This is a great breakdown of this game. I agree with every point you made here. It's one of those criminally underrated games that are just so incredibly good.
Nioh/2 are both so good, they dont even need multiple sequels to compete with popular games. This franchise is like that quiet kid who outplays almost everybody in the room when contested. I love Nioh 2 and i might never stop loving it. No, i dont want none of that medication, i wanna stay addicted af!
What makes Ninja Gaiden, especially Ninja Gaiden Black, the best? As developer Tomonobu Itagaki said, “what sets Ninja Gaiden apart is that the enemies are smart and intelligent-they’re out to kill you. In other games, there may be lots of enemies, but they’re all stupid; they just stand there for you to cut them up and make you feel good. If you’re going to do that, you might as well cut vegetables.”
Team Ninja has always been the kings of not just Hack-n-slash combat, but of all action combat period. Nioh 2, Ninja Gaiden, and Ninja Gaiden 2 are top 3 action combat in any game ever IMO. Even Final Fantasy: Stranger of Paradise combat ranks EXTREMELY high and underrated, which was also made by Team Ninja. Only reason people rate Stranger of Paradise low cuz the goofy story, goofy characters, and graphics do not look good at all for a modern game. But if a new Final Fantasy game had the same combat and job system of Stranger of Paradise, but just better story, characters, artstyle, and exploration, it would by far be the greatest Final Fantasy game of all time. I really hope Final Fantasy 17 combat takes huge inspiration from Stranger of Paradise.
I 1000000% agree, especially about SoP. That game is amazing. The characters do come off as goofy at first but honestly by the end I thought they were all amazing. Maybe I should make a video about that game too, lmao
definitely, it's a game that you can't expect to pick up and master over the course of a single play-through. Took me a while before it all began to click, it's only gotten better since!
I foresee myself spending thousands of hours playing this game and still have unexplored builds and combos that i can learn, no other game made me feel this way
Hi. Guy with 996.1 hours here: I have reached the skill ceiling on 2 weapons: Katana and Odachi, but I still have all the others to master. I have done a lv1 run from NG up to NG+4, but I still have to do underworld, and there's also stones of penance to go through. I mastered melee builds as a whole (Tank, glass cannon, Balanced, passive, aggressive, middle of the road, you name it.) but I still have to master magic gameplay and Yokai shift gameplay. This game truly doesn't end. Out of all my builds, only 1 has reached the peak of optimization as well.
Nioh 1 and 2 have the best combat system ever made for a 3rd person action-rpg. And the incredible thing is that they are not so similar as we might think.
I remember i bought nioh 2 on a whim because i wanted to play something while i waited for Stellar Blade to come out. By the time it did come out, pretty much the whole time i was playing it i was thinking about how much i'd rather be playing Nioh instead. That was like 6 months ago and Nioh 2 is still my main game.
Nioh 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. Nioh 2, Sekiro, Armored Core 6, Sifu, Hades, and Risk of Rain 2 are games that I will never be tired of.
Wow, the other games are really something I definitely consider way inferior to Nioh, armored core is meh, Sekiro is repetitive and inferior lacking creativity and options, just a rhytm game, Sifu is also another defensive Game parry based lacking of creativity and character designs, Hades is good but too long and kinda boring after a while, games similar for me to Nioh are DMC 3 and V, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden 2 and Razor's Edge, Monster Hunter, Suikoden and other Team Ninja games. For example I enjoyed a lot Wo Long and loved replaying it but Sekiro was something I just played once, the new game plus was more of the same, I enjoyed the gauntlets and got the Tengu costume as proof but, meh I found that game both too long and too short, Ashina is big but there are boring parts, the snow, the begining of the timetravel level, the monkeys etc, NPC's lack of stories and interaction, the story is mediocre, compare it to Lies of P for example with amazing stories and NPC's, point is that Wo Long gives you lots of playthroughs different magics, weapons, arts, playing styles, builds etc, on Sifu and Sekiro this does not happen, while combat is too defensive and scripted, cutting your expression and dictating the rhytm, something you will never find in better games like DMC or Ninja Gaiden. In summary Nioh 2 is pure expression, freedom, overlapping mechanics and player choice while games like Sifu are more focused on just one mechanic that determines how the game can be played.
