as for 20 of March 2020, exactly week after it's release. Everything that happened after this date, including released DLCs shall not be mentioned here)
(This review contains very minor spoilers from the first hour of the game)
(Due to review size, you can click below to jump into review part that interests you the most)
Nioh 2 is one of the very few games in recent years I really anticipated and just couldn't wait until release date finally comes. Month by month, week by week, day by day my hype train was going faster and faster. Plus the train was supercharged after 2 opportunities to test the game for free before release/purchase – Open Beta in November 2019 and 'Last Chance Trial' in beginning of March 2020.
Each one of them contained one story mission, one side mission which was just a boss fight and a Twilight Mission. So it was a total of 6 different missions (Okay, 5 if we exclude the Twilight Mission from Open Beta which was basically one of the already completed missions) available for free to check out before the actual release. You could check how the game looks, feels, plays etc. before purchasing it – and you could do it twice! This is something amazing and I totally used both of these opportunities.
I pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition of Nioh 2 since I want to have DLCs when they come out – and before you crucify me – pre-orders are a plague of modern gaming and nothing justifies that but since I already knew what I am spending my money on due to Open Beta and Trial – I didn't feel scammed or afraid that the final product will be questionable in terms of quality.
Nioh 2 was released only on PS4 just like it's predecessor, though there's a chance Nioh 2 will be ported to PC sooner or later. Nioh 1 was released on PC around 10 months after it's PS4 release, we will see how they will handle the second installment.
(Oda Nobunaga, Hyobishin and Tengen Kujaku - A showcase of old and new Spirit as well as young Nobunaga)
As for technical stuff – Nioh 2 works as smooth as butter on basic PS4 and graphics are beautiful, there are a lot of particle effects and sudden tone/color shifts – the game still remains stable. Loading times are also quite short which... In a game like this, where death can meet you at any corner is really nice. To put it shortly – optimization of this game is really good, with low to none framerate drops (I experienced them maybe twice throughout the whole game and they were in cut-scenes, not in actual gameplay). I can only imagine how better graphics are presented on PS4 Pro but... All of the screens you see in this review were taken from basic PS4 (the quality may be a tad bit lower than original image but I think you get the point) so you can judge for yourself.
Before we will even start a story, we need to complete a tutorial where we choose our main and secondary weapon as well as Guardian Spirit. We do it in a place called 'Interim', a place where dead can rest before going further into the afterlife, it is said that those who still hold a grudge from their lives shall never leave this place. Our hero can traverse between living world and the Interim on a fly.
(Hide and a dagger)
The story follows a man (or a woman – thanks to the character creator you aren't tied to a set character) called Hide (or Hiddy by some). Our character is a shiftling, a half-yokai which basically means that she/he has demon blood flowing within. And just like in Nioh 1 – we know who our main adversary is almost right from the beginning. Before the first true mission even starts, Hide is haunted by a nightmare – a man in a hat and with a cane deals a killing blow to the mother of our character as well as Hide. Right before her death, mother gives Hiddy a special, glowing dagger capable of killing Yokai and thanks to this dagger, Hide is still alive. When our hero is awakened, we see a mysterious letter asking us to resolve Yokai problem in the village nearby...
(Quick word for those who don't know what Yokai are – they are demons from Japanese beliefs, many of those met in Nioh are taken straight from said beliefs so... To put it very shortly – Yokai = Japanese demons)
We learn the true identity of a mysterious man as well as the power hidden behind the dagger quite late in the game, I would risk saying that it's around two thirds of the main story.
(First meeting between Tokichiro and Hiddy)
Not-so-long after opening the letter and coming to the village we meet the creator of said letter – Tokichiro – A Soul Stones Merchant that wants to get rich during these hard times of war. He bears a certain Soul Stone that can turn aggressive Yokai into friendly ones and even heal wounds. He is the one who saves our protagonist from being consumed by the Yokai blood within.
