Transcending Souls: Nioh Is More than a “Souls-like”

So while From’s games are (and I say this as a fan) sometimes fairly generic fantasy affairs that you’d see in the likes of Final Fantasy, this realistic setting lends gravitas to the overall feeling. The weapons, while obviously fantastical, are also grounded in reality and make sense. Samurai swords in a samurai setting: as it should be. Even saving your game feels region appropriate, and the whole product just feels steeped in its setting. There’s nothing out of place here, aside the talking cat, of course.

But it’s the combat that truly makes Nioh such a standout affair. Ten hours in you might think you’ve got a handle on how it all works, but I guarantee you haven’t, and nor have I. It’s slightly obscure and will take some learning, but the Ki Pulse move adds layers to an already rewarding, complex system. Wade in on an enemy and hit the R1 button and you’ll grab some stamina back, meaning you can (theoretically) keep attacking, within reason. Players are still learning what this means for the PvP update that launched in early May, but the thought of that alone has been exciting since the game first launched.

With three stances that give you different moveset options, there’s an unbelievable amount to master. Switching to a low stance means you are quicker, and can get in and out with a flurry of attacks, before retreating. The mid stance allows for a balanced attack and defense, but the high stance means you can deal serious damage, while sacrificing mobility a little. The beauty of this is that it doesn’t matter what weapon you are using. If you fancy switching to a massive axe, you will still have quick options via the low stance. Unlike From’s games, combat is less focused on specific weapons, and more on the skill of the weapon wielder. While you still have to pay attention to your stats, and make sure you’re not overloading your character, it’s a perfectly viable option to have dual katanas as a primary, and a heavy hammer as a secondary. Sure, you might end up with a favorite moveset, but you won’t feel you have to spend the entire game with the one sword that you just keep levelling up.

As you progress, you gain points that let you progress through the skill tree, too, and these new, unlocked moves can be set to work on specific stances only. This means that you can have a combination of buttons that does one move in a high stance (perhaps it’s a high damage attack, and it works best with your high damage stance), but that same button combo does something different when in the mid and low stance. While Dark Souls III adds weapon arts that promised excitement but were ultimately forgotten pretty quickly, Nioh is offering ridiculous levels of customization that, if you want to, you can completely ignore. It might be a while before all the secrets of the combat are unlocked.

High level play means that there are already strategies out there for completing this monster videogame in under two hours, and part of that is thanks to the Onmyo magic options. These Justu talismans can gift your weapons with elemental abilities, and as we all know, certain enemies will be weak or strong against these. But again, Nioh doesn’t require you to spec as a magic build; it has a separate system for Onmyo skill points, and won’t punish you for creating a character exactly as you want it. There’s definitely some juggling required to ensure you have the correct number of Onmyo slots, but it won’t ever feel as though you’re being forced away from melee combat and towards a magic-only build.

The combat is almost perfect, and I only hesitate to call it perfect because I don’t feel like I’ve mastered it. The Ki Pulse adds a dynamic feel to every battle, and even the simplicity of being able to see an enemy’s stamina bar as well as their health just makes it feel like every battle is a special, one on one encounter. Nioh’s combat feels fair; it feels balanced, and even tough battles feel surmountable.

Nioh is a genuine masterpiece, and for a change, it’s now From Software who will have to up its game. The King may not be dead quite yet, but Team Ninja is well and truly nipping at its heels. New intellectual properties are a rare commodity these days, but in an industry defined by big budget hype and pre-order bonuses, it’s refreshing to find an already polished diamond, just calling out to be played.