Nioh (2017)

Well, I think I'm going to cry. Perhaps Ni-oh won't be such a masterpiece after all, it sounds like this game has just entered into a disappointing downward spiral. At first I thought it was great that Team Ninja had released the early demo and gave players the opportunity to provide feedback on the beta. But now I'm thinking that perhaps it was an awful idea. I think the original artist vision of the game was brilliant, but it sounds like they're going to be really dumbing the game down. Here's the survey results: http://goo.gl/GfisSA

So, from what I can gather from that article, the following things will be changed before the final game is released:

• Make the game much easier overall.
• Make the enemies weaker.
• Add tutorials, hints and a lot of hand-holding.
• Add shortcuts and make levels easier.
• Remove AOE attacks/damage.
• Make it so that enemies don't pursue the player.
• Remove all of the unique/creative gameplay elements (like combat, stamina, player character movement, Ki gauge, shrine, weapon durability) or at least change them so that they're identical to Dark Souls
• Make the game extremely boring and easy and remove all unique/interesting gameplay elements.

This is a disaster. And the one single thing that I thought needed improvement (the framerate) didn't even get a mention. I'm praying that the devs will actually stand their ground on some of this, but I doubt it. It sounds like Ni-Oh has just received a serious downgrade. Disappointed, I was really looking forward to this game. :(

Very hyped for Ni-Oh. I finished the demo yesterday but my mind has been on it so I started a fresh character played some more. A very fascinating game. Once you play a bit you realise it's actually quite different to SoulsBorne. A handful of the game systems are borrowed from that series but it ends there. It's almost like Souls is a new genre, and Ni-Oh is just a completely fresh new game but in the same genre.

In particular there are so many options for attacking and stances, not to mention special moves and combos. I'm looking forward to exploring this mysterious demon-infested ancient Japan and seeing the story unfold. There are juxtapositions that I really like in the aesthetic. Your shrine is watched over my cute little forest spirits, more of whom you can find and lead back to your shrine if you explore the level (and, if you find them, they can offer you buffs or bonuses). These things are really silly and cute, a little reminiscent of the Kodama from Princess Mononoke. But then, aside from this the demo is really brutal and gory. Often you behead or dismember your foes and become completely splattered with blood.

One of the best little features in the game is how relentless the enemies are. They will chase you to the end of the earth. It's almost like a samurai idea: it is shameful to turn your back on a foe and flee the battlefield. As such if you run or even turn from an enemy they will sprint after you and punish you accordingly, it's never a good idea in this game. Even if you try and run to the other side of the map they'll all be hot on your tail. Picking up loot, opening doors or activating shrines (like bonfires from DS) becomes impossible because there's a long timer- any enemies you've fled from will cut you down (often in 1 shot) before you get a chance to unlock that shortcut. It's brilliant, thoughtful design, and it raises many questions regarding how speedrunners will tackle this game; I don't expect to see one-hour runs as most SoulsBorne speedruns depend so heavily on enemies failing to pursue you.

Demo Completed!

I finished the two levels available in the demo. It's really good. At first I thought "this game is ridiculous. this game is impossible" but once I got a handle on the mechanics it started to become easier. Still though, a totally brutal uncompromising game. Even the developers describe it as a ninja-themed masocore game.

I was worried about the framerate but perhaps I was wrong. After a while I got used to it. Considering the fact that I've been gaming on PC recently, it could just be my eyes adjusting to 30fps.

The game is gorgeous though and the setting is really fascinating. In the second stage they kick it up a notch with the weird surreal enemies. The final boss is a chimera who shoots lightning: it's half-money, half-tiger, half-serpent. If I didn't have so many hours clocked in Bloodborne then that boss would have been absolutely impossible. I can't wait to play the full version, this one looks set to be a winner.

Ni-Oh: "Samurai Souls" PS4

The much anticipated Ni-Oh is apparently available right now as a demo in the Playstation Store. The demo is playable until May 5th. Crazy, I didn't realise developers do things like this, the game isn't due for release for quite a while. I'm looking forward to trying it out. If you have a PS4 you should have a look. Apparently it's a samurai game that takes inspiration from Bloodborne and Ninja Gaiden, and it looks really interesting. I just started the download. :)

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-exclusive-nioh-lets-you-choose-to-improve-fram/1100-6439235/