I really love this game, I knew it when it released for free in Epic Games Store and then I immediately bought Nioh 2 after finishing Nioh The Complete Edition... very fun game and I'd rather play it than most popular action games, it just isn't as popular as other souls and action games but it is a great game overall with the Japanese culture and demons spookiness in it.
Thank you for making this video! Anything from teamNINJA and especially NIOH makes me happy like father and son 😂! But truly teamNINJA are the pioneers of action games❤️
I had so much fun with this game for years, a great improvement from nioh 1, also its fairly reasonable to 100% it. Absolutly worth the money I spent on day one.
man, same. according to the director they would return to nioh after making other games and trying out a bunch of new stuff so they can return to this series with fresh ideas. hopefully nioh 3's on the horizon and isn't just left in the retirement home like ninja gaiden is. thanks for watching!
Y'know i was this close to starting my DMC5 glaze in the comments, but since you mentioned it in the video, i guess i don't need to. Another game that belongs in this discussion is God Hand. God Hand is a beat em up with the kind of mechanics you'd see in a fighting game. I'm talking stuff like counter hits changing attack properties or high attacks being duckable. It also lets you fully customize your moveset. I'd highly recommend it in case you haven't tried it.
absolutely, god hand is definitely a top contender for that title as well. it's a shame the company only managed to make the one game. like sure most of them went over to platinum games to make some bangers but still, imagine that company stayed afloat. thanks for watching, i think you're the first person to even bring up that game lmao
I loved both nioh games I put so many hours into nioh1 as for nioh 2 I still have a blast till this day 😊I’m glad people still play these beautiful games ❤
actually i have bought the game 3 days ago and now this video pops up further convincing me to finallly install it. looks great. i immediately noticed there are no dmg numbers on your screen. numbers cluttering the screen in other nioh clips was a turn off point for me but apparently you can just disable them. good
Just remember to put on the numbers when you’re in the dojo or build crafting. There’s a lot of damage bonuses and sources that may or may not stack or may or may not apply to certain skills and you won’t know which skills are slapping or wet noodling without numbers etc Good luck brother
My favorite game. Personally, even if it isn't good, I even like the story. Also, a lot of people say the level design is bland. I think the opposite. It's just right. Also, this game is so deep that, after 700 hours and beating everything including max stone depths, I think "I'd like to go back to Nioh 2 sometome and actually learn how to play it". But maybe the game isn't just about learning advanced breathing techniques and slaying demons. Maybe the real game is about all the Kodamas we befriended along the way.
That 700 hours line hit hard cause that was 100% true for me, in Nioh 1 though. Once you put aside the cheese and meta abuse and try to properly learn the game it becomes a whole new animal.
I think a lot of starting players are put off by the initial difficulty but once you start "beginning to believe" it is incomparable to other games in its genre. There are so many details in this game that are so underappreciated, mainly, the ungodly amounts of weapon attacks, that vary from weapon to weapon. To anyone that is new, DO THE SIDE MISSIONS, or you'll end up like me, 25 levels under the recommended one. It really makes a difference. Sure some enemies might still 2 hit you but at least you won't die to most bs attacks.
Hey, very nice video overall, you really show what the game is capable of, and it will hopefully make people more interested in the game. However, something that is not about the content is the background music in the video, which is a bit too loud sometimes. No offense, I just wanna let you know cause it will prob help you grow out more
hey absolutely no offense taken, I really appreciate your comment. Thank you for taking the time out to let me know, I'll keep that in mind going forward.
Nioh 1 and 2 are absolute gems. If o had advice for a new player, id say pick 1 weapon, pick one element and just build your character around that concept. Youll have a simple strategy and end up with a strong character with plenty of options that doesn't overwhelm.
solid advice, Nioh's definitely a lot of baby steps before you can really start walking and even running with the combat and all the systems there. so starting as small as possible and building your way up taking in what you can is the best approach for new players i feel. thanks for watching!!
