Nioh Review - IGN

Nioh could well take over 100 hours if you set out to master its many side missions on top of its tough campaign, but it’s a challenge well worth taking. The way it builds on its most obvious inspirations with a highly refined combat system and an unexpectedly charming, yet gritty style all on its own allows it to boldly carve out its own identity, standing as a shining example of what action RPGs can be.

[DarkOcelet]

Team Ninja is back. I can't wait to play this beauty.

[UCForce]

Yup, Team Ninja is back.

[Andreas-Sword]

Yes.
Nioh is my Most Wanted game.

[starchild]

They really are. I've always loved the Ninja Gaiden series and the SoulsBorne games, so I guess it's not too surprising that I loved the Nioh demos and can't wait for the game to come out.

[Pego]

Indeed, I love Team Ninja and Nioh looks spectacular!

[badz149]

Without Itagaki too. What an overrated rockstar wannabe!

[UCForce]

I'm already pre order game.

[IamTylerDurden1]

I hope it sells well, it deserves to. Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, and now Nioh. These PS4 exclusives are extremely high quality and it's hardly even February.

[Kingthrash360]

Kingdomw hearts and Tales of beseria rated well to...5 exclusives in less than 60 days that rated well is just unheard of this time of the year...Sony is doing big things.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Wow, Jim Sterling gives it a 10/10 and ign 9.6/10. Damn, Nioh is the truth. First Bloodborne now Nioh, PS4 is becoming the SoulsStation.

[Epicor]

Wow, all these great reviews and amazingly beautiful game-play have definitely put this one on my radar. I'm not typically a fan of this kind of games but Nioh looks (and probably feels) terrific. It makes me kind of sad because there is a somewhat saturated market of action RPGs and I'm not sure if Nioh has the marketing power it would deserve. I just have this feeling that Nioh will end up being one of those critically acclaimed games that never received the sales it would have deserved. Hope I'm wrong. Support this game!

[Letthewookiewin]

I got mine!

[starchild]

I already preordered it, which I don't do often. The three generous demos, though, made it clear to me I would love the game.

I hope it sells very well. It deserves to. And I just want to see more Nioh games or games like it.

[Sevir]

The Flood gates open and we are drowning in PS4 exclusives... :)

2017 is gonna be amazing

[chrisx]

Took IGN long enough. Guess they were having great fun and dieing lots of times. A Great new exclusive PS franchise is born.

[Thunder_G0d_Bane]

I don't get how dying lots of times and fun can be used in the same sentence....

Maybe i'm too old skool but dying in games equals frustration. Witcher 3 is the game of the generation for me so far followed by Dying Light, two of the most amazing games this gen.

[TheGamez100]

If youve played any of the souls/bloodborne games, you'd understand. Underneath all that frustration of dying and loss, theres great reward and feeling of accomplishment if you succeed which overshadows the frustration. Definately not for those who hate dying alot.

Edit: Lol yup as Shin-Zantetsuken perfectly explains, tons of old school games were damn frustratingly difficult, I could only ever beat em with save states and cheats

[MeteorPanda]

You dont learn anything livong through every fight. You learn through defeat and when you win finally victory is that much sweeter.

If anytging the souls genre prepares you for the real world
Dont give up!

[joab777]

All I gotta say is try it. If you are old school then you remember why dying over and over can be rewarding. You are learning the language of the game, getting better and better and accomplishing tasks you never thought you could. Hell, if Nioh and Souls were really old school, you'd lose all your progress every time you died with no chance of getting it back!

Yes. TW3 is amazing in almost every way.and it is my game of this gen, but even death march is too easy. It doesn't provide that ecstasy that Souls and Nioh do!

[andrewsquall]

Do you mean "game of the generation" as in you died a lot and was frustrated??? Because I agree. The Witcher 3 on the hardest difficulty indeed was hard and I died a lot at the start and the 1 minute and 30 seconds loading times between dying and getting back into the game was the most frustrating thing of all.
Luckily its about 5 seconds in this game which changes everything.

[Trez1234]

Old skool ? Man even zelda on the nes was tough and I died alot in that game. Nevermind castlevania, metroid, ghost and goblins etc... hell, demon/dark souls was a throw back to the old school and the main reason why it has this cult status.

