Quick Facts:
Developer: Tecmo Koei
Planned Release Date: December 31, 2016
Platforms: PS4
Rating: RP (Rate Pending: Contains Intense Violence, Blood and Gore)
Disclaimer: This game is currently in development, and this review is only of the beta demo released recently over PSN (Playstation Network). Some features may differ or not work entirely due to the nature of this being an unfinished product. Therefore, this is not a review of the game as a whole, but of my impressions of it's current state.
WARNING: THIS GAME IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN.
He was alone. The wet caress of the ocean's tide lapped against his still body as he started to rise. Everything was silent, except for his beating heart. A sudden, nasty smell took over his body as he coughed and glanced over at the dead body rocking back and forth in the tide. Flies buzzed around it in a cloud of darkness. Little streams of blood flowed into the ocean as the body lie motionless before him.
The cause of death was immediately apparent. Most people wear swords in sheathes on their sides. This deceased individual was holding it through the center of their body. It wasn't a convenient place to carry a weapon, since he probably couldn't even reach the sword from back there, and pulling it out would be quite painful. He stopped letting his mind wander, and stumbled over to the body.
Strong odors erupted from the corpse as he managed to slowly draw the sword from the recently departed. It was a nice blade, sharp and light. With a few quick slashes he became accustomed to the weight of the beautiful weapon he held. This will do, he thought to himself and washed off the blade in the water.
The cold night air bit at his lightly clothed body. After the incident, all he had was the tattered and torn clothes on his back. Somehow, the wind found the perfect angles from which to freeze his body through the holes in his clothes. There must be a house, or some place for warmth, he thought to himself as he shivered and stumbled down the beach.
With each step, he left a deep impression in the sand beneath him. He held his sword, shaking in front of him as he surveyed the area. The last thing he needed was an ambush from people who might have wanted him dead. The next to last thing he needed was the sudden realization that he wasn't alone. His body spun around to face the torch that just lit up. Someone was watching him.
He could feel the presence of two piercing eyes glaring at him from the darkness, and he readied his sword. This fight would be short. Suddenly a person yelled and slashed at him from the shadows. He blocked and attacked him with a few strikes of his own. With each strike, he tried to gauge his energy. If it got too low, he'd be at the mercy of his attacker in a pitiful, weakened state.
Sparks flew off the weapon as the two pieces of aggressive metal collided in the night. The assailant said nothing as he continued striking. Blood splattered on the walls of the straw hut as he slashed into his attacker, but the violent man was not greatly affected by the loss. With each strike the man started to notice that a ring of white surrounded his body. What was that? Suddenly, he focused on recovering energy. In the blink of an eye he was back up to full stamina, and a ghostly form overlapped his own.
What was this power? A new confidence overtook his weary body, and the conflict continued. With a series of careful blocks and slashes of his sword, the assailant was finally wearing down. Silently, his sword finished off the attacker. He sheathed his sword as the aggressor's body hit the floor. This was one of many battles he knew he'd face. His eyes glanced around the beach and noticed fiery swords sticking up from the sand. These were the signs of others who had fallen. As he approached them, a small circle rose above them like a ghostly apparition, showing him their name, level, and what weapon they were using when they died. He could challenge them to a duel, to see who was a better fighter, but he wanted to rest from the previous encounter. Tonight was just beginning, and there were a lot more fights to be conquered if he wanted to survive.
This all happened within the first few minutes of my experience of Nioh. Think of it as a mix between Ninja Gaiden (because of the pace of it's combat) and Dark Souls (due to it's unforgiving difficulty). Although the combat may not seem deep, due to it's lack of complex combos, it is very intricate. You have access to three different stances, low, medium, and high, that change the game play drastically. Each has their own series of special moves to learn throughout the course of the game, and to master by using different weapons in each stance.
While in most games you get your gear by defeating the NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) in the world, Nioh is a bit different. Although there are enemies that populate your surroundings, most conflicts I had were with other players. It is an asynchronous experience (meaning that you are not fighting another player in real time, but a recording of their play style through the game's advanced AI), but that doesn't stop it from being exciting. In fact, I spent most of my time fighting other players because the enemies in the world were not really exciting in the beta.
The process for summoning another player to fight is really simple. All you have to do is walk up to a fiery sword in the ground, and hold the O button until they appear. Once they appear, however, you must defeat them or die. You cannot cancel a fight if it isn't going in your favor, so keep that in mind if you want to duel someone. Just make sure yo have at least one healing item, or you will be in trouble. Other players have tactics that will surprise you, like being beaten by a level 1 samurai when I was level 6 because he randomly changed stances and sent a flurry of rapid attacks without warning. They are an unpredictably enjoyable part of the overall experience.
Nioh is a highly addictive experience, from the leveling system, to trying to get in just ONE MORE FIGHT before going to bed. If you like exciting action, strategic combat, and excruciating difficulty, I'd definitely recommend Nioh. The graphics are decent, but the mood outweighs any lack of graphical fidelity. Overall, I suggest that you download and give Nioh a try, even though this comes with a warning. YOU WILL DIE A LOT IN THIS GAME, especially if you are just starting out. It's like an eternity of living the same experience over and over again. Live, fight, die, repeat. If this doesn't bother you, and you are up for a challenge, then go ahead and try it! You won't regret it.
(This game was in open beta at the time of this writing, and is free on Playstation Network to try for a limited time. I do not know when the beta will end, so it's best to try it as soon as possible before it is pulled from the store.)
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