In a Nioh video binge atm, I dont own the game but im a huge hack and slash fan, but more Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising. I wanted to see the hype for Nioh to see if I should pick it up as I know this is a bit of a souls like and has a targeting system unlike those 3. So this was the perfect video for me. Anyone else in the comments a hack and slash fan that plays Nioh?
@@VikingGoblin hack and slash? I can see why it looks like a hack and slash from the gameplay - but it’s more like if Tekken, Path of Exile and a ‘hack and slash’ had a threesome at a Soulslike Diddy party, this would be their love child. You should get this game 100%. He wasn’t lying, it is the best combat system of any game ever made. There’s a reason why Nioh 2 player count spiked 2 weeks after Wu Kong was released - it’s because people finished Wu Kong and it reminded them of how there’s nothing quite like Nioh 2. Get this game, play for it a bit and I promise you that you’ll be on your break at work thinking about builds and combos 😂
It's in that conversation for sure. Nioh 2 is as good as any game that Team Ninja ever made, and they made Ninja Gaiden. Truly a glorious achievement that takes elements from classic action and Souls and perfects the ARPG formula.
I couldn’t beat the 1st big monster even after trying like 20 times 😂 i quit. But liked the way it gave u the option of diff weapons and how smooth it felt
Maybe one day. I think with Itagaki--the mastermind behind the series gone they're really afraid to touch it. But it would be amazing to see what the current team could do with what they've accomplished with Nioh and going all out for a new Ninja Gaiden. Would be a dream
I’m conflicted on this game. I feel like I liked it overall, but there was a lot that I didn’t like at all as an action game lover. I feel like the general enemies really lacked variety and the boss AI was borderline braindead. Many bosses fell to what felt like cheesy tactics even though I was just waiting them out blocking, and using a skill after blocking or dodging. I wasn’t OP at all my whole playthrough. Stopped playing after the Gyuki fight, which was my favorite. Absolutely hated the bloat of items and having to organize my gear every time I went into a mission bc of how full it constantly is, and the constant reuse of bosses and enemies in the side missions. Just felt like this game really prioritized the weapons and skills aspect of development (my favorite thing in the game, along with the Oni counter, and Ki pulsing) and the enemies didn’t get much love. The human bosses in particular, were braindead easy, which was confusing for me, as Nioh fans say it’s the hardest game there this. Lmk what u all think! My fav action games are Sekiro, DMC 5, and Bloodborne.
I ignore gear altogether in this game til later NG+ cycles when difficulty goes absolutely crazy and enemies get faster, have new scarier attacks, etc. There's a setting in your menus that lets you only pick up highest rarity gear. I do that, I ignore everything that isn't the highest tier. I replace whatever I'm using with the higher level weapon, I don't care for rolls, I don't care to fine tune the rolls, I just need it to get me to the next gear drop to replace it and that's all that matters. Also side missions are just that, they're not important, totally optional if all you care about is progressing the main mission, so if you don't care for re-fighting bosses you can just skip those no biggie. The enemy variety is pretty minimal to start, for sure. but that's more to ease you into things. more and more enemies get introduced and then are regularly distributed in the higher NG+s. As far as human enemies, the hardest ones haven't appeared yet. If you do the optional mission in this or the earlier region to fight a guy named Saito he's the first of quite a few scary human bosses. But where you're at at the moment the human enemies are nothing to write home about. I think when people say Nioh is the hardest they probably mean at the higher NG+'s. NG and NG+ are often jokingly called the tutorial in the community, cause it's very easy. I don't think anyone decent with action games would argue otherwise, which it sounds like you're pretty decent with DMC5 being a favorite of yours. Thanks for watching
@@shape664 yeah I gotta get back to it at some point for sure! So much cool stuff deeper in and I really do want to love it. Thanks for ur reply and great vid!
Bought Nioh 1 years ago but never played it. Watched a playthrough of it tho and it looks amazing but a bit overwhelming maybe. But now after Shadow of the Erdtree and Wukong I think it might be time. Though perhaps I might play Lies of P first.
it can definitely be overwhelming if you try and take in everything at once cause there's alot there. If you play it at your own pace and learn the mechanics gradually you'll have a much better time. Lies of P is also another great game too though, can't go wrong starting with either! thanks for watching :)
definitely give it a try! if you liked nioh especially. it builds off of what makes that game great and improves in all directions. thnaks for your comment!
