Nioh [PS4]

[Deathjam]

Making a new topic because I feel that this game will get talked about ALOT.

 

SEND FEEDBACK TO DEVS

 

For those who don't know, this is the evolution of a redesigned and refocused Ninja Gaiden which looks to merge what the Demons/Dark Souls and Ninja Gaiden games do best.

 

Demo is available on PSN now.

 

I will cut to the chase as I am at work but having only 15 minutes with it, I can tell the game plays fantastically. Has a very appealing setting, the control scheme is interesting and responsive and my word is it a challenge.

 

The walkthrough from TGS 2015 you can catch on youtube makes the game look incredibly easy. IT IS NOT! I died 5-6 times in the starting area, albeit because I summoned a wraith who will chop you down ruthlessly in one combo if you make a single mistake.

 

Don't forget to check the option's so you can change the resolution to get a higher framerate. Can't wait to play more.

 

 

Wikipedia:

 

Originally announced by Koei in 2004 (before their merger with Tecmo made them Koei Tecmo), the game is based on an unfinished script by filmmaker Akira Kurosawa titled Oni (Japanese word for demon). The game was to be released with a companion film, also titled Oni, that would have seen the directoral debut of Hisao Kurosawa, Akira Kurosawa's son. Hisao Kurosawa was completing his father's script with assistance from game producer Kou Shibusawa of Koei, with a combined production budget of ¥ 3 billion for both film and game. "When reading Hisao Kurosawa's script", Shibusawa said during a press conference, "it gave me the impression of stories like Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress".

 

The first announced release date (with the new title of Ni-Oh) was summer of 2006. Although this was the first release date to be announced for any PlayStation 3 game, it was slated several months after the PlayStation 3's planned release in spring 2006, suggesting it was not intended as a launch title. In preparation for the 2006 release, a pre-rendered game trailer was shown at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, and a similar trailer was shown at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show.

 

The game missed the initial 2006 release window without comment from Koei. It wasn't until 2009 that Koei confirmed that the game was still in development, apologizing for the lack of updates. In 2010 Koei (now Koei Tecmo) announced that Tecmo's Team Ninja would be finishing development of the game, which had been suspended by Koei. In an interview with Siliconera, Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi described their vision of the adopted game:

 

 

We ran lots of tests and trials for Ni-Oh. After we ran through these we found a style that fits this title. At Team Ninja, we want you to experience the feel of action in our games. Ni-Oh is set with during the samurai era and we want you to feel what it's like to be a samurai.

 

— Yosuke Hayashi

 

In 2012 Koei Tecmo's President and CEO, Yoichi Erikawa, announced that the game had completed its alpha development cycle, and that the work was "continuing steadily."

 

In August 2014, Koei Tecmo filed a new U.S. trademark for the game. In an interview with Venture Beat from November 2014, Hayashi confirmed that the game was still in development and that "it is starting to come together and feel good."

 

The game was officially re-revealed (now retitled slightly as Nioh) for the PlayStation 4 at Tokyo Game Show 2015 on September 15, 2015. It is set to be released in 2016. A demo for the game would begin on April 26, 2016 and end on May 5, 2016. After successfully clearing the stages in the demo, players will gain access to the The Mark of the Conqueror downloadable content when the full game is officially released.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Deathjam
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[Hero-of-Time]

I look forward to giving this a try. Reading the impressions on Gaf and they say that it feels like a Souls game.

[Deathjam]

It's weird. It's definitely souls but there is more. I know it's early, but dare I say that it feels better combat wise. Basically it feels like the difference between dmc and ninja gaiden with a dash of onimusha.

[Shorty]

Sounds good Looking forward to trying the demo later.

[ThePigMarcher]

Been keeping an eye on this game for a while so I was pleased to be able to have finally given it a look.

 

I haven't spent long with the demo as yet and I certainly didn't make a lot of progress but what I played of it, I absolutely loved. Will definitely be spending more time on this whilst it's still available and it has also become a day one purchase.

[Nolan]

Well damn....doesn't appear to be on the US PSN store.

 

Never mind, found it. I always forget to check under free and then scroll over to find the "free demos" if only a demo category existed.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Nolan

[drahkon]

Downloading now

 

So what's the deal again with this? You complete it and get DLC for the full game? Can't remember.

[Shorty]

Played it for 30 seconds, got 1hko'd by second enemy, cba to carry on, went back to Dark Souls III.

