Customer Ratings & Reviews

Nioh is an immensely layered experience. Through its Dark Souls-inspired combat, you're taught the virtues of patience and the value of defense. At times, enemies fight with the unpredictability of a PvP match. It's normally comforting when you can recognize the patterns of a enemy combo. Yet there's another layer of difficulty when that foe can switch up attacks mid-combo. Each area has its own sense of character not just by conveying widespread destruction in its detailed backgrounds but also by challenging you with environmental puzzles. It is though exploration that you increase your chances of finding weapons and items, often by searching through the seemingly countless corpses strewn throughout the game.

Geralt de Rivia playing Dark Souls style... and I love it

This game can be tough...quite quite tough. Much like games such as Demon Souls or Bloodborne, but at least in this case Nioh is a bit more forgiving, allowing you to grind levels, not that doing so makes the game a cakewalk by any stretch. Grinding your character just allows you to make a few more mistakes, makes the game a bit more forgiving. Button mashing won't do. You need to learn the controls, learn how your enemies attack and react accordingly. It's dang touch, but it's also fair.

There’s something special about a game that gets you to stop what you’re doing to admire the setting and atmosphere. The first time I began a nighttime outdoor level with rain pouring down on a 1600s Japan setting, I was in awe of what I was experiencing. The sights and sounds of Nioh, from the characters and enemies to the backdrops, are just part of what make this an excellent addition to the Playstation lineup. The gameplay is fast, unforgiving, and precise. This is not a game where you can button mash, else you will deplete your stamina (Ki) quickly. However, it is also immensely satisfying when you complete an area or beat a boss. My main complaint is probably that the enemies are somewhat repetitive, even if they get stronger as you go. Unlike Dark Souls where you encounter different enemies in different areas of the game, Nioh tends to repeat enemy types throughout, occasionally adding one more model into the mix. However, the boss variety was great and I found myself eager to see what the bosses looked and moved like at the end of each area. Second to character models, there came a point in Nioh where I unlocked certain abilities and moves that were quite effective on almost all enemies. This caused me to repeatedly use these moves on nearly every enemy encounter since they worked. I would say that this makes gameplay repetitive, but you have a variety of weapons, magic, and ninjutsu at your disposal, so you can approach each situation in a number of ways depending on what you unlock in the skill trees. After finishing my first playthrough, I was ultra satisfied with the experience and value this game offers. It was challenging, beautiful, rewarding, and memorable. It is something to celebrate if you are a Playstation owner.

Nioh is my sleeper hit of 2017. My expectations were a game similar to Dark Souls/Bloodborne aka “Soulsborne” but set in feudal Japan. Bloodborne is one of my favorite games, and after the mediocre Lords of the Fallen, I was eager to find something similar to the tight gameplay and rich lore of a “Soulsborne” game. As expected, I died in the first few minutes. It is difficult yet fair, and anyone who’s played a “Soulsborne” game will understand. What makes Nioh stand out is it’s deep combat system, Japanese setting, and mission-based gameplay. You can customize the fighting style and armor of your character in more complex ways than other games in this genre. You can stick to swords and standard plated armor like a samurai. Equip heavy armor and an axe to play as a tank/bruiser. You can even play like a ninja by using stealth and light armor to sneak up on your enemies. It felt like I was playing a cross of Bloodborne/Ninja Gaiden/Onimusha. Nioh gave me the nostalgia feels when it reminded me of the latter two games, especially Onimusha. It’s more story driven than the other “Soulsborne” games which explains its focus on mission-based gameplay rather than a cohesive world like Bloodborne. I’ve put in roughly 40 hours into the game, and I still have side quests to finish, weapons to upgrade, and dlc to play. I bought this on sale, but it’s definitely worth full price. Nioh is in my top 5 PS4 games of 2017. It may be difficult for players who are new to the “Soulsborne” genre, but those who give it a chance will discover Nioh’s fun combat system, customization, and Japanese lore a very rewarding experience.

I remember playing the Alpha version of this game when it was first available, and even considering myself pretty good with games like Dark Souls I found this game insanely difficult. I’d summon some ninja dude, and he would absolutely devastate me in seconds. I tried and tried and made no progress, uninstalled the demo, and moved on. I decided to pick it up during a sale seeing as it had such great reviews, and I even read about how hard that encounter was that I was experiencing in the alpha and not to be discouraged by it, and now that I have delved into the full game I can say with confidence that I am extremely happy I gave this a real chance. The game is just spectacular. Visuals, audio, gameplay, it has it all. Everything I crave for in a game such as Dark Souls, yet still unique, and once you get a hang of it all you will feel like a well tamed beast in combat. Granted it’s still quite challenging at times, but do give this one a shot, as the stellar reviews that have been provided are well justified.