When this game came out I was stuck on it for a good 3 to 4 months, I mean I replayed it repeatedly using 2 wpns at a time. It's definitely up there on action games but in terms of the best I haven't found a game that Dethrones DMC 5.
Nioh 2 great game.i just did return to nioh2 .sadly stuck in depths and want some adviced .seeing ur spear user what be best way spec points and grace sets for spear if ok asking no one hardly uses it and i love spear.i like be aggressive and useing oymro magic what be best way go lmk please and ty .im lvl 705
tsukuyomi if magic, marici if ninjutsu. I rock a really glassy set of genmei + tsukuyomi and wouldn't really recommend it to people already having a hard time because you die pretty fast. There's some other good caster sets too like the onmyo warrior that i would recommend. something that oyamatsumi + onymo warrior for maximum tankiness. If you want advice I'm currently streaming atm (www.twitch.tv/shape_ ) and will be for a bit, i also have a very small discord of helpful players if you want to join that and they can help you get stuff figured out there :)
I still feel like ki pulse and stance dancing has yet to be topped by any soulslikes in terms of fun and freedom of expression. It honestly disappointed me that Team Ninja ditched it in favor of the deflection system; which (while fun in its own right) puts the combat on rails of just waiting for your turn with bosses.
The last few TN action games in general are very good and underrated. Nioh 2 is their best effort by far and IMO is better than the FS games that inspired it.
Very true, it's sad how underrated they are. Nioh 2 is their best so far, but they've shown a willingness to experiment with their titles that came after, (wo long, SoP, ronin) I hope if/when they return to Nioh they use everything they learned to make an absolute banger. Thanks for watching!
@@shape664 Agreed. I like the different takes in their other games that you mentioned. But I think no matter what, TN games will always be a bit more niche because they don't have the streamlined appeal of FS games or something. Their games likely scare away casual players because they are intimidating as you say. And they are more fast paced than your average action game today.
Okay so i first wanna give a few technical advices and then i wanna tackle some of your points as well. In the intro section of the video you should really balance the audio better, your delivery is good and it definitely is felt that you are excited to be talking about this topic but your voice is too quiet and is being overpowered by the music, a bit of balancing here can go a long way. At one point you said you would go through the intro of the game and showcase the things you are explaining during the semi-tutorial area, which could've definitely helped you structure that part a bit better had you gone through the village of blossom mission, of course not through the entirety of it but shown bits and pieces. For example shown the way you get your first yokai soul core and then explaining what the mechanic is and then moving over to your endgame character and showcased some cool uses and how it connects to the yokai shift and so on. This would've added some nicer structure to the actual video and helped new comers understand these additions a bit more easily since that's what the goal of the video seemed to be. Now during the tutorial you went through the character creator and gave it some props for its robustness. This is fine and ties quite well into the recommendation of the video to new players, however it distracts a bit from the point of Action combat, so i would either like you to go more in depth on other stuff, or moreso mention them at least the loot system the art direction as a sort of additional bonus points, or omit the character creation segment bar mentioning the fact the protagonist is a blank slate who is half yokai and half human, where i would like you to note another thing that i would like you to improve on. When discussing new things which are more niche (in this case the term Yokai) or game specific (in this case ki pulses) you should in general ease your audience and explain these terms even with just 1 line so they can more easily follow. I.e Yokai a sort of japanese demon while showcasing the thing on screen. And another note here is since you are willing to do some editing when mentioning stuff like I'll let the multiple subreddits speak for themselves just have footage of you scrolling through them or showcasing their existence on screen so that the viewer can both get more trust in your words and actually visualise the thing you are saying without needing to google for themselves. Now with all of this out of the way and i am sorry for going so in depth but i love seeing the passion and you are a relatively small channel so i wanted to give a few pieces of advice. But i do love this video and the passion and completely agree that