[drahkon]

I have to say...day one for me. And I haven't even progressed far Fighting and killing an enemy is so satisfying.

 

Really looking forward to the full release and I'll happily play more of the demo in the coming days.

[ThePigMarcher]

Finally made a bit of progress, reached the second shrine last night and earlier this morning unlocked a short-cut back to the first shrine (so Dark Souls ).

 

Have just this minute reached what appears to be the second area of the demo and the third shrine. I'm not sure how big the demo is but the enemies really don't mess about, especially the big bastards.

 

Really like the online aspect of taking on the ghost things of other victims to gain their amarati (spelling). In fact, there is just so much to like about this game and the release date can't come soon enough.

[Deathjam]

Played it for 30 seconds, got 1hko'd by second enemy, cba to carry on, went back to Dark Souls III.

 

 

 

Weak. You probably summoned a wraith which isn't advisable till you get a handle on the moves and you ate a full combo which only the wraiths do. The normal enemies aren't strong enough to 1hit ko you there but pull a group and it's YOU DIED.

 

Personally I love the game. It's so much harder than Ds but man is it more rewarding and the combat mechanics have even more depth.

 

It's more rewarding because you get gear drops like the game is Diablo and some of the drops can drastically change your plays type and aid you in combat if used effectively, e.g. Getting a powerful axe allows you to more down enemies much faster allowing you to tackle groups much more efficiently.

 

Combat mechanics are universal meaning of you have to worry about stamina, so does the enemy. Learning the triangle kick skill early on helped immensely as I could let enemies waste stamina, sap the last of it with the kick move to exhaust them, and then 'backstab' style finish them off which in Nioh is classed as a grapple.

 

Parries and guard breaks are deadly but difficult to pull off as well as perfect timing for dodges giving you I-frames from the looks of it akin to ninja gaiden. You can also recover stamina faster and avoid exhaustion if you ki pulse (hammer r1) after an attack. Can also switch stance instantly from this.

 

Wraiths though are just as capable as you are. They are akin to blood crazed hunters in bloodborne.

 

Head shots with arrows are oh so satisfying taking the head clean off and soon bonus damage. If an enemy has a helmet, you have to shoot that off first though.

 

Levelling is probably more essential than in FROMs games but respawning enemies and recovering from death are much faster so farming is much quicker. I think grinding for levels is intended by the developers.

 

I could go on but I haven't even finished the demo yet. I'm probably near the boss but damn the demons of yokai are another level. Had a moment where I had to run away with no health and every corner had a lurking demon. Had to perfectly dodge them all and run for ladders to escape only to be trapped on a bridge with a demon at one end and a archer at the other. You can guess how that ended.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Deathjam

[Nolan]

I played about 30 seconds as well but a toothache was turning into a pounding headache and I stopped after killing the first enemy.

[RedShell]

Played it for 30 seconds, got 1hko'd by second enemy, cba to carry on, went back to Dark Souls III.

Prepare to Try?

 

But yeah, the way enemies can take you out pretty much instantaneously is a bit full-on.

From the time I spent playing this, I get the feeling it could end up being more difficult than the Souls games!

 

The gameplay feels nice though, and it's entertaining when the enemies heads and limbs start flying all over the place. Very strange how that doesn't seem to ever happen to your own character though...

 

Fantastic that they've included the option to prioritise frame rate over resolution. Recommend everyone who tries this goes for the improved frame rate, it's not enabled by default and you can't change it once you're playing the game.

 

Anyway, it's probably still too soon for me to even contemplate getting into another game like this (haven't even finished Bloodborne yet) but I'll certainly be keeping an eye on this one.

[drahkon]

Really like the online aspect of taking on the ghost things of other victims to gain their amarati (spelling).

 

That is so freaking cool I love that idea. Seems like @Deathjam is right: The devs may want you to farm from time to time. And so far it doesn't feel like a grind (just as it doesn't in the Souls games).

 

 

Combat mechanics are universal meaning of you have to worry about stamina, so does the enemy.

 

This is what I like most about the combat. You can plan your every move because you are able to see the enemy's stamina.

 

Learning the triangle kick skill early on helped immensely

 

Well, that will be the next skill I'll unlock

 

The first skill I learned is...difficult to pull off? Or I just suck...it's the "sheathe your sword, charge and slash"-skill (hold R1+circle). Sometimes when I hold R1+circle it won't work and my guy just does no attack at all

If that's a bug then that's fine as it's still an alpha build. If I'm the one who simply just fucks the move up...well, I need to git gud

 

 

I think Team Ninja is onto something big with Nioh.