It's Dark Souls meets Onimusha, or Bloodborne meets Ninja Gaiden. It's fast, visceral, and a lot of fun; challenging without being frustrating. It's starts out fairly difficult but sadly the difficulty seems to drop over time, finding myself dying a lot less in this game than I did in Bloodborne or Dark Souls, but the bosses are still as massive as some in Dark Souls. The biggest difference in this homage to Dark Souls is the story is told to you up front, it's not vague and learned by the game world. It could be a detractor for some who really enjoyed having to dig deep about the From Software makers of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and while you can't create "classes" and have the variety of the games Nioh tries to replicate, the weapon classes are different enough to almost feel like a class system. Overall, it's one of the best Soulsborne games homages out there, if not THE best, and for anyone who needs something more to do after clearing the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games should, at least, give it a try.

This game is absolutely amazing! Pretty much everyone I know was telling me to get this game, and I was very hesitant but I saw the game on sale for Black Friday and pulled the trigger. I am so happy that I did! Its combat is very challenging and very rewarding, the boss battles are excellent and the story is compelling. If you're a fan of the dark souls series, or have played and enjoyed bloodborne then this game is for you. In my opinion the game and overall combat is not as hard as dark souls which in and of itself is awesome because I found dark souls to be a little over the top. I think this should be part of every PS4 owners collection. Pick it up, trust me you will enjoy it.

This is a tough game. Like Dark Souls tough. But it's a beautiful, interesting game with a great setting and intriguing combat. If you don't mind a tough game, give it a shot!

Pros : fun weapon moves/ nice variety of weapons for your char. Cons: too easy to overlevel if you do all the missions; meh level design; re-using the same handfull of levels over and over again just with different enemy placement/starting point; enemies lack variety: there are alot of re-skins, and even enemies that look like different species tend to use the same moves and strategies(e.g. all humanoid characters have basically the same move sets; bosses all have similar moves, etc). I had fun with the game, but it really felt like a mid-budget level effort. Hopefully a sequel will fix the variety problems.

So, the title of this review says it all in what someone should expect when playing Nioh. Now before I get into the actual review I want to say that this is by no means a bad thing. Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and so forth are some of the best games of any generation because they are actually challenging. They are not games made for casual players because they require patience and dedication to get good enough to not only beat them but to even play them well. One other thing I should clear up is that Nioh was not made by From Software (the creators of the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games), instead this game was created by Koei Tecmo of Ninja Gaiden fame. Because of that, anyone who is thinking of purchasing this game must understand that it is not an easy game. Alright, now for the actual review. I will say that I never go too deeply into story details during my reviews. Nioh takes place during the 1600s and you follow an Englishman named William. The game starts out with conspiracy theories about supernatural things involving different real life countries and political figures, like Queen Elizabeth. So long story short you were hired to perform a task and once you completed your task you were to be disposed of in order to not share anything you may have discovered; then you pretty much just start. The rest of the game finds you traveling to different lands in order to help resolve a far reaching conflict. I will say that the story is much more fleshed out when compared to Dark Souls or Bloodborne; you don't just start and try to figure everything out for yourself. The game itself is slow, methodical, and challenging. You start with the bare necessities only to unlock stronger weapons (axes, spears, swords, bows, and flintlocks), armor, and tools by defeating enemies, bosses, and remnants of other players. When I say remnants I mean AI versions of players who have died. When a player dies you will see a grave that states their name, rank, equipment level, how they died, and how much of a challenge they would be if you were to fight them. Fighting them and beating them unlocks very good gear as well as a much better chance of getting the item you need for coop play. One difference between Nioh and Dark Souls is, as of my personal experience, there are no invaders. This is something I am personally happy about because after awhile human invaders became more annoying than threatening. But that comes down to personal opinion. Also in a fashion similar to Dark Souls you will collect a kind of currency that can be spent at points along the way in order to upgrade yourself. Also in Dark Souls fashion, if you are to die, which you will, you must get back to that spot in order to retrieve your lost currency. If you die again, it's all gone. What follows is a wide assortment of enemies and a large number of bosses. I'm not joking about the boss number, there are a lot of them. Also in Dark Souls fashion, you can summon other players to help you by offering an item that is found in the world. The one thing that people should know however is that in order for you to summon someone they must have already beaten the area, boss and all. This is different from the beta where anyone can be summoned at anytime. This is also the only problem I have with the game because the beta was designed differently and the coop functionality was changed at literally the last minute. However, this is literally the only problem I have with the game. Nioh is a challenging game with perfect controls, superb visuals, not too bad of a story for something like this, rewarding gameplay, and enough extras to keep people coming back for awhile. Now I compared this game to Dark Souls a lot because it really is like it so if anyone reading this does not like Dark Souls then I would look for another game to play. But if someone is looking for a challenging game that fills the genre void that Dark Souls 3 has left, then I would give this game a look.

