77
TESTED GAMESauded as the one
‘masocore’ game capable
of standing up to Dark
Souls, there isn’t much that Nioh
needs to do to prove itself the
second time round. So Nioh 2 is
an assured follow-up that iterates
on its own formula, doubling down
on difficulty while also giving you
some new tricks to overcome
those new hurdles.
Taking place 50 years before
the first game in the warring states
of Japan, Nioh 2 charts the rise
of the era’s notorious warriors
and commanders. Of course, in
this world, historical figures and
mythological beasts go hand in
hand – and that’s certainly the case
in the half-human, half-yokai form
of your protagonist.
While the core action still
involves challenging melee combat
where managing your Ki (stamina)
gauge can prove the difference
between life and death, it’s the
supernatural abilities that give
you an extra edge. Slayed yokai
will often drop Soul Cores, allowing
you to harness their own powers
for yourself. Even more vital areguardian spirits that allow you to
transform into a powerful yokai
for a brief time.
Learning these skills can get
cumbersome when you already
have to balance a number of
shortcuts, while you’ll almost
certainly be buried in loot and
menu management. Nonetheless,
some players will welcome the
breadth of options compared
to the very singular-minded
challenges faced in last year’s
Sekiro – including new weapon
types like the Switchglaive, which
owes a debt to the trick weapons
of Bloodborne.
If it all gets too overwhelming,
help can be found by summoning
others online, while the welcome
addition of AI allies found in blue
benevolent graves helps make
these war-torn environments
a little less hostile. Because while
not everyone will find solace in
Nioh 2’s oppressive difficulty,
the charms of friendly yokai and
kindness of strangers make the
struggle more bearable in these
unprecedented times.
Alan WenSTUFF SAYS A bold and brutal sequel that’ll make a samurai out of all who play it ++++,
Nioh 2
Steel yourself for a barbarous but brilliant time cutting down
fantastic beasts in this uncompromising action RPG prequelPS4 / stuff.tv/Nioh2
L
This giant
three-eyed
owl demon is
a Tatarimokke,
and he says you
spilled his pint.This monkey
demon is an
Enki, and you
appear to have
interrupted his
afternoon nap.