Demons and Samurai in Team Ninja’s new action RPG

In 2017, thirteen years after the announcement of the project, Nioh’s debut marked a sudden spike in the noise levels of the globe, triggered by the imprecatory exuberance of all those who, in the role of the hoary samurai William Adams, they found one of the most hardcore gaming experiences of the generation. Returning from a two-generation “development hell”, Team Ninja’s brutal son had emerged from limbo with a dowry an extraordinarily technical combat system, multifaceted and fulfilling, in which echoes of the unforgettable Ninja Gaiden echoed. Three years later, Nioh 2 aims to repeat that success with a prequel on which the expectations of a large part of the public are now burdened, further fomented by the postponements of the last few months.
So how does the last born in Koei Tecmo behave? Quoting a great classic of world education, we feel like saying: “he is good, but does not apply“.

The blue-eyed demon

Nioh 2 drags players through the scarlet lines of one of the most important pages in the history of Japan, that same Sengoku period which we had seen culminate in a large-scale supernatural conflict in the first chapter of the saga. Almost fifty years after the arrival of William Adams on the “Zipangu” coasts, the player’s alter ego is this time a demon hunter with a mysterious past, born on the border between the world of humans and that of yokai.

The protagonist (customizable down to the smallest detail thanks to a surprisingly rich editor) is indeed the fruit of a forbidden love, the one between a mighty samurai and a noble nigitama, a benevolent yokai devoid of the feral instincts that characterize his fellow men. A miraculous heritage that brings with it great powers and terrible responsibilities, on the shoulders of a leader destined to stem with his blade the impious longing of the warlords, fueled by an evil entity that threatens to overwhelm the world with a dark tide made of darkness and blood.

Premises that, although in line with the very well-known canon of the lone hero, do not fail to arouse the interest of the player with the – fundamental – help of an extraordinarily suggestive “fantasy” frame, which brings back to the screen one of the most fascinating eras of the Japanese Middle Ages, along a narrative path dotted with real events and pleasant concessions to folklore.

However bewitching the context, however, the campaign inherited a large part of the defects seen in the first Nioh, among the a incomplete and mordant-free texture, full of pretentious turns and sequences that, especially in the final stages, appear artifacts, set up only to lengthen the story of a handful of hours. An effort far from necessary, given the final chapter comes after at least one fifty hours of play, a figure that is easy to double by tackling secondary quests and Twilight missions, the latter characterized by a much higher level of difficulty than the average of the title. It goes without saying that the mutism of the protagonist is certainly not an incentive for involvement, net of an all in all effective directing work, which draws strength from the indisputable charm of the scenarios in the center of the frame. More generally, the proximity between the Nioh 2 campaign and that of the first chapter, both in terms of structure and narrative ideas, contributes to immediately triggering a sense of “déjà vu” which, hour by hour, is getting stronger.

Although the quality of the narrative has in fact a very relative weight in the balance of a title such as that of Team Ninja, even the novelties on the playful front outline the profile of a product perhaps all too conservative, which offers an experience largely comparable to that of the predecessor.

Regardless of these considerations, Koei Tecmo’s action rpg continues to flex the muscles with one of the best combat systems on the gaming scene, capable of igniting synapses with tons of adrenaline and martial spectacle. A fire suppressed with abundant doses of neurochemical contentment, when a boss’s mortal gasp will leave you with trembling hands and the awareness of having conquered, with profanity, a place at the devil’s table. A place at the head of the table.

A blade-sharp combat system

As anticipated, Nioh 2 recovers almost all the playful mechanics of the debut chapter, returning to offer the players one of the most layered, technical and punitive (painfully good) combat systems of the last few years. In order to hope to survive the endless threats that crowd the game levels, you will therefore have to learn to fully master the three stances available for each of the nine categories of melee weapons (plus three at a distance, equipped with a solid aiming system) that make up the war outfit of the protagonist, two of which are completely new.

