- Nioh 2 Review
- Nioh 2 – Before You Buy
- Nioh 2 Review: Practically Perfect
- Nioh 2 Review “Buy, Wait For Sale, Rent, Never Touch?”
- THE NIOH 2 EXPERIENCE
- Why Nioh 2 is So Good // REVIEW
- Nioh 2 – Easy Allies Review
Nioh 2 Review
[Music],Im not ashamed to admit it I died a,total of four hundred and nine times,during my first playthrough of neo2,every death is a lesson like dont walk,under the street or the street so you,know you can walk under it you just,gotta move fast you just gotta move with,a little bit but thats appropriate,because theres a lot to learn in this,excellent sequel to one of the first,great non from software souls like games,neo2 takes everything the original game,builds and evolves it magnificently,adding all sorts of new nuances to the,combat but every gift it gives you is,balanced with a stiff backhanded slap of,difficulty to keep your ego in check,[Music],while neo put you in control the,fictionalized version of real-life,Western Samurai and professional Geralt,of Rivia cosplayer William Adams neo -,instead goes the route of the mute,custom create character its a change,that actually works pretty well,William was already basically a mute in,the first game so not much on that front,is lost and the character creator in neo,2 is amazing but while the story fares,better than the first thats still not a,glowing endorsement neo 2 struggles with,making its characters anything more than,a means for exposition dumps the only,bright spot is the alternate universe,version of real-life Japanese historical,figure Toyotomi Hideyoshi as his journey,from goofy adventurer to fearsome leader,and his relationship with your character,is actually quite compelling,Miatas combat is to starve the show here,and like its predecessor it is,phenomenal the first and most,substantial addition is the ability to,use several equippable youkai skills,borrowing one of the best elements from,castlevania aria of sorrow enemies in,neo to have a chance of dropping a soul,core these can be picked up purify that,shrine and then equip to let you use,their own move against your foes its an,extremely cool addition in a number of,ways first off it adds rare exciting,loot drops in a way that neo 2s,equipment system desperately needs since,exotic weapons are dropped like candy it,brings even more tension to the very act,of staying alive since you drop your,soul cores along with your accumulated,Amrita currency and most importantly the,moves you get from soul cores are fun to,experiment with and offer a ton of,variety in how youre able to approach,different combat scenarios while soul,core abilities are very powerful theyre,kept in check by leaving you extremely,vulnerable to follow-up attacks after,use they also drain your anima meter,which is needed to use neo to second,most substantial new edition burst,counters burst counters arent,functionally much different than the,usual parries that youll find in,similar games you time a burst counter,right before an enemy hits you to stun,them momentarily and deal a hefty amount,of stamina damage but what makes them,special is how they can only be using in,specific extraordinarily dangerous read,or attacks and how just about every,enemy has at least one of these attacks,to throw at you with only a seconds,notice these attacks were terrifying,when I first started playing turning,even weak enemies into huge threats that,could kill me in one belly-flop,unblockable grab or flurry of blows but,as I gained experience dealing with them,learning the timing of one diverse,counter these once terrifying attacks,became some of my best opportunities for,inflicting damage reaching the point,where something you feared is now,something you look forward to is,immensely satisfying especially when,dealing with neo twos many fantastic,bosses at the heart of neo 2 is,customization I already briefly touched,upon the excellent character creator but,beyond looks the amount of options you,have with regards to every single one of,its systems is staggering there are a,total of nine different types of melee,weapons each with their own play style,and gigantic skill tree two different,types of magic that also have their own,gigantic skill trees and of course eight,stats that scale differently with each,weapon and form and magic in addition to,that every item you get can have its,stats rear old until you find modifiers,that suit your playstyle you can easily,change the look of any piece of gear and,play fashion souls to your hearts,content you can choose from a veritable,zoo of guardian spirits you can,customize the look of your Hut and hell,you can even customize the look of your,tea utensil collection and have it,appraised for some reason the point is,neo to is his deepest notion and while,thats great in many ways it can also,often be overwhelming and lead to some,loot related issues playing the menu,game of neo 2 is just as important as,the one thats played while in combat,and it can be exhausting sometimes to,spend 30 minutes or more going through,literally hundreds of pieces of gear,deciding what should be dismantled what,should