Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition

A masterpiece of combat game design. It's hard to even put into words how much I respect it. The amount of depth is just unbelievable. Fully customizable combos with the ability to go infinite through Ki Pulse are absolutely amazing. I've finished the game with the switchglaive, switching stances right in the middle of combos, and sometimes switching to the claws or splitstaff and back mid-combo and it's just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane. The game has an absurd amount of player agency, skill expression and combat freedom. Somehow this game has a million ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mechanics and none of them feel like bloat once you understand them. Team Ninja are absolute gods of combat design even without Itagaki-san. No one even comes close. Yes it's hard, but they give you a massive, intricate toolkit to master that difficulty any way you want. Absolutely unreal action game. One of the peaks of hardcore video gaming.

The recommended config is a lie and it's a super bad PC port. I had to refund it, as I couldn't maintain a stable 60 FPS. It's better to stick with Nioh 1 anyway, cause the consecutive parts only add some redundant complexity to the skill-based combat and introduce worse levels and world-building instead.

terrible game

I approached this game similarly to elden ring or dark souls. It’s not even close, it just looks like a soulslike. This is more Mortal Kombat RPG than elden ring. The combat is probably the best in any game, without exaggeration. It’s so deep and complex that it will take hours to learn and months to master. The combat reminds me of learning to play a musical instrument. Every system you touch is painfully deep, for better or worse. There is a diablo-style loot fiesta, complex skill trees for samurai, weapons, magic, and ninja skills, a whole array of weapons, three stances for every weapon... It just never stops. I suspect this is the best action game ever made, but you need to give it some time because it’s really hard.

One of the finest action games of the 2020's.

Nioh 2 is a hard game to recommend because a majority of the gameplay is you beating your head against the wall until you win. That being said, the variety of walls and heads that you can use to beat against are phenomenal and varied. You will scream at cheap 'move that kills you' attacks that bosses and monsters use against you. They all have at least one, some have more than that. You will have to be as cheap as possible to enjoy this game and even then it won't hold your hand. Didn't peak the corner? Ninja assassinates you immediately from behind. Didn't finish off this mob? Instant death command grab at low hp. There's so much going on with this game that you have to remind yourself what company made it - Ninja Team - and then it makes sense. I think Nioh 2 is probably the best souls-like game out there but it has a multitude of issues that I just don't think really need to be stated. If you play the game, you know them. It is better than Elden Ring by a vast amount both in storytelling, music, voice acting, sound design, gameplay and theme. If you like Souls-like games and don't mind random vapid difficulty spikes, this game will be right up your alley.