Nioh 2 sets out to be better than its predecessor and while it arguably achieves that in very specific areas, it has a major issue, and that is it’s an incremental update that feels quite detached from its predecessor, despite the cameos, and does not do enough to justify its £50 price tag or even to be called a sequel. It also adds far too much anime to the Nioh formula, which feels like it was just shoved in to pander to a wider audience at the expense of the game’s integrity.
Story
Now, the start of the game is very jarring and as far as I am concerned, incredibly poorly done. You start with a 2-cent MMO-like character creator and then instantly dumped onto an island, choose your weapon, and then with no build-up, explanation, or anything, you turn into a Yokai because anime. When you compare this to the start of Nioh 1, this seems incredibly amateurish and just feels completely detached. It’s almost as if they used the ability to create your own custom character as an excuse for a lack of cohesive story.
I was actually quite a big fan of Nioh 1’s story. Its opening was quite fantastic, starting off in the dark gritty tower of London, then swapping to the shores of Japan, arriving at a village, and then starting William’s Journey. It felt deeply personal, the story was well-presented and made you want to see where it played out. The tone was the perfect balance of gritty realism and the mythical.
Meanwhile, Nioh 2 just starts with you being a half-Yokai (who are suddenly a whole thing), then some villager comes running to you in terror, you kill the two Yokai chasing him, and then you’re on the map and have to select a mission and get randomly dumped. It feels like a half-baked generic anime plot, thrown into what was a decently-crafted world established in Nioh 1. When I finished Nioh 1, I wanted more. What I did not want was anime shoved into it for mass appeal.
It should have built on what was established and could easily have done so in prequel form. You could have been a Japanese Samurai before William and turn it into a proper Yokai Origin story. The story builds up as you slowly become corrupted culminating in you being able to turn into a Yokai, which would have made much more sense and actually gave the Yokai Shift actual impact. Instead, we got this.
Gameplay
Now, this is where the game does not really do what it should as a sequel. From footage before its initial PS4 release, I could tell the gameplay was NIOH 1.5 at best. The gameplay does not in any way feel like a sequel, but an incremental upgrade. Dark Souls may not have massively changed the gameplay in its sequels, but the world and exploration is what make a Dark Souls game. Nioh, due to its mission structure, does not have any of that wonder and that’s fine, but the gameplay should have been improved upon because of that.
There are new weapon types that are good additions, there are burst counters, and Yokai abilities plus a Shift form. This sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t. All it is is a new special counter for specific attacks and some new demon form, which only seems to exist as an excuse to differentiate it from Nioh 1. The weapon variety is nice to have but seems like something you could’ve gotten in a DLC, I am also not sure what I think of punching enemies to death in Nioh. The burst counter, while key to how Nioh 2 plays, does not take any real skill and is ultimately just another counter. The Yokai form adds no real depth and is just effectively a way for you to go to town on strong enemies. It’s flashy but it lacks substance and feels like your generic super Saiyan-esque mode that many games add. There is no real fundamental change on how you play. In fact, it is more basic if anything, and turns the game into a button-mashing mess. A Yokai form could have had new movesets, different mechanics, and so much more. Instead, it’s a quick burst of overpowered mashing. It really is quite uninspiring. Devil May Cry 5 recently added Vergil in a special edition, and the amount of hidden mechanics Vergil has that you have to discover yourself absolutely buries the changes in Nioh 2. In fact, Devil May Cry 5’s Vergil DLC actually feels like an entirely new game, due to his playstyle. Capcom added in a very cheap DLC that adds more to the gameplay of their game than Team Ninja has achieved with a “sequel”.
The mission structure is identical, the gameplay loop’s the same, the poor inventory system still exists, and you still get showered with tons of useless loot. All the major problems from the previous game which could have done with a big QoL update, and usually does in sequels, have got nothing. They are left identical to Nioh 1; for a sequel that is just not acceptable. They should have attempted to at least fix these issues. Instead, we got the sham of the new mechanics and some new weapon types and that’s it.
There are some nice tweaks to level design and enemy placements here and there, but nothing significant. Once you see through the charade, you find that there’s really nothing new. To rub more salt into the wound, the game also uses the same animations, assets, and same enemies from the original. Sure, there are a few new enemies sprinkled here and there, but make no mistake, there are no big surprises here and despite what some people will say, no real depth. Nioh deserved better; it is absolutely unforgivable. If this was packaged as an expansion or a large DLC, it would have been fine. However, a sequel has no real right to re-use so much of its predecessor.
This leads to a big problem: burnout. Just like in the Yakuza games, which I absolutely adore, you can get burned out. However, unlike the Yakuza games, Nioh 2 has far less variety leading you to burn out much faster. I already feel like I have played Nioh 2, due to the massive re-use of everything and the uninspired missions that are less creative than its predecessor. It didn’t even take 12 hours before side missions in new acts, set in new regions, literally copy-pasted areas from old regions for its side missions.
Graphics
Just like the first, this is an incredibly muddy, ugly game, with a mediocre generic art style. The lighting and models are somewhat improved, but it again is a very incremental change and objectively not a huge leap in any shape or form. In fact, I feel like Nioh 1 might even look better overall. What makes it even more disappointing is the aforementioned re-use of assets. Chances are if you’ve seen it in 1, you’ve seen it in 2. In fact, due to the tower of London in Nioh 1, you could say there is less visual variety in the sequel. The texture work is also incredibly poor and uneven. Right from the start, you’ll notice the cherry blossom trees, some trunks will be decently detailed, while others look ripped out of the PS2 era, just at a higher res. It all feels thrown together for the sake of being able to sell another sequel; it is uninspired and devoid of passion.
Presentation
To add to what was already a disappointment in the graphics department, the sounds are basically the same. There has been no real shift in sound design or re-recordings and the UI is also pretty much identical. Again, if you have seen it in 1, you have seen it in 2. Everything is serviceable at best, but is one of the laziest sequels I have ever seen. Sure, there was no real need to fundamentally shift anything from Nioh 1, but some minor tweaks or spit and polish would have been nice, given that this is a full-priced sequel.
Summary
This puts me in a hard spot, it is more NIOH and that is without a doubt a good thing, however it should have been much more than what it is. Instead of significantly building on the fantastic foundation NIOH 1 built, it is devoid of passion and actual thought, there is no confidence or desire here to try fundamentally new things and make an actual sequel. Instead, it feels like Team Ninja took its surprise hit, and then they slapped anime into the game re-used almost everything they had, forgot to write a story actually grounded in its world in a cynical attempt for more cash. In some ways it has moved forward (barely), in other major areas it has taken a step back.
I am not sure I can stomach fully finishing it, as I have already experienced this before. Burnout is a problem and I have seen that echoed by other players. However, if you’ve never played Nioh 1 then this is a game you should consider, albeit at a lower price point, in my opinion. If you enjoy Souls games and action games, and have not played 1, it is ABSOLUTELY worth a look, although I would advise you to just buy and play Nioh 1 instead. If you have played 1, however, and can stomach another 30+ hours of doing almost exactly the same as before, only this time with no real attachment to the lifeless custom protag, and just desperately want more of the same, then have at it.
6/10
Credits
| Author | Charles Charalambolous |
| YouTuber | Cublikefoot |
| Program | Freedom! Scholarship |
| Publisher | MGN TV |
| Game | Nioh 2 |