be offered to a shrine for extra,health elixirs whats worth keeping,around to feed into another item and,level it up and that just scratches the,surface neo 2 essentially turns loot,into its own currency which cheapens the,excitement of gear based rewards from,boss battles quest rewards and treasure,chests because the loot is almost never,special its like opening a chest in,Diablo and just getting a bunch of gold,all of this inventory management is,important because boy let me tell you,neo 2 is hard,and youre gonna need every stat based,Vantage you can get no Timmy oh to our,yokai realms which are areas shrouded,with a demonic fog and populated by,several powerful enemies to make matters,worse while fighting in yokai realms you,have reduced key recovery making it much,easier for you to run out of stamina and,get your guard broken which is almost,always a recipe for death on the plus,side you gain more anima and yokai,realms encouraging more liberal use of,your yokai abilities once you kill the,source of the yokai realm the field will,disappear and the enemies within will,mercifully no longer spawn even after,you rest at a shrine even though Ive,showered my fair share of obscenities,while inside a yokai realm there always,a satisfying challenge to fight through,and the reward of essentially clearing a,big area of enemies is always worth the,effort one of the really smart things,about neo2 is approach difficulty is,that for everything team ninja made,notably harder they balanced it with,something that makes it notably easier,if youre able to take advantage of it,enemies have more dangerous attacks that,they use more frequently but you can,turn those attacks into opportunities,with the burst counter there are yokai,fields that dramatically inhibit your,key recovery but you can now easily,summon AI companions left by other,players via benevolent graves bosses,will turn the arena into a yokai realm,every time you deplete their stamina but,you now have powerful yokai skills that,regenerate faster while there it took me,about 55 hours to beat neo to and while,every single hour of gameplay was,challenging none of the main missions,ever felt insurmountable or made me,think that I needed to grind in order to,overcome them however some of the,submissions definitely scurried a little,too close to the line between difficult,and unfair its in these submissions,where I frequently found myself having,to run a gauntlet of tough battles,against multiple powerful yokai at once,in wide open arenas where Im almost,always getting hit from off screen or,having to fight a boss that was already,hard one-on-one but now I have to deal,with it alongside several gun or bow,building enemies that like to make my,life a living hell,fortunately these submissions are,entirely optional and none of these,situations ever came up during any of,the main,in those who can avoid being overwhelmed,through careful planning and taking out,enemies from afar with your range,weapons that leaves many submissions,thats punishing challenges for those,who want to take them on tracks your,awards or they can bNioh 2 – Before You Buy
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Nioh 2 Review: Practically Perfect
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Nioh 2 Review “Buy, Wait For Sale, Rent, Never Touch?”
ah the good old days of neo when it came,out many of the other Dark Soul style,games got a run for their money,especially in difficulty throwing a,number more asian-inspired weapons view,and then just saying go forth and,conquer was its mastery all the while,whispering under its breath that going,forth probablys gonna hit a roadblock,when you meet this character a little,bit ninja gaiden a little bit dark souls,in a whole hell of a lot of old USA,channel kung fu theater neo hit all the,right markers for many gamers including,myself solidifying within the genre that,it had a place thats why when the,second game got announced people started,sharpening their Kearse agama blades,ready in their katanas and makin a lunch,cuz if anything neo is known for tough,combat and some long ass boss encounters,this is Kerik im with a cg and its my,continuing mission to bring you reviews,that arent two minutes long are filled,with sponsored bullcrap and speaking of,reviews this one is in progress,is based on the ps4 pro version of neo 2,and that code is provided by sony i want,to thank them for it but as you guys,know regardless if i get a code or not i,always buy a copy of the game and give,it away so check out the comments leave,one yourself for a chance to win lets,jump into this game these are my,thoughts with neo 2 as it stands right,now graphics are at first luckily on the,ps4 pro the game has different setups a,locked 30fps a variable FPS that tries,to lock in a higher resolution and then,a variable FPS that worries more about,high frame rates switching between them,and any time you can see various effects,and even geometry change with land and,textures and rock and foliage and other,bits moving around as youd go between,them however on a game like this that,drop in graphical