[Deathjam]

Prepare to Try?

 

But yeah, the way enemies can take you out pretty much instantaneously is a bit full-on.

From the time I spent playing this, I get the feeling it could end up being more difficult than the Souls games!

 

 

On both points, it is.

 

 

The gameplay feels nice though, and it's entertaining when the enemies heads and limbs start flying all over the place. Very strange how that doesn't seem to ever happen to your own character though...

 

 

Great idea.

 

 

The first skill I learned is...difficult to pull off? Or I just suck...it's the "sheathe your sword, charge and slash"-skill (hold R1+circle). Sometimes when I hold R1+circle it won't work and my guy just does no attack at all

If that's a bug then that's fine as it's still an alpha build. If I'm the one who simply just fucks the move up...well, I need to git gud

 

I think Team Ninja is onto something big with Nioh.

 

I used that skill once. It's effective. If it doesn't kill, it will spin them around and with your back facing an attacking enemy, it's often YOU DIED, but in this case it's their back so it's a good move. But it's for experts IMO. With the speed with which enemies can attack you, the distance and time needed to charge and the required button presses, you need to have masterful timing, technique and conditions to use it so I don't.

 

Luckily you can level pretty fast and it you get multiple Samurai points upon certain lv gates. I think it's in fives so lv 5,10 etc. You wont be lacking moves. In fact, there are so may options like perfect stance switching mid combat and parries that I am not even utilising yet. Haven't even bothered with learning spear moves yet.

 

I was trying to do a focused build but having options I think is key and a more 'rainbow' approach might be needed. So into this game

 

You cam send feedback to the developers here.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Deathjam

[ThePigMarcher]

Managed to beat the first mission in the demo which was enough to earn myself access to the DLC (which has to be grabbed before May 5th I think).

 

I certainly had my fair of struggles with the final part and had to change up my gear as my light armour just wasn't cutting it. The weird thing is that I didn't notice my character slowing down too much with the heavier gear, although I didn't go full on with it just in case. Perhaps I've just gotten adjusted to expect my character to react noticeable slower after a certain 'equip' limit due to Souls' games so maybe the drop-off in this game isn't meant to be so severe.

 

The best thing about the demo is that I was expecting that to be it. It wasn't. After the main demo mission you get access to another later mission (aimed for Level 25+) and by way of this you get a little insight into how the game may be structured. I've not really explored the second mission yet as the packrat in me has far too much equipment so I'll need to donate some before continuing.

 

[RedShell]

Managed to beat the first mission in the demo which was enough to earn myself access to the DLC (which has to be grabbed before May 5th I think).

I finally made it to a boss looking enemy last night, but it destroyed me within seconds!

 

The more I play this though, the more I like it.

Yeah, it's absolutely brutal, especially if you get surrounded, but that just makes it all the more satisfying when you play well.

I really like how it handles stealth too, being sneaky doesn't feel forced or clunky like it often does in many games, and instead flows very smoothly with the rest of the gameplay.

Managed to pick up a bow as well, which further enhances that aspect of the game.

 

Still not exactly sure what I'm doing when it comes to stances though, I pretty much just keep it set to the high stance at all times and go for powerful attacks, then back off a bit and repeat. Finishing an enemy off with that spinning sword attack is so satisfying!

 

Another cool thing I noticed is that if you fight an enemy near an edge, they can actually lose their balance and fall off! They do a one footed balancing animation beforehand, which is hilarious.

[Deathjam]

I finally made it to a boss looking enemy last night, but it destroyed me within seconds!

 

The more I play this though, the more I like it.

Yeah, it's absolutely brutal, especially if you get surrounded, but that just makes it all the more satisfying when you play well.

I really like how it handles stealth too, being sneaky doesn't feel forced or clunky like it often does in many games, and instead flows very smoothly with the rest of the gameplay.

Managed to pick up a bow as well, which further enhances that aspect of the game.

 

Still not exactly sure what I'm doing when it comes to stances though, I pretty much just keep it set to the high stance at all times and go for powerful attacks, then back off a bit and repeat. Finishing an enemy off with that spinning sword attack is so satisfying!

 

Another cool thing I noticed is that if you fight an enemy near an edge, they can actually lose their balance and fall off! They do a one footed balancing animation beforehand, which is hilarious.

 

If that enemy is in a house, then it's just your first encounter with a new type. There is much more.