The new tools of the tradeIn Nioh 2 the player can test their skills with two new pat weapons: the double axes and the trigger falcon. The first is an interesting middle ground between the double katana and the tonfa, both in terms of attack speed and range, and can also count on a ranged attack that offers an additional tactical opportunity. The main strength of the falcione is its extreme versatility, given that the blade can take different shapes depending on the selected stance. It is also the only weapon based on the Magic statistic, making it the ideal choice for regular users of Omnyo abilities. In both cases we are talking about value additions, which enrich the protagonist’s arsenal without generating evident overlaps.

Each guard position represents the starting point of combos that differ in speed of execution, range and attack trajectory, and which must be alternated with skill based on the characteristics and number of opponents, without neglecting the conformation of the battlefield. A variety that expands further with the classic division between light and heavy attacks, to be alternated keeping the eyes always focused on the Ki bar, the measure of your character’s stamina and your most valuable asset on the battlefield. Every single attack will consume a more or less abundant portion, which you can restore (for a good part) almost instantly by activating with the right timing the Ki rhythm. By pressing the right backbone promptly you will be able to extend the maximum length of your assaults or, if necessary, to recover enough energy to parry the attack of the enemies and dodge potentially lethal trips. Bearing in mind that, in the vast majority of cases, two or three blows are enough for the hero to leave this world with a curse between his lips, we advise you to dedicate the right time to learning the Ki Rhythm.

Exploiting this mechanic effectively will also allow you to cancel immediately the malus to stamina regeneration caused by the corruption of the Yokai, which in turn will have a Ki indicator always visible, to be consumed with a concert of blows to leave them defenseless and proceed with a particularly deadly lunge. Even if this blow does not end the fight, your target will find himself undergoing a permanent reduction of the bar, which can be further shortened shattering its weaknesses (horns and deformities of various kinds).

Offensive tactics that, again, must necessarily be internalized if you aim to reach the end credits in the full of your mental faculties, together with the attack patterns of the enemies and the windows of ideal opportunities for dodges and counterattacks. Notions that become even more essential when you find yourself crossing an area immersed in the foul mist of the Yokai world, which grants these creatures damage and resistance bonuses, significantly limiting the charging speed of our Ki.

To dissolve the darkness we must therefore quickly reach and eliminate monsters surrounded by an aura composed of sinister crimson flowers, or destroy particular crystalline formations overflowing with demonic power. In both cases we will be called to carefully weigh our approach strategies, in a context that tends to enhance the pitiless depth of the playful construct. A depth that gives its best during the intense boss fights that mark the progress, in a kaleidoscope of always different challenges that require cold blood, great adaptability and lightning reflexes.

Except for a couple of cases, the clashes with these mythological abominations are always demanding and well designed, capable of enhancing the indisputable merits of the combat system. In this regard, one of the most stimulating additions to the Nioh 2 formula is the possibility of stop the special abilities of the enemies (sometimes learnable and generally very painful) with an Explosive Counterattack, a technique that will allow you to block the blow with a loud slap of your Yokai form.

By virtue of your particular birthplace, you will also be able to take on the features of a demon for a short period of time after filling (using the Explosive Counterattack and Yokai skills effectively) the circular indicator at the top left, in order to gain a few seconds of damage immunity (those received reduce the duration of the transformation), in addition to new and powerful attacks.

The power of the Yokai

Depending on the equipped Guardian Spirit you can access three different Yokai forms (Brutus, Ferocious and Specter), each characterized by different movesets, and by a different relationship between speed, power and capacity. If the Brutus is able to unleash a forest of energetic blows, slow but deadly, the Ferocious is ideal for lightning-fast assaults with a dagger tip, and balances reduced damage with greater mobility and a more sustained attack rate.

Although not as agile, the Specter can strike from the distance with ghost blades and enchanted arrows, in order to guarantee greater control over the opponent and thus avoid finding himself facing a dangerous face to face.