[UCForce]

Really ? Nioh remind me a lot of Demon Souls. Old School can be fun, too.

[nowitzki2004]

Old school? really? Old school games are not that easy lol , you might want to go play some.

[Chaos_Order]

If I die in a game because of bad camera, poor mechanics or glitches? Sure, that's frustrating. If I die because I made a mistake then that's just another challenge I need to overcome.

[Tapani]

Old school? Like Space Invaders, Ultima, Dragon Quest, and Pacman old school? Like Ghosts'n' Goblins, Castlevania and Mega Man 2 old school?

I'm sure you played them all without dying at all and had a lot of fun!

[SpinalRemains138]

I'm the opposite. Running thru a game and feeling invincible isn't fun. I'd rather read a book. When a game is hard and you must overcome, then you feel that you have accomplished something.

[thekhurg]

Witcher 3 is still the best game of the generation but that doesn't mean the souls style games are bad. Games used to Ben about dying all the time.

Not sure if you're really old school or not based on your statement.

[Greg2801]

I dont understand that you use the words old school, and then name games like The Witcher 3 and Dying Light....

[WelkinCole]

You obviously never played games on the NES like contra or Ninja Gaiden

[Clunkyd]

Because it's much more rewarding when beating a boss.

[SmielmaN]

I've been gaming for almost 30 years. I'm just going to say it... I hated witcher 3. Thought it was boring and clunky. There, I said it. Couldn't even finish it. Bored me to tears.

[objdadon]

You can't be old school with that mentality lol.

[joab777]

I prefer this. I'd rather know that the reviewer takes his/her time playing through it and getting the best possible experience instead of racing to be one of the first. They are afforded this luxury b/c they don't have to be first, so I am glad they have chosen to be more cautious and thorough.

[Bathyj]

I never played the Souls games, but I jumped in on Bloodborne, I couldn't resist it. It was challenging for sure, I died plenty but I don't think excessively, and when I did die I never felt cheated. The game was hard but it was fair and if I died it was my fault. And every time I did a little better.

Besides I'd heard so much about Father Gascoyne, but I beat him on my first go, so the game's challenges are tough but definitely doable.

[MoveTheGlow]

Yeah, they delayed their score and really got through the whole game before reviewing it, and in the pre-review they said if they could score it at the moment, it would be a 9.0. So that score went *up* to near-10 after playing it all the way through, and that's an amazing sign.

[Youngindy21]

Who said it was an exclusive PS franchise? If there is a sequel there is no guarantee it will be exclusive to PS4.

[basilboxer]

Anything to bash on ign, huh? Even when they take the time constructing a solid review.

[Malice-Flare]

now, that's how you evolve the Souls formula. i still liked Lords of the Fallen though...

[MeteorPanda]

Im starting that game now, thinking of going rogue dagger class, any tips?

[Malice-Flare]

jealous, my pre-load starts 15 hours from now... :(

i'm going for a ninja build...

sorry, mis-read your post, yes, i recommend starting with rogue with deception, but switch your dagger with a straight sword for more damage and practice parrying as most of the enemies can be parried...

[IamTylerDurden1]

Agreed, i love LotF but Nioh takes the best parts of Dark Souls and adds faster, more impressive combat. It takes it to a unique setting as well. This is probably the best non From Software Souls game.

[DarXter]

Playing LotF now while waiting on Nioh. Its a pretty nice game so far (terrible framerates though)

[leahcim]

I cannot wait for play Nioh and just like you I really liked Lords of the Fallen I hope its devs have the chance of creating a sequel in the near future.

[pyroxxx]

Really wonder how this pro boost mode affects Lords of the Fallen ... because mechanics are pretty good,.. as much as I really don't care about framerate,.. I had big issues with this game, dropping way too much,..
but I still think the game is really good.

[sullynathan]

It doesn't evolve the souls formula per se, instead it adds combos to and better responsiveness to the combat part of the souls games. The game looks like a regression in everything that the souls games had except combat.

Lords of the fallen is completely garbage.

[starchild]

@sullynathan

It seems like you hate any game with combat that ISN'T a SoulsBorne game. It's like you got used to those games and can't enjoy any other action RPG ever again.

[DeadSilence]

Meanwhile on Xbox...