Nioh 2 is by far the best action game i've ever seen. The sheer amount of variety the game offers you in combat is simply mind boggling. Each weapon has 3 stances, technically for, you can carry any combination of 2 weapons, any combination of 2 spirits while having any combination of 6 soul cores to those spirits. It's simply baffling how unique you can make your playthrough, with the addition of magic and ninjutsu and ethereal gear having those unique graces and scrolls which can completely change how the game feels it's just so bloody spectacular. What to me elevates Nioh 2 above other games with deep and intricate combat systems is the actual other side. Most action combat games just focus on the combat system rather than the enemies you fight. Regular Yokai in Nioh 2 feel deeper and more complex and more intricate than bosses in other similar games. It takes the design of Fromsoft for their bosses with deep and intricate movesets and plasters that all across the game with just the simple of encounters. Stuff like magatsu yasha kiryoki Nuppepo oboroguruma itsumade suiki fuki etc. all feel like proper bosses from your great third person action game. And that moment to moment gameplay is filled with unique encounters with formidable foes that are your elite enemy type, no other game to me has that feeling, most third person action games are simply here kill fodder now kill god lol of course im being hyperbolic but you get my point. Nioh 2 just stikres that perfect balance of amazing combat and amazing enemies coupled with unique and complex systems outside of both of those with a little bit of visual flair the game is just peak. Thank you for making this video i definitely enjoyed it and i can't wait to see more from ya!
Oh wow, I appreciate you really going into detail like this. It lets me know what to focus on more. I do agree with the audio for sure for example, it's definitely something I need to work on. And it was a struggle trying to figure out what to expand on and what to show off, so as you point out there was more I could've done in those instances, and i did even want to talk about yokai and how different they were from humans in terms of combat, etc but i held back on that and a number of other things for the sake of it being simpler more digestible to a new audience. Part of me wanted to really go crazy with it but at the same time cause the channel is small would it have been worth it? (maybe!) And yeah, the sheer customization blows my mind. And not just that but how easy it is to switch things around so you never feel locked in or confined to your build or setup you switch on the fly if you want. With most games, it feels like they try to box you in or limit the things you can do for the sake of balance or something. The fact Nioh 2 is so willing to let you go absolutely wild with your setups and have so many different pieces for you to put together and experiment with is impressive and just plain makes me happy lmao I appreciate your thoughtful comment, thank you for watching
@@shape664 Yeah the part about expanding things is msotly for the sake of clarity and flow rather than it feeling you just hitting bulletpoints it woudl have a nice flow to it, and in general the higher quality and more in depth a video is by a smaller creator the bigger spotlight it gets. Hopefully you get a bigger audience and then get to go full blown in depth analysis of the game. Yeah my first playthrough of nioh 2 i simply went each checkpoint i swapped a weapon combo and i leveled every stat evenly bar magic and ninjutsu where i went for cap on the carry limit and simply played like that, i only made a build when i was doing the depths lol. It was so jarring to me when i went and played the fromsoft games after where i felt soo limited inside of a build path with litle way of experimenting unless i fully respec which was rare and expensive whereas in nioh 2 the respecs are cheap and readily available. So many aspects of this game are well thought out and i am sad there is no full blown in depth analysis on youtube for it, some day tho i hope haha. I can't wait to see what other stuff you cook up since you seem quite passionate and are quite new to content creation so the sky's the limit with such passion!
My favorite action game is Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. I loved Nioh 1 and even thought I bought the steelbook at release, I still have not played Nioh 2.
It's weird how Nioh 2 stood above the other studio's efforts post Ninja Gaiden. The first Nioh got stale and boring after 20 hours. And Wo Long was absolute donkey nuts. Nioh 2 is probably the best modern action game with a Soulslike vibe that isn't made by FROMsoft
They made something special with 2. I wonder if they'll be able to repeat that at some point. I feel the same way--especially Wo Long compared to Nioh 2 is so lacking. I get that they're experimenting with new systems and stuff with it but sheesh.
