Despite all the failures Team ninja after the collapse of the team in the middle of the last generation of consoles, the original Nioh nevertheless, he could really surprise us. Copying mechanics Dark souls, the studio did not forget to offer its own ideas, supported by an atmospheric Japanese setting, a smart combat system and a deep leveling of the character with the ability to create cool builds.
Of course, the project had its own problems, like reusing locations cut into isolated levels of missions and the same type of samurai bosses, but we believed that the company would polish the formula in a sequel that was supposed to surpass the first part in everything. What did the authors do? Let’s get it right.
Nioh 2 – This is a prequel that dates back to the middle of the 16th century and tells the story of an anonymous character. Being half human and half youkai, the hero travels around Japan, destroying the demons, like the witcher Geralt of the Polish hit. Together with the merchant Tokishiro, they are going to get rich, collecting amrita for the lords of scattered Japan.
Some of the screensavers look simply amazing, delighting with beautiful characters, the atmospheric appearance of monsters, spectacular combat scenes and funny moments. Another scares poorly written (or translated from Japanese?) Dialogues.
Sometimes artists return to using videos that try to look like animated ink painting, but for some reason look like cartoons drawn in Paint. Fortunately, the latter is not so much, and Team Ninja does not forget about beautiful moments.
The story itself turned out to be torn and less interesting than in the original. The main character is not worked out, it seems that they forgot about the villain, most cutscenes are more likely to show off here, like fillers between levels, and do not make much sense. In them, various historical figures simply appear in the frame, smile, demonstrate personal “Pokemon” (guardian spirits), which, apparently, almost everyone has, and leave. And the main character does all the work.
The game almost does not explain the significance of this or that character, and sometimes the only way to understand what is happening is to read the text description in the protagonist’s hut, which is updated after the completion of the next mission. If you have not studied the history of medieval Japan or have not played Samurai warriors, then most NPCs will remain a mystery to you.
Because of all this, the integrity of the narrative disappears and the game partially loses the atmosphere of gloomy mysticism that was in the original. Some bright, sometimes even acidic, locations also contribute to this impression.
At the same time, the absence of a prescribed hero made it possible to fully customize his appearance. This time, the protagonist can be either a man or a woman. The editor is rich in various options, allowing you to blind any avatar from scratch, or use ready-made templates that can be fixed.
Graphically, the models are incredibly beautiful – the skin, hair, eyes, lips and body are worked out significantly better than in the first part. Artists have not forgotten about the animation of small details, such as eyelids and facial wrinkles, which help revitalize a digital character. It all looks really great. I specifically turned off the display of the helmet in the settings to see the face of my hero.
The monsters turned out to be quite good and delight with both elaboration and variety. Some look really unique, like jumping on a huge youkai knife.
With each new card, new types of opponents appear that protect locations in various combinations. However, over time they begin to recur.
Team Ninja loves to reuse the same mini-bosses. On the one hand, it is disappointing, on the other – you feel the growth of your character and yourself as a player – old complex opponents begin to feel simple – like ordinary enemies.
Game designers have added more combat capabilities to opponents, such as electric traps, complex combos and dangerous grabs. This makes the battles really exciting and exciting.
The boss of the level most often is the youkai of gigantic proportions, however, there are simple samurai, including various historical figures. Fights with such opponents can cause a lot of trouble if you play alone. However, if you have a pair of partners and powerful abilities of previously defeated youkai, then everything becomes much easier.
Bosses uses sets of strong attacks that often go in a certain order. Studying patterns, it is necessary to find the moments when the enemy becomes vulnerable. The difficulty lies in the fact that in the initial stages, any mistake or delay can immediately lead to the death of your character. Sometimes having managed to block the boss’s first blow, the main character gets stunned and cannot move, after which he misses the attacks that are sent immediately to the altar. At some points it is better to just run away or do evasions. In any case, you need to be especially careful and quick, accurately calculating each action.
Some fights are complicated by the failure of the camera, which is poorly adapted for narrow arenas. If the battle takes place in a small area, then the virtual operator can run into a wall and show an incomprehensible translucent object. Such confusion can easily destroy your hero. Especially unpleasant when this happens in a battle with the boss, whom you almost defeated.
Levels, as before, are part of the mechanics, as the enemies are placed in locations wisely and love to arrange a trap. It is a pity that the environment is very heterogeneous. Some areas are reminiscent of budget projects for PS3, others look good with pleasant surround lighting and effects that work great for the atmosphere. But a huge number of shadows, objects and textures loads spoils the impression, which is simply amazing for 2023 and the project that publishes Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Play best on PS4 Pro in high performance mode. At 60 FPS, the controls are extremely responsive. But the huge pixels on the screen constantly remind you of low resolution, which is especially noticeable on Ultra HD TVs. Some levels (especially with rain) seem to work generally at 720p and without anti-aliasing. Against Nioh 2 last year Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice from Fromsoftware It looks like a game of a new generation.
In high-definition mode, the graphics get better, significantly in places. But the game does not feel so smoothly – there is an impression that it begins to slow down. This has a big impact on management.