It's worth noting that Nioh 2 takes place before Nioh 1. It's the prequel. Though both parts take place in Sengoku Period. First installment takes place around year 1600 whereas second starts in 1555. Between Chapters (Yes, there aren't 'Region Kyushu, Tokai or Kinki' like in Nioh 1 but there are Chapters called 'Awakening, Shadow or Dawn') there are shown dates. For example the first one - Awakening Chapter takes place between 1555-1556. As the chapters go, characters visibly change – not only graphically but also in personality which gives a good look into how certain characters behaved earlier and how they behave now.
Before each Chapter begins you get a short scrap from the book called History of Japan by Luís Fróis, each scrap contains quite fitting fragment to what is happening currently in the story.
Mission formula from the first part remained unchanged. There is no open world in this game, instead – you choose a mission and you are sent to a locked map with Shrines serving as a sort-of checkpoints. Whereas in the Nioh 1 I was often underleveled for most missions, in Nioh 2 I was overleveled for almost all missions (The recommended level for end-game missions is 109 and 114 and I had 124 level when I finished the game), although it made some missions easier – for the most part enemies still could just burst me down if I got careless so. Plus between 114 and 124 level there is no big difference and probably I should have higher level cause' I am sure I lost few of them due to some dumb deaths but... Point in case – It's much easier to keep your level either on-par with missions or slightly higher than in the first installment.
And a lot of mission parts are played with the help of an NPC so some sections become ridiculously easy when you have someone else to draw attention of the enemies.
Just like in the first installment, exploration is a huge part of Nioh 2, there are a lot of hidden things in missions. Sometimes there is a straight path to the boss that takes anywhere around 5 to 10 minutes since the beginning of certain level but... Then you can be almost always sure there are dozens of hidden things just lying around the map.
The story of Nioh 2 is a bit shorter than in Nioh 1 (or maybe I think like that due to blasting through the game relatively fast and I may be wrong) but the story arc is presented in a much better and enjoyable way so... It's a good trade if you ask me.
The main arc of Nioh 2 has quite a lot of plot twists, some of them are really nice and quite welcome whereas others are painful and filled with sorrow. Point in case – just when you think you know what's happening, there's almost always a plot twist to knock you off.
It took me a bit more than 40 hours to complete the story. Personally I think story in Nioh 2 was much more interesting and engaging than in it's predecessor, and the story presented in Nioh 2 is a tale of greed and sorrow, a gleaming ray of hope and war-torn country, a tale of death and victory at all cost, a tale of blood and despair, a tale of betrayal and hatred.
And just like Nioh 1 – this game mixes fiction and facts really well. In first part you had Battle of Sekigahara, an enormous fight with tens of thousands soldiers on both sides of conflict. And here you have Siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji, Battle of Okehazama and Coup at Honno-ji (Yes, all the events I mentioned are associated with Oda Nobunaga but you spend a huge part of the game side-by-side with him). You have even Saito Clan which was present as well in history and within game. But just like with Saito Clan you have Sohaya Clan; Clan of Yokai Hunters which... Well, as far as I know wasn't present in history of Japan but with my very limited knowledge I may be wrong.
And even some characters who seem purely fictional have their historical counterparts. I thought for a bit that Tokichiro is just a character made for the game but... In fact he is Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Google him if you're curious but be warned that you may spoil some game fragments for yourself).
Mission formula from the first part remained unchanged. There is no open world in this game, instead – you choose a mission and you are sent to a locked map with Shrines serving as a sort-of checkpoints. Whereas in the Nioh 1 I was often underleveled for most missions, in Nioh 2 I was overleveled for almost all missions (The recommended level for end-game missions is 109 and 114 and I had 124 level when I finished the game), although it made some missions easier – for the most part enemies still could just burst me down if I got careless so. Plus between 114 and 124 level there is no big difference and probably I should have higher level cause' I am sure I lost few of them due to some dumb deaths but... Point in case – It's much easier to keep your level either on-par with missions or slightly higher than in the first installment.
And a lot of mission parts are played with the help of an NPC so some sections become ridiculously easy when you have someone else to draw attention of the enemies.
Just like in the first installment, exploration is a huge part of Nioh 2, there are a lot of hidden things in missions. Sometimes there is a straight path to the boss that takes anywhere around 5 to 10 minutes since the beginning of certain level but... Then you can be almost always sure there are dozens of hidden things just lying around the map.