fidelity to get more,FPS is absolutely worth it and I suggest,you do it because the difference between,the high resolution mode and the action,mode is not a lot when it comes to,resolution but a whole hell of a lot,when it comes to smoothness and fluidity,of combat but thankfully even on the,action mode neo 2 looks really good its,always got a mystical Wonderland just,one step away from full-on ancient Asian,myth kind of feel to it its filled to,the brim with crazy monsters like undead,donkey looking things all the way to,little guardian spirits that you can,collect throughout the landscape and,they dance around on the shrines that,you say that when it comes to animation,itself the game is rather good enemies,have a ton of moves and sets as,do you depending on the weapons and all,of that is adjusted with the different,weights of the different equipment you,get and you might think that little,martial arts Sunday was complete but,its not because you can add in mystical,particle accelerators known as magic,items and mystical beast counters and,you have a game that can go from solid,back and forth a very visceral combat,between humans fighting it out and then,suddenly its between you a spirit best,friend a giant monkey with what looks,like glowing golden horns and this,games version of a goblin all battling,now in a small section as for weapons,the weight of the items and various,other elements they do affect the,animation as I said before and you can,see those in the game and of course this,game is just gonna be an instant buy,because its got the care of segawa,coming back you guys know thats my jam,add to that the duel axes and swords and,wooden hammers and tonfa and its,encased in variety moreso than many,other games within the genre I do have,to say that while the game doesnt have,nearly as many of the egregious,collision detection moments that made,Sakura feel like the enemies were,friggin hacking the matrix and grabbing,you from 40 feet away there are some,issues and animation cheats that the,game uses to make enemies more deadly,especially the bosses that means at,times it feels like youre 250 feet away,he slams his sword down and suddenly you,apparently are only twenty five feet,away I also want to talk a second about,the level design now Ive liked what,Ive played so far its actually been,quite nice and hasnt been too,topsy-turvy and to spider-like but still,there are some back and forth so that,you certainly do see there are also a,lot of environmental hazards itll be a,lot longer and a lot more gameplay time,before multiple people can sort of come,to grips with how these levels are built,and if people really like them when it,comes to the texture work its got a,little bit of cottage cheese face going,on here a little bit of Vaseline vision,at times it doesnt really matter which,of the versions you choose to play the,game on there are moments especially,flora and fauna that dont look,particularly good when it comes to,textures can at times have a profoundly,muddy look to him and speaking of muddy,that brings us to sound music and voice,well talks you and lets talk about,sound first this is pretty good so far,its the Seven Samurai if they were part,of Hogwarts and just pissy all the time,youre casting spells and then merging,up with spirit animals one second,dodging the huge level spanning sword,attacks of a boss the next and all of it,is done very very well weapons have an,excellent crunch to them in a solid,attempt at making sure that the,environmental sounds are handling what,they need to which means why youre,creeping down some bloody forest trail,you can not only hear the creepy,trilling of the next Spirit shrine to,say that but also the crunch and crumble,of an enemy walking patrol it works very,well what maybe doesnt work so well is,sadly the music this is okay right now,Im not incredibly enamored with it and,from what Ive heard while its not bad,has a tendency to sort of stick into the,background and not really do anything to,bring itself up and it doesnt really,add a lot of atmosphere to the locations,themselves theres some ambient sense,very light some triangles and chimes and,woodwinds but nothing that really sits,up this ones just sort of there,speaking of just sort of their voice in,many of these games either its not done,or its not really paid attention to,though I would admit Sakura did a pretty,good job and Neill was okay prior but it,did have some issues here once again you,dont really hear a bunch youre not,really a chatty fella,neither is most of the rest of the world,much of the starting of the story is a,cutscene that takes a showing rather,than telling rule of excellent,moviemaking to the extreme with almost,nothing said more of a visual guide to,how is it that youre an orphan in this,world now once you start taking on,quests and meeting characters thats,fine English or Japanese voices seem,good overall nothing write home about at,this time if anything this game,understands something I rarely do,brevity and that brings us to gameplay,and a bit about the story,you pretty much play as empty vessel,macness