[MasterCornholio]

That's not appropriate.

[MeteorPanda]

Kids love to gloat, its pathetic

[MasterCornholio]

@Meteor

Oh I know. I mean it's fantastic that NiOh is a great game for PS4 owners but there's no need to make fans of other systems feel bad because of it. Comments like his are the main reason why fights break out here.

[thekhurg]

Doesn't make it any less hilarious though.

[Sono421]

Winners love to gloat*

Just saying.. you don't hear losers gloating.. unless they're delusional.. you know like gloating about how many zombies killed... lol sorry I couldn't help myself ^_^

[WickedLester]

But funny LOL!

[Silly gameAr]

It's really not. Xbox has nothing to do with anything here.

[notachance]

lol that username fits your comment so much

[Trez1234]

No need.

[MRMagoo123]

come on guys .....you really don't need to start this sh!t up, there is far too many arguments anyway but blatant remarks like that make Sony fans look like di#$heads and they mess up the thread when everything gets marked as inappropriate.

I can understand if you were defending something because of a trolling remark but this is imo uncalled for.

[KenichiEbina]

I agree with you there mate. We all know ps4 is crushing xbox and making it look like a piece of joke which it is . But still, we should be magnanimous in victory.

[I-wear-clothes]

I can understand trashing the console if you don't like but c'mon "dipshit xbots"? There's no need to insult anyone just because they like a console.

[goldwyncq]

I'm a playstation gamer but I won't deny that Sony fanboys are the worst. Stop making us look bad ffs.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Or, meanwhile on PC...

In all honesty though, if you love the Souls genre and don't own a PS4 you're doing it wrong..

[SgtSlaughter212]

What a d-bag comment.

[RDF]

Unnecessary ._.._.._.._ but funny

[PistolsAtDawn]

...people don't have to listen to your ignorance on XBL. Win-win

[Skillz1215]

ha!

[MasterCornholio]

Wow that's amazing.

[VsAssassin]

Boom! Not that I needed IGN's review, but this is truly a meaty game! Can't wait for tomorrow!

[G20WLY]

Agreed. Don't care what IGN think, as they're an unreliable POS website, but still I'm glad there wasn't too much water for them lol

Everyone's loving this game. A good old school challenge with a deep combat system and lovely visuals. Great stuff!

[TheGoodestBoi]

Cant wait! Tommorow my ps4 pro and Nioh arrives! (Wouldve prefereed if the kept the originial ps4 upgrade code name then it would be Neo arriving with Nioh tommorow. K bye)

[MeteorPanda]

With a chance of Nier? I am still confusing these two names lol

[LandCruiser]

WoW! What a masterpiece. Glad I have a ps4 to enjoy GOTY 2017 contender.

[FallenAngel1984]

I hope Team Ninja could apply this level of quality to a future Ninja Gaiden title

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Tell me about.. the original version of NG3 was the pits!

[KuroKiko]

Reminds me of Demon Souls.

[Thunder_G0d_Bane]

Higher than Uncharted 4 and Witcher 3? I don't see how a game has copied another formula from another franchise (Souls) scores higher than franchises that set the bar for their genres.

In fact it scored higher than Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 the very franchise it stole its formula from.

[MeteorPanda]

Um, because it isnt a f'ing clone? Its inspired by and shares the same genre. You even check out the games inner workings like craft and fighting mechanics??

Thats like saying the first rpg game cannot be topped because the rest are all clones....

[Trez1234]

I love uncharted but after reading your comment you must hate it because that game took alot from tomb raider. Uncharted is so good that now even tomb raider's taking some from it.

Nioh isn't the first nor will be the last game to be inspired but another.

[Bathyj]

That's a fallacy. Uncharted plays almost nothing like the original Tombraider. The main similarity is they both roam the world looking for treasure. The Tombraider reboot took more from uncharted than Uncharted ever took from Tombraider.

[Trez1234]

^^ yes I agree that tomb raider took alot more from uncharted but just like you said, the main similarities are the treasure hunting, climbing mechanic too even though they both execute it differently.

Me personally when I was asked what kind of game the first uncharted was, I just said it was similar to tomb raider.

[Liqu1d]

The demos alone were better than Dark Souls 3 in my opinion.