(Soul Split Cut-scenes have that characteristic look just like in the first installment)
The story of Nioh 2 is a bit shorter than in Nioh 1 (or maybe I think like that due to blasting through the game relatively fast and I may be wrong) but the story arc is presented in a much better and enjoyable way so... It's a good trade if you ask me.
The main arc of Nioh 2 has quite a lot of plot twists, some of them are really nice and quite welcome whereas others are painful and filled with sorrow. Point in case – just when you think you know what's happening, there's almost always a plot twist to knock you off.
It took me a bit more than 40 hours to complete the story. Personally I think story in Nioh 2 was much more interesting and engaging than in it's predecessor, and the story presented in Nioh 2 is a tale of greed and sorrow, a gleaming ray of hope and war-torn country, a tale of death and victory at all cost, a tale of blood and despair, a tale of betrayal and hatred.
And just like Nioh 1 – this game mixes fiction and facts really well. In first part you had Battle of Sekigahara, an enormous fight with tens of thousands soldiers on both sides of conflict. And here you have Siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji, Battle of Okehazama and Coup at Honno-ji (Yes, all the events I mentioned are associated with Oda Nobunaga but you spend a huge part of the game side-by-side with him). You have even Saito Clan which was present as well in history and within game. But just like with Saito Clan you have Sohaya Clan; Clan of Yokai Hunters which... Well, as far as I know wasn't present in history of Japan but with my very limited knowledge I may be wrong.
And even some characters who seem purely fictional have their historical counterparts. I thought for a bit that Tokichiro is just a character made for the game but... In fact he is Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Google him if you're curious but be warned that you may spoil some game fragments for yourself).
(Not all characters seem friendly from the start)
A lot of familiar characters from the first installment make a return here like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Oda Nobunaga or Honda Tadakatsu. But there are also a lot of new ones like Mumyo, Tokichiro or Hachisuka Koroku. Basically if you played the first part you will see a lot of familiar things and also a lot of new ones so... Just as I said, Nioh 2 is more of Nioh 1 served in a much better style!
Most of the locations in the game are new and fresh but some like certain bathhouse with half a dozen of hot springs in it. And just like in the first installment a lot of locations that you already completed are recycled and used once or twice again during various side missions.
Yokai descriptions often contain their origins and behavior which can serve either as a cool fun fact or a good tip in fight against certain Yokai.
And the lore associated with everything in this game is massive. Each character, Guardian Spirit and Yokai have a huge part of lore in their descriptions. Despite mixing of facts and fiction we can learn a bit about important historical characters like Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide or Tokugawa Ieyasu. When characters are described you have two names of certain regions of Japan – for example 'Okazaki Castle, Mikawa Prefecture (Current Aichi Prefecture)'.
Yokai descriptions often contain their origins and behavior which can serve either as a cool fun fact or a good tip in fight against certain Yokai.
(One of the Guardian Spirits from Nioh 1 - the majestic Nine-Tails!)
And the lore associated with everything in this game is massive. Each character, Guardian Spirit and Yokai have a huge part of lore in their descriptions. Despite mixing of facts and fiction we can learn a bit about important historical characters like Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide or Tokugawa Ieyasu. When characters are described you have two names of certain regions of Japan – for example 'Okazaki Castle, Mikawa Prefecture (Current Aichi Prefecture)'.
And if that much lore wasn't enough for you – you can guide your cursor to a certain places on Chapter maps and after finding a hidden spot you are presented with a piece of lore attached to this location and you are awarded with some item.
Just as characters and locations – a lot of Guardian Spirits also make a great return! Spirits like Nine-Tails or Tengen Kujaku from the first installment find their place here as well, but barrage of new ones welcome you as well, for example Makami or Hyobishin. Guardian Spirits work in more or less the same way like in Nioh 1 but with few very minor changes like Yokai Form type (More about that later!)
