Nioh: A Derivative Dark Souls Clone

Nioh:

Nioh: A Tale of Two Englishmen in Feudal Japan

Nioh: A Host of Unnecessary Features

Nioh: A Derivative Dark Souls Clone

With this knowledge, or lack thereof, the player engages Japan's demons. Like Dark Souls, Nioh isn't a stealth game, but it hides enemies about its villages, cliffs, and forests. If the player sneaks up behind an enemy they perform a devastating back-stab against humans, and a small attack against Yokai. The enemy is oblivious; it easy to avoid their attention in front or behind. They don't see anything except at the nearest distance. If shot, foes walk to where the shooter was, and retreat if they don't see them. Even if they approach the spot where they were shot from, and see that the shooter backed up, they won't chase. Most humans and Yokai won't help another monster which has been shot from a distance, so it is an easy trick to draw one out at a time, kill them, and then repeat. Enemies will chase if they see the player kill an ally. Most enemies can't climb ladders, but will know the pathing necessary to reach a distant player. Though ranged enemies should threaten the player, Nioh diminishes them. Every time an enemy sees William, the game notifies the player with a flashing red light. Nioh tries to hide enemies, but their attempts to ambush the player are repetitive, ineffective, and pathetic. A smart player checks corners and doorways, rendering these traps useless. The player can also try to lock-on to enemies, if they think there are any nearby. Some hide, lying down, in tall grass. Locking-on to enemies is a feature that's been around at least since Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In Nioh the player clicks a button to lock on. It stays locked on, and the player can switch between targets if there is more than one. But when the player kills the target the lock on vanishes. It would be better if the lock on moved to another enemy. In the current version, after killing one foe, the player loses perspective, the camera changes, they are attacked from behind as they try to reorient and lock-on to the new target.

The real problem isn't the inability of the enemies to hide, but their incapability of challenging the player in combat. Fextralife, a website which offers walkthroughs and guides for games lists 33 enemies in Nioh. It also records over one hundred foes for Dark Souls III. I noticed this problem after the third level. It was the same enemies over and over again. Regardless of my level they never became any easier. That's because Nioh recycles the same three dozen enemies over and over again, but scales them to the recommended difficulty of the level. Instead of introducing new foes, it pits the same foes against the player. The player becomes stronger, but so do the foes, rendering the improvements irrelevant. Yet the enemies become increasingly easy to defeat, because having seen them hundreds of times, the player memorizes their attack patterns. That's why levels are easy, but bosses offer a challenge.

Unlike the Dark Souls series, Nioh isn't one contiguous area. It's a map of Japan, broken into regional maps. Each regional map offers core missions and side missions. The player needs to defeat all the core missions to advance to the next region. Initially I played side missions. I thought I needed them to stay the right level for the core missions. The side missions have no story, except for inanities like “recover my sword” (so many samurai can't keep ahold of these), “find this [special item],” or “kill demon.” Most side missions reuse the maps of core missions, slightly truncated. They are easier, but they are not worth the time. Nioh also has Twilight Missions. These are tougher versions of core missions, which can only be played after defeating the mission first. Both the side missions and Twilight missions are completely unnecessary for the plot, maintaining the proper level, or even earning items.

Another pointless aspect of Nioh is the recommended levels. Each mission recommends how powerful the player should be, but these numbers are completely wrong. I'm not particularly good at Nioh, but I beat a mission which recommended being level 87 when I was 74, and 120 when I was 98. For both those examples, I only died once in each mission. Another time I entered a mission which recommended level 99, when I was twenty-eight levels lower, and after a half hour I still hadn't earned enough amrita to level up once. Missions don't provide enough amrita to keep up with the recommended level.

While William is on a campaign with many interlocking actors, he rarely sees anyone during a mission. There are almost no NPCs, enemy or ally. In two missions William is accompanied by an allied hero. The final mission gives him two, and the six versus three battles are electrifying. Unlike Dark Souls III, where I often called human controlled, or NPC allies, to defeat bosses, I never asked for another person to assist me in Nioh (there are no computer controlled allies, except in the two levels mentioned). I tried to duel other players in the game's PvP mode, but it couldn't find anyone. Reading about it online, players said the player versus player system was busted.

Like the NPC allies, each mission has a gimmick which appears once, and vanishes. Nioh has its water world, explosive barrels, foul water, amrita stones (this is the only feature to appear more than once), and more. One mission is set in the midst of a gigantic battle, and the player never fights with allies, only finding a bunch of solo standing enemies to vanquish.

In spite of its problems, the map design on Nioh is adequate. The player often finds a split in the path and has to decide how to proceed. Ultimately there's only one correct path, and choosing the wrong one requires doubling back. Shrines are adequately spaced. The player opens up paths backwards to move around the area without difficulty. Nioh hides a number of secrets. It has pretend walls. These are obviously fake, because they have eyes, and make a noise when the player approaches. Nioh hides the Kodama, little green spirits, that perch precariously on cliff edges, or cower in little caves. It places rare items in locations that require a leap of faith, or inquisitive searching. And it secretes away Hot Springs, which provides a temporary healing buff. But unlike Dark Souls III, these are meant to be found. There are no secret secrets. I found nearly all the Kodama, Nurikabe, Hot Springs, and items without breaking a sweat.

The last feature to consider is Nioh's presentation. Initially I thought it ugly. The in-game visuals seemed pathetic for a game from 2017. The areas seemed generic, even the cliffs and outlooks looked boring instead of awe inspiring. The fire, which often ravages cities, appeared fake. The game awkwardly mixes horror with humor, as many of the monsters appear colorfully amusing rather than terrifying. Sometimes small objects on the floor catch the player or enemies. One of the worst mistakes was the flashes of lightning, seen in a room without windows. Over time my opinion of Nioh improved. For those who enjoy graphic violence, attacks separate legs, arms, and heads from foes. Somehow the facial visuals alternate between insufferable and incredibly emotive, especially the eyes. The stylized cut scenes (not the in-game cinematic) are wonderfully done. But the best effects of Nioh are conveyed in sound. They warn of danger, disgust with horrific growling, and encourage with the beautiful sound of nearby Kodama.

In conclusion, Nioh is vastly inferior to the Dark Souls series, while still being an adequate experience. Where it copies Dark Souls it is merely derivative. Where it differs, it stumbles. It has too much stuff, like an overabundance of weapons. It has too many unnecessary, complex, and unexplained systems, like Ki Pulse or weapon specials. It is too repetitive, with a limited number of enemies, and a limited number of tricks to deploy against the player. It is too easy, compared to the depth of Dark Souls. And the story is too disconnected from the gameplay mechanics, rendering it uninteresting and cliched. Nioh thinks more is better, but it would be better if it lost a limb or two.

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