Release: February 2021 PC (2020 PS4)
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Genre: Action, RPG
Gameplay Stats: 80 hours, 44/88 Achievements (so far)
Your intro says "so far", why are you writing this review? Well, I finished the story of the game but I'm going back to get all the achievements. I think 80 hours and a completed plot is enough time with the game to give me an adequate sample to have an opinion. Plus this was where I was when I reviewed the first Nioh the second time, so there's some parity there.
Visuals: Nioh 2 is a really good looking game! Whatever engine they are using for these games looks pretty and operates equally well. I'm sure that parts of this game are considered "hitbox porn". The spirits, characters, demons, and locales all look great. I don't have a high-end PC, but it's definitely one of the prettiest games I've played. Some of the icons could be more descriptive I think, but by in large everything is explained pretty clearly and moves as well as spells are well-telegraphed.
Audio: The music in the game is nice! Definitely fits in with the setting of the game, old-world Japan. Nothing particularly excellent or lack-luster. I don't think I will look up this game's soundtrack for future listening, but I didn't hate any of it going through the game. The sound effects are very good actually. I think they are some top-teir fighting sound effects. The weapons all sound good and unique. Even weapon variations sound different when they strike. There is voice acting in the game, but it's all in Japanese, so I can't really vouch for its quality. It sounded as good as anime I suppose. The voices fitted the characters well enough, but who knows about the delivery.
Plot: Not really anything to write home about here to be honest. I figured out the big plot twist pretty early into the game. This game is a prequel to the first one, so there are some weird transitions between the two games that don't really make that much sense to me, but I didn't honestly pay a huge amount of attention the first time. There were quite a few characters that made a re-appearance in Nioh 2 which was cool, I did recognize some faces for sure.
Gameplay: The meat and potatoes of this game are very largely the same as the previous game, which is to say the fighting. They did simplify a lot of the menus and the skill trees which is extremely nice. They were rather cumbersome in Nioh 1 to say the least. They simplified the elemental damage in the game as well as many of the bonus descriptions which was necessary. They also added a couple additional equipment types and completely added a new skill type. The protagonist that you create is half human, half demon which opens up many skills and additional layers to explore. They are fun for the most part, but they do run into the inventory fatigue issues that the equipment does. The actions that you have access to as a hybrid being are very interesting though! Definitely a nice addition from the first game. There are more skill checks and less waiting than in the first game, it's a good thing.
I fully expect that my impression will brighten as I play more of this game in NG+ because the second playthrough includes dramatically less loot which is definitely my least favorite part of the game. Another reason to do the write-up now! I think Nioh 2 is better than Nioh 1, but if you didn't like Nioh 1 I don't think I can recommend Nioh 2. If you are looking for a new Souls-like and you don't mind the loot, I'd definitely recommend it. [8.5/10]
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