As far as the validity of these transformations is concerned, a golden rule that fully involves the balancing of the combat system in Nioh 2 applies: no option is superior to the others in an absolute sense, it’s all about determining which one is best suited to the player’s circumstances and approach preferences. A logic that concerns another new pat mechanic, that of Yokai skills. By sowing death around the scenarios of the game, you happen to come across globes containing the corrupt soul of the newly killed monsters, which can be purified at an altar and harmonized with the equipped Guardian Spirit. By doing this you can add a total of three special attacks (with different recharge times) which can be used by drawing Anima from the purple bar located under the Ki bar. Each subjugated demon, in addition to offering special passive bonuses, in fact allows you to perform a unique technique, the effectiveness of which will depend on the peculiarities of the enemy faced and, obviously, on the player’s ability to exploit them at the right time.

These new dynamics not only represent an excellent substitute for the living weapon of the first Nioh (all too powerful), but guarantee the combat system an additional substrate of depth, making it even more technical, varied and satisfying. The counterpart takes on the features of a learning curve significantly steeper than that of the original chapter, which at first might even discourage users. All the more so considering that the first act of the campaign, just minutes from the smattering offered by the tutorial, places the audience in front of a solid wall of malice, and shows the worst side of a general balance that still needs some significant intervention.

Pending a repair patch, we therefore invite you to be patient, grit your teeth and try as necessary the support of an online visitor. The system of the summons (executable in the various sanctuaries in exchange for Ochoko cups) has remained substantially unchanged, and allows us to call up to two additional players in our game, as long as these have become available at the menu of the Torii portal. Now as three years ago, it is an unnecessarily cumbersome die, much less easy than the standard equivalents of any Souls.

Alternatively you can try your luck by bringing an NPC back to life at the blue tombs around the environments, which at best will prove a short-lived diversion, due to artificial intelligence with obvious suicidal tendencies. Using the Torii Portal it is also possible to start one Shipment, or a more traditional coop session that allows you to join up to two other users to face main and secondary missions from start to finish. In this case, however, the death of one of the comrades will affect an indicator which, if exhausted, will require the company to repeat the company again after the death of the last survivor.

Quickly bringing a partner back to life, rather than forcing him to revive himself, significantly reduces the consumption of the bar, which can be recharged by defeating particularly powerful Yokai or reaching a new sanctuary. Advantages that do not manage to rebalance a cooperative modality conceptually claudicating and unnecessarily punitive, which makes the tension on the shoulders of the players even more heavy, paving the way for frustration.

The online modes of Nioh 2 also include Clan battles, weekly events that require you to accumulate Glory (by donating items, defeating red spirits and helping other users) to decree the victory of your faction and thus obtain rewards of various kinds: a playful appendix that, although not particularly interesting, can offer enthusiasts yet another reason to go wild farming, on the path marked by progression.

The long road to glory

The progression of Nioh 2 is based on the collection of Amrita, spiritual fragments recovered from killed enemies that we can invest to enhance the statistics of our character, thus increasing the mortal efficiency of the different weapons. To do this, however, we will have to reach the nearest sanctuary trying to survive the assaults of the opposing hosts, in order to avoid leaving our Guardian Spirit on the ground together with a large treasure of “souls”.

In line with the dictates of the “Miyazaki bible of pain”, a second death at this stage marks the definitive loss of the experience gained, generally followed closely by a concert of inhuman screams, blasphemies and more or less striking self-harm gestures. There is also a second role-playing system, which allows you to accumulate points simply by using the different weapons in battle, in addition to the “jutsu” linked to the Magic Omnyo and Ninja tools, which again help to make the gameplay even more tactical and varied.

The choice to allow players to earn Omnyo and Ninja points simply by using their respective skills represents a clear step forward for Nioh’s progression dynamics, and offers a pleasant invitation to a more free and satisfying experiment. In this regard, the effects of some abilities have been recalibrated to avoid offering the public excessive facilities, although spells like “Sloth” are still extraordinarily effective.

The points earned with the practical battle can be spent inside skill tree divided by category, wider than those of the first Nioh and built on the now traditional “spherographic” model. This allows you to unlock additional hits for each moveset, passive perks, counterattacks, ninjustu techniques and spells.

