To call Nioh a Dark Souls clone would be doing it a great disservice. While it definitely is heavily inspired from the Souls franchise, it brings many new ideas too. Developed by Team Ninja, there are big differences that make this game stand out once you start exploring the depths of its combat systems.
There are five primary weapons in Nioh with each having 3 stances — low, medium and high, with their own unique move sets. Low stance is better for dodging whereas high deals more damage, but consumes more stamina. In addition, players can use Ninjutsu to focus on projectiles and ranged weapons as well as magic, which is helpful in buffing and de-buffing.
Attacking and dodging consumes stamina, but you can recover a portion of it by executing a KI Pulse. The main purpose of this system is to help your combos last longer as you attack enemies while also giving you room to dodge at the last second.
Throughout your journey, you will face many special enemies known as Yokai, that create a zone known as the Yokai Realm which is incredibly disadvantageous for the player. Should you choose to fight in the Yokai Realm, your stamina regeneration is greatly reduced, leaving you defenceless should you run out. The only way to remove a Yokai Realm is by performing a KI Pulse inside one. It’s a fascinating system that adds more layers to the combat.
Nioh does not have a base hub and you must select either a main story mission or a side mission from a map. The map itself is divided into six regions. While this leads to the lack of a seamless world, it also results in incredibly short loading times. The design of the areas, however, is very reminiscent of the Souls games including shortcuts, traps, mimic chests and Shrines that work like bonfires. Souls are replaced by ‘Amrita’ but it functions in a similar way. Gold is the other major currency which is used to buy or forge equipment.
Players can find little green creatures hidden all over the map. Collecting them increases your maximum medicine limit for that region and allows you to select a special bonus such as increased drop rate or more amrita gained from enemies.
Nioh has a big emphasis on loot and enemies drop equipment of different rarities as well as items belonging to a Set. All equipment in the game has special abilities that trigger once their stat requirements are met. You can also take on Twilight Missions with tougher enemies and better loot. PVP is coming at a later date but for now you can fight AI controlled versions by activating their grave spot.
There are an overwhelming number of other systems in place such as re-forging, feeding equipment to each other to make them stronger, changing the look of an item, re-rolling abilities, special clan bonuses and so on.
Nioh combines the best elements of Dark Souls with a Diablo style loot system, while also implementing several exciting features. The mission structure can get repetitive, but I found myself jumping back with both the promise of new loot and the dread of an unforgiving world, rewarding me handsomely should I succeed.