[sullynathan]

they weren't

[Liqu1d]

@sullynathan They weren't better in my opinion? Lol okay, thanks for letting me know.

[guyman]

Sullynathan is butthurt at how successful nioh is. Apply the lotion.

[sullynathan]

Seeing as how I've played the beta and I'm looking forward to the game, wouldn't say I'm butthurt at all

https://youtu.be/YT5dzhAJBU...

[thekhurg]

Did you play the demo? In spirit it copied elements but it feels entirely unique and fresh. Combat pacing is different and more complex with stances and weapon combos as well.

Not saying it's better or worse but you can't just dismiss it as a clone when it's not.

[pyroxxx]

I can see it higher than Witcher 3 any day of the week,.. not shocking at all. Hell think it plays even better than souls(and that is some hard game to compete with)

[Dragonscale]

@thunder, you'd be hard pressed to find many games not inspired by other games or even other media. Even the Souls games were inspired this way.

[-Foxtrot]

It's a brand new franchise while Uncharted 4 and Witcher 3 are sequels ahead in their own franchises.

Different if it was Nioh 4 compared to Uncharted 4 or something

[JackieDrunken]

Pre ordered deluxe edition from psn! Playable in 18 hours!!! So excited!!! Poor girlfriend and family members won't be seeing me for awhile lol! Damn 9.6?!?!! I knew I was going to like the game because of my love for Soul series and in playing the demos for it. But am pleasantly surprised how well it's doing with critics! Going to be long 18 hour wait!

[TheGoodestBoi]

Loving all these rpgs coming out. Nioh, Nier Horizon. Meanwhile still playing Tales of Berseria

[MeteorPanda]

Been watching cohh play this. As someone who loved bloodborne more than souls 3 l feel this is my next plat game on the ps4. Im happy for team ninja for the scores this games getting

[thekhurg]

Bloodborne was so amazing that DS3 while still good felt shallow in comparison.

[sullynathan]

how? BB is technically the most shallow Souls game if were talking mechanics

[Darkfist_Flames]

Finally finished Gravity rush 2(took longer than i thought), nioh really getting alot of good reviews, too bad im not enjoying this because of the stupid stamina system they put on the game, and i loved Bloodborne, guess it time to try ReCore.

[G20WLY]

Lol?

[Dragonscale]

Bloodborne also had a 'stupid' stamina system. You've obviously never played the Souls games then. And what does that have to do with recore?

[Darkfist_Flames]

not as stupid as your character completely stopped moving to take a breath in nioh.

[Ceaser9857361]

The Last Guardian, Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0 and Nioh all above 80s ... 4 PS4 exclusives back to back are doing great.. Congratulations Sony and the developers who put their heart and soul into it for us gamers to enjoy... Next Horizon Zero dawn..

[Rangerman1208]

A 9.6? Damn that's like, .1 higher than Dark Souls 3's IGN score.

[OsafuneKatana]

Calm down fellas. I know yoy guys are excited for Nioh. I am extremely excited too. Let's not trash xbox in this article, xbox does that for itself, on its own. Enjoy the game PS4 gamers.

[G20WLY]

A point well made.

[gustave154]

holy shit the scoreee

[Inzo]

WHAT!!! A full review from IGN!!!! I was expecting a "Review in progress" review.

[nowitzki2004]

Thats been up on IGN for like a week.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Should make the wait for Bloodborne 2 a little easier.

[il-JumperMT]

omg ign gave it 9.6. Considering ign standard that is really high

[greywolf39]

Team NINJA Baby l. When they are partnered with sony they have the creative freedom THEY WANT

[MoveTheGlow]

After seeing some of this at 60fps on Twitch, I can see why. This is such a great merging of Ninja Gaiden, Onimusha, and Souls in one package. And those are three of my favorite games, so I'm psyched.

[theshredded]

Damn went from buying sometime later to day 1 purchase! Never played a genuine team ninja game other than DOA5 which is just fanservice...

[callahan09]

Dayum! I gotta play this game!

[pyroxxx]

Yep,.. kinda makes sense ,.. though,.. anyone who played Alpha/beta/demo for a few hours should have known that this was a classic in the making,.. Haven't felt this excited since Demon's souls,.. It just has insane amount of addicting properties,..with incredible leveling/loot loop,.. really hard to stop playing it Hell even IGN sees it for what it is,.. potentially game of the generation only rivaled by Bloodborne

[StrawberryDiesel420]

I totally agree with your assessment. Team Ninja has created a brand new IP that is destined for greatness with Nioh.

