Nioh 2 (2020)

Every Saturday, a friend and I play a game together, and this week (and foreseeable weeks to come) was Nioh 2. We're not strangers to Souls games, nor are we strangers to Team Ninja, but it has been awhile since we had played a game like this together (Strangers of Paradise)

This game frankly kicked our asses. The Ki system is difficult to get a grasp on, but we're slowly getting there. We've managed to finish the first two main missions and one side mission in our first few hours. I am using Fist weapons for the most part, however I have been trying to find a good secondary weapon. I've gotten better at Ki bursting, but doing it while dodging, and swapping stances has been hard. I'm hoping I can get by without it because I really love using the fist weapons, they just take a lot of energy.

The inventory system is also a huge battle, but that was prevalent in Stranger of Paradise as well (yes, I am aware this was out before SoP). I'll probably end each session with some cleanup rather than the usual cleanup as we go just because there is too much loot to go through.

I'm still playing this. Like the first one, this game is gigantic. Especially if you do all the optional missions. I don't think I'm even half way through yet. I'm not experiencing burn-out though, like with the first one. This feels less repetitive, more variety in gameplay, environments and opponents really keeps it interesting. Story is cool too, though I am a little bit lost.

A cool feature in this game is that you have your own little hut where your customised waifu resides, and you can decorate it with clutter, including choosing a pet. It's a nice little touch; every good rpg needs the ability to play dollhouses and dressups. That's what real dark souls fans want.

Nioh 2 is surprisingly pretty. The first game was just old temples and muddy villages. This one has much more variety. Here's a spooky moonlit forest with glowing mushrooms:

Nioh 2 very good so far. I'm actually invested in the story this time; I can't even remember what the story was about in Nioh 1. Combat is fantastic. My only complaint is they probably nerfed everything a bit too much. Most bosses only require two or three attempts. Or maybe my build is just OP.

I love this Bloodborne trick weapon thing. So satisfying when you land some of these difficult combos/skills.

Enjoying Nioh 2 so far, though I haven't put much time into it. I've been using the Switchglave weapon exclusively. It feels better and smoother than Nioh, and the story is actually comprehensible. Interesting characters. Lots of variety in enemy mobs. The new mechanics are fun to play with, adding a bit more complexity and fun little things to fiddle with. The 'burst counter' mechanic is really satisfying; it's a bit like the parry from Sekiro. Overall, it's shaping up to be really good.

This ninja anime waifu is superior to the one I created for the beta demo thing.

I got a free copy of this for buying an early ticket to the movie Bloodshot, and then I never went to see the movie Bloodshot. I never finished Nioh 1 and was not expecting to love this, but ya know, free! Even though it is largely more of the same, Nioh 2 sunk its kurisagama into me in a way the first never did. Really scratched a perfect itch between Ninja Gaiden and the Souls games.

Maybe I'm a sucker for the surprisingly good custom character creator. I know I'm a sucker for the soul core system that lets you use the abilities of the yokai you kill (think shards from Bloodstained). There are a daunting number of systems and menus in this game, but they are worth getting familiar with. The degree to which you can customize your stats and get lost in various builds is astounding. I found the difficulty challenging but manageable. I'm the sorta dork that gets to like New Game +7 in these kinds of games though so your mileage may vary.

Ah man I should go back and give Nioh 1 another shot.

https://gematsu.com/2019/12/nioh-2-beta-demo-survey-results-announced

Thank god, a lot of these changes absolutely line up with my issues. I was really really really disappointed by the Nioh 2 beta it was ridiculous how much of a regression a lot of the changes were. I think I'm comfortable with what they're doing now, but I wish they'd rework Dark Realm entirely. If they add more risk/reward to it that doesn't involve waiting and/or going yokai form I think I can be fine with this, but I'd prefer they don't limit themselves to the yokai form entirely. Although then again the bosses in the beta may have just wanted that much out of it only to show it off.

Pleaseeeeeeeee I want Nioh 2 to actually be good.

This boss looks like a cute little weasel thing but it's hard as heck. I haven't been able to beat him; I can get his HP down to around 50% at best.

Nioh 2 is looking way better than expected! This will most likely be an instant buy when it comes out early next year.

The character creation thingy for Nioh 2 is really good! 2019's second opportunity to make the ultimate anime waifu if you missed Code Vein 😂

In the style of From Software it has a huge range of stuff to fiddle with, including all that weird stuff like "lower neck depth" etc. An impressive range of customisation options. Nice that we don't have to play as Geralt this time. You can also customise your Yokai form, and of course there's all the armour/clothes you can wear.

In terms of gameplay, it seems like they've corrected many of the qualms from Nioh 1. Very impressed with the variety of the enemies. Suddenly I'm very excited for Nioh 2! Hopefully the story won't be as confusing and difficult to follow as Nioh 1 (I still have no idea what that game was about, even after poring over the wiki).