A big return of Kodamas from the first installment! Kodamas were these little green cute Yokai that could be found on maps and sent back to Shrines. The more Kodamas you rescue – the stronger benefits from their blessings are. You can choose from 5 different blessings for example More Amrita gained from slain enemies. But in Nioh 1 you had only Kodamas as friendly Yokai and Nioh 2 introduces us two more! Sudama and Scampuss!
(Every friendly Yokai. From the left - Kodama, Sudama and Scampuss in normal and bloated form)
A big return of Kodamas from the first installment! Kodamas were these little green cute Yokai that could be found on maps and sent back to Shrines. The more Kodamas you rescue – the stronger benefits from their blessings are. You can choose from 5 different blessings for example More Amrita gained from slain enemies. But in Nioh 1 you had only Kodamas as friendly Yokai and Nioh 2 introduces us two more! Sudama and Scampuss!
Sudama is basically 'Corrupted' Kodama – they aren't aggressive since their 'uncorrupted' version wasn't in any way aggressive against humans. And you can't take Sudamas to Shrines, they disappear when you give them an item. Any item. An in exchange they will give you varied amount of other items!
(During certain missions or when you're lucky you can have more than 1 Scampuss following you!)
Scampuss is probably the cutest thing in this game. A Yokai, friendly cat. And how do you get him? You pet him and he just follows you for a certain amount of time! He will bump his cute lil' head into enemies! And he will bloat like a pufferfish when you enter with him into the Dark Realm (more about it later!). Scampuss is usually really well hidden in a level so the joy of finding one is even greater!
A nice gimmick called Kodama Bazaar is also introduced in this part. Basically by offering items you receive small amount of Amrita as well as some Divine Rice. You can use Divine Rice to buy items from the Shrine in a mission and these items last only for duration of this mission. A fine thing to make your life that teeny tiny bit easier in world full of deadly Yokai.
(As you can see, HUD is mostly the same as in Nioh 1)
Gameplay has changed a bit from the predecessor (with the very first change being character creator as mentioned before. And Nioh 2's character creator has one of the most, if not the most hair customization I have seen in a game for quite some time, if there is a downside to this... Well, character doesn't have voice lines but I can live with that). Combat is still brutal and unforgiving, many enemies can simply burst you down or even kill you in one hit. Buuuut that's if you'll get too cocky or too fond of yourself – if you play carefully and methodically... You will still die, that's for sure but much less. But... Well, I will create a bit of a paradox here – you need to be careful, but often to success you have to be outright aggressive. This game just like the original rewards the aggression but heavily punishes the overaggression – the key to success in combat is finding this golden spot in aggression. And though it's unforgiving, combat in the sequel seems much more fair and balanced than in the original game... But just as with the story length – maybe I got better in fast-paced combat and I'm just thinking that the original Nioh was much longer and harder.
And since I already mentioned combat – the fluidity of combat has been transformed and upgraded since the first part. Ki management is as necessary as in the first part to keep the combat smooth and fast, recovering Ki, managing your attacks and dodges... Managing stances to add to it all is just adding to the difficulty (just like in Nioh 1 you have 3 different stances to choose from with all weapons – low, mid and high). It takes a bit of practice to get a grip on a Ki system and stances in this in this game but once you do – the combat goes from clunky and relatively slow to fluid and fast.
(One of many new Yokai in Nioh 2 - Tesso!)
But... I'm saying that the combat is fluid, satisfying, brutal and unforgiving and I still haven't mentioned enemies – part of them is directly transported from Nioh 1 like Karasu Tengu, Yoki or Nurikabe but there are a lot of new ones – Ippon-Datara, Nure-Onna and Mitsume Yazura are just to name a few. Each with deadly barrage of attacks that will almost surely decimate you when you meet them for the first time.
And even Yokai that were already in Nioh 1 like these already mentioned get set of new attacks to their already existing ones with huge majority of them being quite deadly. For example Karasu Tengu gets a 'tornado-spin' like I called it, basically he kicks around himself with wind few times during one attack... You better pray for luck if you will get caught in it.
Enemies also seem to track your moves quite well so you either need to dodge at a near-perfect moment to avoid damage (in other case the attack just follows your position) or block but... Blocking often comes at a heavy price of Ki so pick your poison.