[Moe-Gunz]

Finished Yakuza 0 just in time.

[StormLegend]

Sony is on a roll!

[modelgod]

I have to admit, I'm a die hard Microsoft fanboy but after the cancellation of Scalebound, and the greatness ofor Nioh, I'm ready to purchase a PS4.

[Cohagen420]

Gotta go where the games are at my friend.

[fromchildren]

Just get a pc, it will satisfy your xbox needs

[Elda]

You won't regret it!

[StrawberryDiesel420]

And Yakuza 0 which has been praised by critics and gamers. Then Horizon Zero Dawn which I'm sure will be huge critically scoring mostly 9's across the board. And there's still the rest of 2017 which will be chock full of PS4 exclusives and great multiplats.

[BlakHavoc]

I'm a sucker for pain, bring on the brutal challenge Team Ninja!🏯

[tulholdren]

Can't wait to crush all as I open up the story. Going to be another packed exclusive year for me.

[sullynathan]

never take IGN reviews seriously but the game is looking good.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Pre-loading the game right now.

Love the theme it came with too.

[Relientk77]

Damn fantastic score

[Chexs1990]

Playing it now and it's god damn addicting :D
Fans og both soulsborne & NG like me will most probably love it ^^
Soulsborne fans be warned though, it is slightly easier (at least for now) than From Software's games, so if that's gonna be a turn off, now you know.

[zodiac909]

I can't understand IGN's rating system...I knew this game would be great, and deserved a high score, yet you look at the scores they gave Resident Evil 7 and Last Guardian, and can't help but wonder WTF.

[WelcomeToTheFamily]

How much did they pay IGN?

[Elda]

Nada.

[MasterCornholio]

That's what bitter people say when a PS4 exclusive gets reviewed well.

Buy a PS4 with NiOh so you can enjoy this great game. If you already have a PS4 then just buy NiOh.

[Elda]

PS4 is on a roll! & it won't stop no time soon! Loving my PS4 Pro!

[AntiZeal0t]

I'm not a huge fan of Japanese culture and things like that, but this still looks like a great game. I'd like to give it a try.

[DragonDDark]

You should have given the previous betas a try.. :(

[AntiZeal0t]

I'll probably end up buying it. I'm a huge fan of the souls games, so I don't see myself not enjoying it.

[DivineAssault]

Microsoft is getting its a$$ blasted continuously.. They lost this gen BAD! Sony said "Hell no damnit! This is my FN territory" Sorry if it comes off as a troll but its true.. They're doing the best they've ever done this gen..

[StrawberryDiesel420]

This game is killing it critically for a new IP. Also, reading these reviews just confirms that the amazing demos we got were just a small slice of the full game. Games like these are actually worth the asking price, I love it and I can't wait to play. Got mine with prime and had a $20 promotion from Amazon due to their incompetence with my last order so I got this game for $30 and change and it will be on my doorstep Tuesday. I feel like a dirty thief.

[James Vanderbeek]

I thought the xbox 1s is just a 4k movie player because that is all I use it for. PS4 pro for games baby. I did play gears of 4 on the xbox 1s though. Not sure when I will play another game on it though.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Looking at it, it doesn't seem like my usual style of game, but I remember thinking the same thing about Elder Scrolls Oblivion (which also got a 9.6 if I remember right). Maybe if I get a lull in games I'll try to fit this one in.

[opinionated]

2 hours! I'm ready.

[Warshade]

Starts out by saying the story never grabs you. :(

[kenwonobi]

Considering IGNs history with scoring all PS4 exclusives a little below the average or just average that's a very high score. Anyhow that's a little too late now to start kissing Sony's butt because they are winning by so much. I won't click on that review still. Lmao.

[galmi]

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[PaleMoonDeath]

Midnight tonight.

[EricHonolulu]

OMG, Looks sooooooooooooooooooo goooooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ifrit_caress]

Another review has been bought. When was the last time IGN gave an honest review, without being paid for it?

[chris235]

improved souls clone? thanks, pass.