Seems interesting, i was recently taking a few looks here and there on the game on the past days, it seemed interesting but not enough to make me want to play, but after this i may give it a shot after im done playing Deepwoken (Peak game too, i heavily recommend playing that despite the graphics and visuals)
Have you played the ninja gaiden games on higher difficulties? They're also made by team ninja and are another set of contendors for the throne of best action game
thanks man, i appreciate it! the tracks are all from the game, first track is titled "Imagawa Yoshimoto", second is "Peace", third is "William", and the fourth track used is "Opening"--basically its the opening them that plays before title screen. And definitely try it if you can!
I love both nioh and nioh 2 but I do prefer nioh 1. The level design is a big point why I love the forst more. That and story. Not saying story on two isn't bad by any means but it doesn't compare to the previous
Level design in 1 was so great. To this day I remember the ninja mansion full of trap doors and ambushes and man. It's all so good! I can appreciate your perspective cause I do agree Nioh 1 has a leg up there. Thanks for watching!
maaaaaaan i really want to agree with you! I have beat this thing up to like NG+4 and grinded bosses for gear forever but it just doesn't have the counters like i like for normal attacks (like stranger of paradise, another certified team ninja classic). if it just had that one thing (which would admittedly change the entire game so you can symmetrically disregard my entire comment lol) it may well be my GOAT action game, which now belongs to sekiro. PS: that dude from the first 2 minutes of your video gave me PTSD. PPS: i wish i could appreciate dmc like the rest of the world but my favorite is DMC: devil may cry ☠😭 who tf likes revving nero's sword after every swing?!?! royal guard in DMC 3 & 5 is pretty fun tho.
that dude from the initial 2 mins is definitely one of the meanest bosses lmao and man, stranger of paradise is amazing, i forgot all about the counter you can do for that game. I need to revisit it at some point. and nothing wrong with that being your favorite!!
I have both Nioh 1 and 2 but for some reason I decided to read into Japanese folklore beforehand and ended up pushing them for way too long. I played a bit of Nioh 1, loved getting humbled by it but I didn't have much time at the moment so I didn't pick it back up. Recently I got Rise of Ronin but I'm decided to get to this game after that.
Great video! I just started another playthrough of Nioh 2 after my first being over 330+hrs. While I already know how to play the game and pretty decent stringing combos together, I love watching RU-vidrs give this game praise as time passes. I even bought the remastered edition just basically I love the game that much, im willing to support Team Ninja again....and I guess Sony too 😑 Everyone loves to compare it to Dark Souls as if it's some sort of cheap knockoff, but its ironically the complete opposite! Nioh action is soooo versatile and complex, the game is literally begging you to toy around with everything it has to offer. Team Ninja has always been in the background of action games due to some of their past games not selling well and it's hard for them to compete with juggernauts like FromSoft, but DAAAAMMMMMNNN one thing they always know how to nail is the combat in their games. They want players to fell like a ADHD crackhead samurai ninja, but you must have the skills to back it up, which unfortunately in today's standards, people rather have easier game experiences rather than challenge themselves, so games like Nioh get swept under the rug. Glad to see the community is still keeping it alive and show love time to time!
It really is a shame. Team Ninja has been really consistent with making stellar games but they've always been underappreciated which blows my mind. I think it's like you said though about skill. Souls games are pretty basic with light and heavy attack being the only thing you're required to know how to fight, which makes it a lot more accessible. No hate on fromsoft games I love them too, just wish it hadn't consumed the entire genre to the point where every action game is a "soulslike" somehow and always gets compared to it. Thanks for watching :)
Only gripe with this game is I hate fighting human enemies. Those hyper armors and ki recovery get really annoying in higher difficulties. I know this is a skill issue. But I aint the only one with this complaint. Still, this game is just something else. I keep coming back and I already have 500 hours playing it.
Strongly considering a fresh playthrough with fists. Seeing the progression from the beginning would be dope. Thanks for this video. I try to tell my friends nioh 2 is the best game they haven't played but they're largely stuck on elden ring. Which I put 120 hours into with them, but immediately came back to nioh 2 after. This game has ruined other games for me. I haven't even tried black myth wukong cuz...why?
otakemaru with pants should be added in depths , even better if they made him as 3 phase boss. first with pants, then regular naked base game (story final boss version with 3 yokai shift), and nightmare bringer