Nioh 2 likes to throw you against groups of enemies. Very often you can lure enemies one by one but sometimes you have to manage few at once and then it's best to identify either the biggest threat or the thing you can kill the fastest.
(Anima bar is below Ki, and next to the Yokai Form/Living Weapon circle you have Yokai Abilities)
Next to Health, Ki there is another resource introduced – it's called Anima. You can build up this resource by simply fighting enemies – it is used for Yokai Abilities and Burst Counters. First things first!
Yokai Abilities come from Soul Cores. Defeated Yokai have a chance (or a guaranteed chance if it's a boss) to drop a Soul Core. Basically Soul Core allows you to use certain Yokai's signature move. By using certain amount of Anima (different to each Core) you turn for a brief moment into Yokai from which you got this Core and you unleash a devastating attack. Some are strictly passive and don't provide any active ability like Mujinas. But to use the Core you have to purify it first – simply bring the Core to Shrine. Soul Cores can also sometimes 'talk' to you when picked up. At some point in the game you will be able to understand 'demonic' language that Yokai use. Most Soul Cores are just amazed that you were able to conquer them and friendly Yokai usually say some kind and cheerful stuff which... Is nice, let's be honest.
Nioh 2 also has a two-death system. Which basically means that when you die – you leave a grave on the spot of your demise and you have one chance to retrieve it. If you die on your way once again – you lose both all of the Cores you didn't carry to the Shrine as well as all Amrita. But this time you at least can clearly see what killed you rather than guessing which can be quite helpful in the heat of battle.
Burst Counters are a special moves against certain enemy attacks. If an attack glows with a red, deadly aura and you have 1 Anima with you – you can perform a Burst Counter, a successful one stops the attack and deals heavy Ki damage. The thing is that with 3 different Yokai Forms it may be a bit hard to get a grip on the Counters. Plus you usually need to know at least briefly when to perform them to successfully break through the enemy offensive.
3 Yokai Forms. Brute, Feral and Phantom. Each with it's distinctive visual design, moveset, burst counter animation and finisher. Depending on what Guardian Spirit you have equipped you will have different Yokai Form. This Form is an upgrade of Living Weapon system from the first game. BUT! It's much more balanced here. Whereas in Nioh 1 you could easily cheese most of the game with Living Weapon (well, at least most bosses) – in Nioh 2 Yokai Form is still really strong but will diminish really quickly if you get careless. I used Yokai Form during either very hopeless situation where I needed a brief moment to catch a breath, heal or learn one or two Yokai attacks when being invincible or when I wanted to finish the boss in style – In situations where bosses had health so low that I would need a hit or two to finish them off – I was going full berserk with Yokai Form.
(Anima bar is below Ki, and next to the Yokai Form/Living Weapon circle you have Yokai Abilities)
Next to Health, Ki there is another resource introduced – it's called Anima. You can build up this resource by simply fighting enemies – it is used for Yokai Abilities and Burst Counters. First things first!
Yokai Abilities come from Soul Cores. Defeated Yokai have a chance (or a guaranteed chance if it's a boss) to drop a Soul Core. Basically Soul Core allows you to use certain Yokai's signature move. By using certain amount of Anima (different to each Core) you turn for a brief moment into Yokai from which you got this Core and you unleash a devastating attack. Some are strictly passive and don't provide any active ability like Mujinas. But to use the Core you have to purify it first – simply bring the Core to Shrine. Soul Cores can also sometimes 'talk' to you when picked up. At some point in the game you will be able to understand 'demonic' language that Yokai use. Most Soul Cores are just amazed that you were able to conquer them and friendly Yokai usually say some kind and cheerful stuff which... Is nice, let's be honest.
Nioh 2 also has a two-death system. Which basically means that when you die – you leave a grave on the spot of your demise and you have one chance to retrieve it. If you die on your way once again – you lose both all of the Cores you didn't carry to the Shrine as well as all Amrita. But this time you at least can clearly see what killed you rather than guessing which can be quite helpful in the heat of battle.
(All Yokai Forms, from the left - Brute, Phantom and Feral - The horns are customizable!)