The tea ceremonySlaughtering Yokai on the battlefields of Nioh 2 could happen to run into various objects that you can use to compose your personal tea service, to be placed in plain sight inside the protagonist’s hut. Once positioned, these trinkets will grant us bonuses to luck (statistics that increase the chance of finding rare loot), will increase the amount of gold earned and the chances of dropping new tea utensils. In general, this is an additional mechanism that is not particularly relevant, at least until the endgame.

The only branch to follow different rules is metamorph, the one linked to the particular nature of our avatar. To enhance his demonic powers we will have to gather and harmonize as many Yokai nuclei as possible, and get rid of those unused through the Rites of Rest. The prestige system also returns, which grants bonuses of all kinds (vital energy, Ki, drop rate, duration Yokai form, etc.) to be activated with the points obtained by satisfying specific conditions, which range from killing a certain number of demons, to collecting a certain number of rare items. Speaking of loot, this component of the progression has remained basically unchanged, and as usual you will find gargantuan quantities of pieces of paraphernalia with different levels of rarity in your hands, generally with names that are as high-sounding as incomprehensible.

The bulk of the drops is so massive that it trivializes – at least in part – the equipment system, while the rhythm of the “change of clothes” ends up undermining the strategic relevance of the bonuses offered by the sets. Among the victims of the unbridled looting there is also a crafting system of marginal importance, which you will tend to ignore for the duration of the adventure. A routine that will not change at least until the endgame, which allows players to return to face the campaign on increasingly challenging levels of difficulty. Also in this case we speak of a dynamic fully recovered from the previous chapter. Overall, despite not having radically altered the progression system of the predecessor, the development team proceeded to operate small changes that streamline and make progress more enjoyable.

Ancient charm and new muscles

The latest version of the engine used by Team Ninja for the Nioh saga marks an evident step forward both in terms of global lighting and effects, between volumetric mists, particle flares and shaders that are much more credible than in the past.

Prominent elements of a graphic sector that certainly does not aim to set a new standard for the industry, but still manages to defend himself well, with the complicity of an artistic direction of great impact, which cleverly exploits the great charm of feudal Japan to capture the senses with a long series of highly suggestive glimpses, overflowing with atmosphere.

There is a certain trend towards asset recycling, partly taken from William’s adventure, but this practice never compromises the quality of the staging. Quality amplified by a level design of excellent workmanship, tending to be more varied than that seen in the opening chapter and structured to match the needs of the gameplay.

A care for details that is also reflected in the design of characters, equipment and bosses, the latter characterized in a substantially impeccable way, and capable of imposing on the players a sense of awe that often transcends the limits of digital. Too bad that the overall variety of the Yokai leaves a little to be desired, with just a handful of additions that barely balances the absence of some of the monsters seen in the previous chapter. If the behavioral patterns of the Yokai do not show great weaknesses, those of the NPCs evoked tend to manifest inexplicably suicidal attitudes, which tend to undermine the outcome of these occasional collaborations. We also noticed during coop sessions with human partners some lag problems, which sometimes jeopardized our survival.

Among the negative notes there are also the defects of a user interface inherited in its entirety from the first Nioh, which is sometimes unnecessarily dispersed and cumbersome. Against the game looks far more stable than its predecessor, both in Cinema mode (30 fps at 1080p on standard console and 1800p on PS4 PRO), and in Action mode (60 fps with dynamic resolution up to 1080p). In both cases, the frame rate is subject to some small fluctuations even on mid-gen consoles, but nothing particularly serious.

Positive notes also regarding the audio sector, which it offers a dubbing of excellent workmanship (we highly recommend the Japanese original) and a soundtrack capable of excellently enhancing the brutal frenzy of each duel. Moments that show off fluid and credible animations, which on the screen turn into bloody death dances. There is still some uncertainty in the management of collisions, as well as some pop-in phenomena that are a little too evident, but these are flaws that do not affect the general enjoyment of the experience.