tree a player character with,nothing more than the name protagonist,your mothers killed by a mysterious man,and youre left alone,soon you make a name for yourself,killing these demons and during one last,battle mysterious man shows up and uses,a stone to calm you down and basically,stop you from tearing them a new [ __ ],and installing handle bars in it bite,shoving your sword up there so of course,you become best friends and that begins,the game this starts out with you making,a character in a detailed character,generator one of the awesome things here,is that when youre making a character,in the game,your parents are talking in the,background in the past so if you choose,facial hair options or something like,that you might hear your father say I,hope he isnt all scraggly looking like,me this adds an incredible amount to the,atmosphere and these kind of ideas are,what I love about games it works,insanely well to impart this strange,mystical and almost spiritual feeling to,everything before the game actually,begins and good news all around there,are a lot of opti
THE NIOH 2 EXPERIENCE
Why Nioh 2 is So Good // REVIEW
challenging games always have peaks and,valleys but neo 2 has the lowest of lows,and highest of highs i very nearly quit,this game but im glad i didnt because,every time i returned it provided me,some of the most nail-biting and,triumphant moments ive ever had in a,game,[Music],neo-2 is a 2020 souls like developed by,team ninja for the ps4 ps5 and pc you,play as hide a fully customizable half,yokai half human creature who runs,around sengoku period japan fighting,demons and rubbing shoulders with major,historical figures the story is unlikely,to be the thing that draws you in but,the game will still have you on the edge,of your seat,neo 2 never feels like its holding back,and that creates a really fun tension,the baseline threat level is super high,even the simplest enemies each have one,ability that can just wreck your day and,a lot of basic enemies have a mini boss,feel theyre big fast and although they,are consistent and fair they will kill,you in surprising ways learning to,consistently beat them is very much like,a boss fight in most souls games,speaking of bosses they are fantastic,with variable appearances and fighting,styles that demand a different approach,every single time like a murderous,rubiks cube theyre a fun puzzle to,solve but every moment in a room with,them is deadly all of this results in a,tension where every interaction with an,enemy demands your full attention and,although i like this tension i also like,that they have the confidence to cut,through it occasionally like you cant,tell me this anera doesnt look like a,dad trying to entice you onto the dance,floor while the kodama function as a,fantastically cute friendly face in a,hostile world neo2 will ruthlessly,punish you for recklessness and that can,result in some real lows on the other,hand meticulously dispatching every,enemy through a difficult section is,even sweeter because you know this game,isnt holding back so youve got to be,meticulous when moving through an area,but when fighting really starts youve,got to be a little bit belligerent,usually in neo2 the closer you are to an,enemy the safer you are its,counterintuitive but it works for one,key which is like this games version of,stamina is very important and getting in,and out of range is expensive leaving,you vulnerable and unable to punish,openings it just opens you up to a,battle of attrition youre going to lose,on the other hand when youre up close,you have stamina and the attacks are,easier to dodge or even burst counter,which is probably the most aggressive,and satisfying mechanic ive experienced,in a souls like essentially there are,certain enemy attacks that cant be,blocked and are usually difficult to,dodge but you can use a special ability,called a bass counter that cancels their,attack and usually leaves them,vulnerable and open for counter-attack,the problem is you need to face their,attack head head-on this aggressive,playstyle is superior in almost every,way but it means you can never be a,hundred percent safe and you have to,lock into the rhythm of dodging,attacking and key pulsing to just,survive this is a game that is almost,unendingly demanding theres a constant,sense that you were just holding it all,together and one cock-up could knock the,whole house of cards down this results,in moments where you just feel like an,enemy is j jonah jameson from that,drumming movie killing you over and over,again and screaming into your face not,my tempo but then there are moments like,when i was fighting this frostboss dude,i had a sliver of health left and no,healing items ordinarily i would have,jumped in and out pecking at him from,afar but at this point i had,internalized what this game wanted from,me so instead i stayed up in his icy mug,locked into that rhythm and just grinded,my way through eventually beating him it,was heart heart-pounding a little bit,terrifying and that feeling of just,managing to hold it all together was so,much exhilarating fun and its all,because