Burst Counters are a special moves against certain enemy attacks. If an attack glows with a red, deadly aura and you have 1 Anima with you – you can perform a Burst Counter, a successful one stops the attack and deals heavy Ki damage. The thing is that with 3 different Yokai Forms it may be a bit hard to get a grip on the Counters. Plus you usually need to know at least briefly when to perform them to successfully break through the enemy offensive.
3 Yokai Forms. Brute, Feral and Phantom. Each with it's distinctive visual design, moveset, burst counter animation and finisher. Depending on what Guardian Spirit you have equipped you will have different Yokai Form. This Form is an upgrade of Living Weapon system from the first game. BUT! It's much more balanced here. Whereas in Nioh 1 you could easily cheese most of the game with Living Weapon (well, at least most bosses) – in Nioh 2 Yokai Form is still really strong but will diminish really quickly if you get careless. I used Yokai Form during either very hopeless situation where I needed a brief moment to catch a breath, heal or learn one or two Yokai attacks when being invincible or when I wanted to finish the boss in style – In situations where bosses had health so low that I would need a hit or two to finish them off – I was going full berserk with Yokai Form.
Feral Burst Counter is a bit hard to get a grip on since an enemy attack needs to connect with the shadow left by the Counter and not you; you can also use it for a long dodge/dash when you need it. Phantom Counter for me was the easiest to get a grip on since you need to react right before an enemy attack connects and even if you fail – this Counter will block the attack effectively negating the damage as well.
(Dark Realm presented on map and how the game looks within the Realm. In this case to dispel it we need to slay Karasu Tengu walking below)
Dark Realm. A place where your Anima charges up much quicker allowing for more Yokai Abilities but your Ki Regeneration is severely reduced. To dispel this Realm you need to find a Yokai controlling it and defeat it. Plus Yokai in this Realm have often much more devastating attacks that come faster and it's a bit harder to deplete their Ki due to your own Ki being limited. Very often you have to pass through at least one of these Realms to complete a mission and boss fights often switch between Normal and Dark Realm.
Dark Realm also removes any visibility from your map. You can have chest/Amrita/Kodama detection in your gear but it will show you nothing until Dark Realm is dispelled.
(Get used to this guy, he is like Onryoki from the first installment - you will kill him quite a lot of times before the credits roll)
And Bosses... Damn, if they aren't made in more interesting way than their predecessors. I have faced a lot of them, and there were also few during Beta/Trial – Kamaitachi, Yatsu-no-Kami or Mezuki. But where in Nioh 1 boss fights consisted usually of just beating the enemy until it's dead with occasional twist here and there, in Nioh 2 almost all boss fights are sequenced and longer (plus you can't abuse them as easily as in Nioh 1 where Living Weapon, Dozen of buffs and sheer aggressiveness was often enough to finish off the boss in under a minute. Don't get me wrong, these things can still make the fight shorter, but you still need to be a bit skilled to achieve success in this way). In this part you almost always have to fight with a boss in Dark Realm at least once but often twice or sometimes even more!. Each is designed in interesting, unique way, some are integrated into overall level almost seamlessly whereas some just... Just don't fit the scenery nor the mission, but that was also the case with Nioh 1 so it's nothing bad, just a small nitpick.
And just like in the predecessor, bosses are often re-used as either bosses once more or just normal enemies in later parts of the game or certain side missions which can get a bit boring when you're fighting the first boss for like the seventh time but... I still think bosses aren't re-used that much here comparing to the first installment.
(First minutes of the game, weapon selection in the Interim)
Combat Fluidity, Enemies, Bosses, Anima, Soul Cores... Well, it seems like the next logical step is to tackle weapons in this game. And... Nioh 1 with it's all DLC had 7 weapons – Sword, Dual Swords, Axe, Spear, Tonfas, Odachi and Kusarigama. Well... The base version of Nioh 2 has 9. Next to the 7 already mentioned, we get Double Axes and Switchglaive – let me set one thing straight – I used Switchglaive for the most part and Kusarigamas but... The glaive is such an amazing and versatile weapon - fluid, powerful and with a lot of combinations, good for both keeping enemies a bit away from you as well as gap closing to closer combat. (Okay, this description can be used or slightly changed to fit every weapon but shhhh). I wasn't really keen on this weapon – it scaled with Magic and using it felt... Just weird, but once I got a grip on it... Holy, it's one of the most satisfying weapons I've used in any game for a long time.