 

After reading a bit on reddit, found a really useful post that clears up more of the mechanics:

 

Here's a bunch of tips and tricks I've learned from playing the demo, feel free to add your own.

 

Stances

 

The three stances have specific skills that complement the nature of the stances.

 

High stance is for all out attack - it's high damage, high stamina consumption and best used against single targets that you want to take out quickly. The tradeoff is you can find yourself depleted and open to attack if you don't manage it properly.

 

Mid stance is a slower, balanced approach that has skills to complement blocking, ki depletion and counterattacking. Best used against strong enemies or enemies you're not familiar with.

 

Low stance is a fast, low-damage approach that focuses on evasive manuveurs and has low stamina depletion to assist with this. Best used against taking on multiple enemies at once, it gives you room to escape. Complemented by use of ninja and magic arts.

 

Explore. This allows you to find shortcuts which reduce the time taken to access new areas and help with progression. On top of that, items on the ground (i.e. not random drops from enemies) are sometimes fixed, usually offering an item that will aid your progress. There's a guaranteed bow near the second shrine, and a teleport scroll just before the boss, for instance.

 

Weapons. Weapons are hard to come by first thing; but soon enough you'll have plenty. Weapons and armour can be repaired by use of items found in the world, and the general design seems to be to keep a rotating stock of the best weapons you find, saving repairs for your strongest weapon which should be saved for tough encounters. Weapons you don't want or use can be sold for amrita (XP).

 

Selling. Selling items will actually get you a lot of amrita once the items start coming in. But there's an added bonus - every now and then you'll be given a useful item in return for selling goods (more elixir charges, etc). So you are encouraged to sell trash you don't want.

 

Item and magic use. Use every resource at your disposal. Make sure to prepare items and use them indiscriminately - this game is made a lot easier if you consider all the things you can bring into a tough fight. The game is definitely not as freely hack-and-slash as it initially lets on - you should be throwing gas bombs, buffing weapons and performing sneak attacks in addition to straight up swordplay.

 

Stamina. Stamina must be managed very wisely. Heavy armour means your actions use way more stamina, so bear this in mind. You'll also need to use Ki bursts (R1 during combo), which is basically cancelling out of the combo. Doing so recovers stamina and allows you to restart a combo, so it's best used by comboing an enemy until staggered, cancelling, then starting a new combo. This will keep you dishing out the pain.

 

Shrine spirits. Can't remember what they're called. They're dotted around the place in hidden areas (crates, ledges). Discovering one and holding circle will send it back to the shrine (no need to guide it as the action suggests). At the shrine they will then confer passive bonuses such as XP and gold find, which you can customize.

 

Levelling and XP. Every 5 levels, it appears you get an extra boost to the stat that takes you to that level. For instance, if you level Strength to get to level 5, you'll notice you have way more points to spend on skills. Also, don't be afraid to farm revenants and/or areas repeatedly - best done near a shrine so you can recover lost XP easily. Recovering your spirit also gives your special gauge back. The XP from killing enemies and selling loot stacks up fast and you can easily pump up some levels to get the ball rolling.

 

Bows. Bows are great for kiting single enemies, sometimes even in a dense pack. Press R3 to zoom even more, and you can headshot (oneshot) enemies without helmets if you're lucky. Headshotting helmeted enemies removes their helmet so bows seem to be quite viable; indispensible even. There is a guaranteed bow on a corpse near the second shrine.

 

Skills. When looking at skills, be sure to scroll down as they don't all fit on the screen and I played through twice without noticing I had more katana skills available to me. Skills map to a certain stance, and are usually actions that complement the stances (see above). Mastering the stances and understanding how to use the skills is essential.

 

Just wanna add: don't run from enemies, Souls style. You will create a train of death for yourself as they will follow you. EVERYWHERE.

[RedShell]

If that enemy is in a house, then it's just your first encounter with a new type. There is much more.

Hehehe! It was, yeah.

Oh man.

 

After reading a bit on reddit, found a really useful post that clears up more of the mechanics:

Cheers for that.

Will definitely try to make more use of the other stances now.

 

Just wanna add: don't run from enemies, Souls style. You will create a train of death for yourself as they will follow you. EVERYWHERE.

Yeah, I've already made this mistake.

Ran all the way back to the shrine once, thinking "I'll be safe here" LOL... no.

 

BTW, does this demo become unplayable after the 5th of May, or is that just the deadline for unlocking the DLC?