neo2 insists you play it in its,way in a counter-intuitive but,incredibly thrilling way now this kind,of aggression is baked into the play,style of neo too but the details are all,up to you,my favorite ability in neo2 is this kick,you can tack it onto the end of any,combo and do a ton of key damage it was,how i beat most of the difficult bosses,in the game it is also fairly deep into,the sword-specific skill tree this was a,major part of my neo2 experience and,most people have completed the game are,likely unaware it exists the builds in,this game are just that variable every,single stat has a tangible effect on,your abilities armor massively impacts,your defenses and movement speed every,piece of gear you come across could,provide that statistical boost you need,to survive the next boss fight you could,invest in magic or ninja abilities or a,little bit of both like i did you even,get to decide what yokai you turn into,and what abilities they give you when,youre in your normal form finally and,probably most importantly the weapons,are brilliant and although i only,invested a lot of time in the sword,hatchets and tompha every weapon i,touched was a pleasure to fight with and,almost entirely unique,these choices matter but the thing that,really impressed me was the depth in,every single aspect there are so many,skill trees and there is a skill in,every one that you could design a play,style around this variability can lead,to frustration it may take a while to,find a build you like and you may find,youre not utilizing the tools you have,to their full potential but when you,find that build and really get the,skills youre working with you feel a,real sense of ownership and mastery over,your specific playstyle,neo2 is challenging in a variety of,cruel and clever ways but never just for,the sake of it the gameplay wouldnt be,as nail-biting if it didnt insist on,you playing aggressively the victories,wouldnt be so sweet if the enemies,werent such vicious bastards and your,build wouldnt feel as meaningful if you,hadnt gone through the journey of,discovering and mastering it every,challenge is a building block towards a,great mechanic or moment thanks for,watching and ill see you next time,you
Nioh 2 – Easy Allies Review
Review copy provided by PlayStation.,Nioh 2 is a prime example of an iterative video game sequel.,It takes an “if it isnt broke, dont fix it” mentality to a lot of what is great about the original game,while rightfully improving on key weak points.,New additions, while not always huge,,each contribute in their own way and add up to something significant when brought together.,Yet for as great as Nioh 2 is, it doesnt quite have the same bold or exciting presence of the original.,The game chooses a safer path, and while it treads that path well,,when it does fall into past mistakes, it becomes all the more noticeable.,Nioh 2 is once again an interesting twist on the style popularized by From Software.,Combat requires precise attacking, dodging, blocking, and careful stamina management.,Each melee weapon can be used in three different stances,,each having their own strengths and weaknesses.,Stamina can be recovered quickly by appropriately timing a button press,,known as a “ki pulse,” a maneuver essential to performing well during a fight.,The sequel isnt content with just retreading the same ground however,,introducing new mechanics that add notable tension.,One of the most crucial is the burst counter,,which stops specific powerful enemy attacks while also doing stamina damage.,Hearing the low sound that warns of a counterable attack,as well as the dramatic red flash that accompanies it, creates moments of suspense and sometimes panic,as you frantically try to avoid disaster.,Helping variety even further is the fact that you can actually do three different types of counters,depending on the type of guardian spirit you have equipped,,allowing players to find a method thats comfortable for them.,When performing a burst counter, you briefly transition into a yokai form,,which is something that can be called on for a longer amount of time, known as a Yokai Shift.,Its essentially a super state where you ignore damage for a brief period and mercilessly pummel away.,Yet even with its power, Yokai Shift has to be wielded very carefully.,Just activating it and hoping for the best leads to underwhelming results, but those with patience,will no doubt have moments when it clutches out a fight, making it valuable but not broken.,Equally helpful are the soul cores players attach to guardian spirits.,In addition to offering passive bonuses to your character, they allow you to summon forth a demonic attack,,which if used effectively, can cause tremendous damage.,Soul core attacks vary greatly in range, speed, and power, blending smoothly into everything Nioh is about.,Just as its immensely rewarding to learn each weapon and to adapt to its individual style,,the same is true of soul cores.,Its another alluring piece of the character building puzzle.,Beyond the practical implications, its enjoyable to just watch these attacks play out.,Briefly