There are also two new effects your weapon can inflict – Blessing and Corruption. Respectively – when the weapon is Blessed you inflict status with the same name and filling the status bar removes all buffs and positive effects from the enemy as well as prevents them from buffing as long as the Blessed status persists. When the weapon is Corrupted (also called Yokai Weapons), you fill their Corruption bar by simply fighting. When the bar is filled, the weapon 'awakens' and causes you to deal more damage overall for several seconds. Corrupted weapons also have a tendency of speaking to you while they're awakened.
(On the left - all Skill Trees and on the right - example of a fully zoomed out Skill Tree)
And if you thought weapon variety was big... I still haven't mentioned Skill Trees. Each weapon has it's distinctive Skill Tree. Plus two separate trees called Samurai and Shiftling PLUS Ninjutsu and Onmyo Magic Tree... It makes for total of 13 Skill Trees, each containing different skills and (in the case of weapons) combinations for your favorite weapon. It's an upgraded version of the system from the first game where Skills were kind of dumped into one place and you had to scroll through to see them all. Here each tree is made in a clear way, you can see all the skills from the start and it's much more comfortable to navigate through.
Loot system is basically the same as in the first part. With more weapons there is more loot of course so... You will spend quite a bit of time scrolling through dozens of items just to see if you didn't find anything better or stronger. Aaaand then you have to decide if you want to offer them for Amrita, sell for Money or dismantle for Crafting Materials.
Crafting Materials. Forging system in this game is mostly the same as in the first part. Like, literally – it works in exactly the same way and the only difference is a 'Modify' option that can be unlocked much later in the game and a bit more Crafting Materials. Forge is the place where you will be spending quite a lot of time if you're interested in creating weapons/armor and trying to hit that sweet spot with forge results.
(On the left - Fallen Revenant Grave; on the right - Benevolent Grave)
Multiplayer formula is upgraded. In the first part you had only graves of fallen players that you could use to summon Revenants. If conquered, Revenants dropped some of the gear that fallen player was wearing.
In the second installment there are Benevolent Graves which you can use to summon friendly Revenants that help you pass through the level. Basically you can carry yourself with Revenants or summon them for that one boss that you can't conquer. In the first part you had to complete the level to be able to help in that level but here... Helping each other out is much easier. From my own experience, friendly Revenants are simply great.
Gear farming works in the same way as in the first part, just fight fallen players to gain yourself some new (and sometimes better) gear!
3 DLCs are planned for this game, just like with it's predecessor. It is rumored that they will contain 2 new weapon types (which will bring the total Skill Tree count to 15 and will make the combat even more fluid and versatile); that it will present a interconnected story placed in a different era that is tied to Nioh timeline; that it will bring some sort of Boss Rush mode like the Abyss in the first Nioh.
I really can't wait to see what these DLCs will bring and what story will it present. Until then – I am certain that I'll put a lot more hours into Nioh 2. Let's jump to the conclusion!
(The game presents Guardian Spirits in a really beautiful way)
Nioh 2 is everything I could hope for from the sequel. It takes everything that was already good in the first installment and makes it significantly better! The story, weapons, characters, enemies, bosses etc. This is the sequel I wanted and in my opinion this is the sequel Nioh rightfully deserved. Almost if not all character arcs end in a more or less satisfying conclusion tying up the Nioh 2 story, and this fact just makes me more curious about DLC storyline.
If you played the first installment, enjoyed it but you were hesitant about Nioh 2... Just get it. If you have a PS4 and money, get it (if you don't have a PS4 then let's hope PC port will come relatively fast) and start playing. I am certain you won't regret. This sequel is practically perfect.
I am off to slaying Yokai and dying to my dumb mistakes.
Kind Regards,
Wing.
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