[Deathjam]

BTW, does this demo become unplayable after the 5th of May, or is that just the deadline for unlocking the DLC?

 

Good question! I think it's both in that the servers will shut down and you wont be able to play the game as I believe it requires online and thus are locked out of getting the DLC for free.

[ThePigMarcher]

After reading a bit on reddit, found a really useful post that clears up more of the mechanics:

 

I cannot recommend the donating/selling of items highly enough. The boost in amrita is nice enough but the bonus items you get are so much more useful, especially as you find so much loot. I've found it to be a great way of maxing out elixirs instead of having to farm them and the occasional spirit stone (amongst other items) is not to be sniffed at either.

 

 

Just wanna add: don't run from enemies, Souls style. You will create a train of death for yourself as they will follow you. EVERYWHERE.

 

One of my favourite 'hell yeah' moments of the game so far was when I accidentally agro'd a couple of enemies only to fall off a ledge and attract the attention of a couple more. I started legging it and it looked like a 'Benny Hill' moment that wasn't going to end well. Thankfully and rather luckily I had a decent spear and managed to somehow take out all five at once. I don't know how I managed it and it's probably not something I'll be able to repeat but damn, it felt freaking fantastic.

Edited April 28, 2016 by ThePigMarcher

[Deathjam]

I cannot recommend the donating/selling of items highly enough. The boost in amrita is nice enough but the bonus items you get are so much more useful, especially as you find so much loot. I've found it to be a great way of maxing out elixirs instead of having to farm them and the occasional spirit stone (amongst other items) is not to be sniffed at either.

 

Haven't sold a thing. Need to break my hoarding mentality.

 

One of my favourite 'hell yeah' moments of the game so far was when I accidentally agro'd a couple of enemies only to fall off a ledge and attract the attention of a couple more. I started legging it and it looked like a 'Benny Hill' moment that wasn't going to end well. Thankfully and rather luckily I had a decent spear and managed to somehow take out all five at once. I don't know how I managed it and it's probably not something I'll be able to repeat but damn, it felt freaking fantastic.

 

The spear. I think because enemies don't really flank you, you can funnel them into the straight attacks of the spear. Need to put a few points into it I guess but you can tackle groups if you can mow them down fast enough that you aren't vulnerable for long. That or master stamina management which I think I'll spend some time mastering and push myself into perfect stance switching.

[ThePigMarcher]

Finally fully beaten the demo. Jeez, that final boss gave me a really tough time, however the reward was a pretty tasty Level 43 Sword.

 

Instead of wrapping up my time with this I've begun to explore the co-op and it seems to be pretty solid. There does appear to be some lag issues but given that this is only an alpha that's to be expected but depending on which stage you look to co-op in I've not had to wait long to find a match. I like the fact that you can still earn amrita and items and you also get various rewards depending on if you beat the stage, how many shrines you visit and more etc. A nice little addition to the game and something else I can't wait to see fully explored when the game launches.

[drahkon]

Two more days until the demo is unavailable. That's why I've spent some time with it just now.

And my God what joy it was. Except for the deaths due to my ineptitude

 

Managed to find the second shrine, which was kinda hidden. Also managed to find some kind of beast that owned my ass...

 

I am now able to regularly pull off the KI pulse, which I haven't used in my first hour with the game. It is a game changer

 

 

@ThePigMarcher how exactly does the co-op work? I've made an offering at a shrine but no one joined even after waiting quite some time. And how can you be summoned? Am I missing an item?

 

Edit: Killed that aforementioned beast and unlocked a new area. In here I fought my way through to the shortcut and unlocked it : peace:

This game is soooooo good and it's only alpha.

Edited May 2, 2016 by drahkon

[ThePigMarcher]

@ThePigMarcher how exactly does the co-op work? I've made an offering at a shrine but no one joined even after waiting quite some time. And how can you be summoned? Am I missing an item?

 

It'll become clearer once you beat the first mission, which you may have done by now.

 

On beating that mission you'll get taken to a mission select screen which will allow you to select that mission and you can either replay it or enter matchmaking, the latter will match you with anyone who may have placed the 'cup' offering at any shrine in the area. That's really all there is to allowing yourself to being summoned.

 

As for why no-one joined you, it's likely due to the fact that not many are making themselves available for summoning in that mission as the amrita, gears and rewards aren't great, especially when compared to what you can gain in the second mission. Personally I haven't minded making myself available, it's not as if I need anymore loot anyway, and I usually get summoned really quickly.