turning into an enemy that caused so much trouble and wreaking havoc,is a special kind of satisfaction.,The only problem with soul cores is that you may end up finding something to be too efficient.,One core in particular, a giant snake,,lays waste to everything from when it’s acquired to the end of the game,,spoiling some of the joy of experimentation.,One of the biggest criticisms against Nioh is that it feels thin in regard to enemy types, and again,this is an aspect that Nioh 2 improves.,The additions all bring sufficient menace, but its a menace that is decidedly distinct.,The gorilla-like Enki has an abundance of personality, twirling around the battlefield with its spear,and leaping high into the air for furious attacks.,Nure-Onna slither all over the place, spewing poison, paralyzing you,,and wrapping around you before taking a hefty chomp out of your face.,As great as a lot of the designs are, what really helps them shine is more considerate placement.,The level design of the main missions is generally more intricate than those found in Nioh 1.,Many of these missions have a great flow to them, moving between more open areas,to something like claustrophobic caves, where a monster like the aforementioned Nure-Onna,may be lying in wait atop the ceiling.,Theres also the new dark realm, segments of a level where enemies are not only more powerful,,but stamina recovery is significantly impeded.,Its easy to feel a small sense of dread while willingly walking into an area,where you know youre at a disadvantage.,These sections work as yet another ingredient to keep it all lively,,serving as both a mechanical and visual mix up, even if it’s a minor one.,While the design is definitely improved, there’s still a weird feeling that Nioh 2 eventually plateaus,,even if it does take a while.,The sense of excitement and danger that first accompanies missions fades away, and instead,it all becomes business as usual.,Such normalcy isnt terribly bad, thanks to the competency of the core combat,,but it isnt thrilling either.,Perhaps the feeling is more pronounced if you have experience with Nioh 1,,but even if thats true, Nioh 2 still has a tendency to rely on the same tricks.,There are only so many times the game can hide a ranged enemy just out of sight,before its no longer a surprise.,You start to reflexively scan every room, pull out a bow,,and pop off some heads before moving on.,What initially feels like being rewarded for caution becomes mere busywork,after you see it repeatedly, and its just one example of ideas running dry.,Only accentuating the issue is the fact that side missions repeat areas youve already been through,or just pull them straight from the first game.,One of the original Niohs greatest strengths is its weapon diversity, and the same applies in the sequel.,Every weapon is very different in both form and function,,which is amplified by the three stances,and again amplified by the many skills you can unlock and fiddle with.,Though there are only two brand new weapons, each is a valuable addition.,The Switchglaive is particularly creative, completely changing style depending on the stance youre in,,making it especially flashy as you flip between stances during fights.,The twin hatchets are quick and versatile, allowing you to either get in close with a flurry of slashes,or stand back and throw a hatchet at a monsters face, which as it turns out, is a pretty good time.,When combined with the tricky offerings Ninjutsu provides or the wide ranging usefulness of magic,,Nioh 2 gives an abundance of choice and makes it extremely easy to not only try out new things,but to fall in love with multiple options.,Its simple to team up with either a random player or a friend,,but know that doing so almost entirely neuters any challenge.,Still, even with that in mind, having the choice is appreciated.,Considering the length and difficulty of the game, turning it into a more relaxing affair,is a welcome change of pace.,Something new is the ability to call forth temporary NPC companions, which,feels like a great middle ground between playing solo and summoning human allies.,These NPCs are quite dumb and have a penchant for suicide, but,still manage to take off a bit of the edge by drawing attention away from you,,which can be helpful during tough situations like boss fights.,The story of Nioh 2 is all over the place in more than one way.,Thankfully, it doesnt take itself too seriously, inserting a fair amount of humor,and providing opportunities for its goofy cast to shine.,Yet its hard to get too attached with whats going on.,New characters sometimes disappear almost immediately,,and youre also shuffled from one locale to the next in such a way that it can be disorienting.,That isnt to say the story is all that hard to follow, and if anything, its too simple,,with fairly basic themes and nothing remarkable about the presentation.,However,,you do make your own character instead of being stuck with the same guy as everyone else like before.,Its a small feature, but it helps you care more about how you look since theres a greater amount