I saw the online gameplay and trailer and the game seemed interesting. Once i started playing i realizes it is a diffucult game. Easily get lost, and hard to tell where i am even supposed to go, or where i have already been. Good game for somebody who likes "maze" type games. Just was not what i thought it would be once i began playing.

After a week with Nioh, I can fully endorse this to any fan of action rpgs. It's easily one of the most competent games this gen, starting with something as simple as the under 30 seconds initial install and update (!) To the level design, skill trees, movement, and combat. Nioh controls like a charm, the aforementioned combat is deep and rewarding, and the unique story based on Japanese folklore is a change of pace from the typical fantasy tropes. While the game is challenging, don't let that put you off. For a complete newcomer it may take a few hours, or gameplay sessions, to get the mechanics down. But once it clicks you'll be on your way. Highly recommended!

I liked to play Bloodborne. The game is pretty much like Bloodborne with many things such as the focus on stinging together combos. I like to see a Japanese village, forest, a cave, or a combination of the three. The combat, weapons, and lore are excellent in this game. Awesome game!!!

This game is excellent tons of fun addicting yet can drive you insane it's a very hard game I have not beaten myself you can fight hordes of the toughest and put your gaurd down for the easiest foe and it'll cut you down as if you were a child.

There are a ton of professional reviews, and videos, etc., and definitely a contender for Game of the Year, however, very few talk about all the “little” things. Here are some of the things that make the game cool for me. Yes, stamina is critical (called Ki, and plenty of articles elsewhere on that). Yes, fighting is mechanically almost identical to a Souls game. The game is more claustrophobic with more close quarters combat than recent games. Reminds me more Demon’s Souls in that regard, which I prefer to some areas in the Souls games of Bloodborne. The game also is more aggressive than a Souls games. Notice I said more aggressive and not harder. I think it is about the same in difficulty so far as a Souls game, but I do feel this game is much less forgiving if you try to rush or make an error. Some areas you can do whatever you want with 2-3 enemies around and others, the whole room will come at you (literally. . .I had a wall come after me). This game has traps. . .not just tricky enemy placements, but real traps. When you come to a bend or an opening or a room strangely empty with several Revenants (similar to blood stains in Souls game. . .but read a pro review for that description), you really need to think how to approach before going in. Bats coming out of cave to knock you off a cliff. . .brutal. Another aspect that I love is the verticality and interconnectedness within a mission (another thing not as good in recent Souls games as Demons Souls or DS1). Missions are synonymous with an area in Dark Souls that ends with a Boss. This game just doesn’t jack with how you got there in the first place as they are unlocked and chosen from a map, including optional side missions, and ones on the same map with different enemy placement and goals or cranked up difficulty like New Game plus feel on Dark Souls (times 2). However, in the first village you will spend a couple of hours wandering around a burning village trying to get past lines of fire to progress (hint, you need water). It has you going around buildings, roof tops, falling through roof tops, etc. So far the game makes great use of unlocked short cuts which I really miss in later Souls games. Graphics are good, but not great on standard PS4 (it does have optimization for Pro). However, developers understand gamers and give option to set at 60FPS lock in “action mode” where some areas look a bit bland, but game plays 60FPS all the time. I appreciate that. It also has camera challenges like many 3rd person games like the Souls games. You can get jacked up with an enemy if you target lock-on and are on a ledge or something. I have fought one, "true" boss Onryoki so far. It took about 10-12 times before I figured it out. It was challenging, but played out like a typical Souls boss where you find a gap in the attack pattern to exploit. This particular boss changes attack approach part way through which is typical. However, I found his second attack style much easier to exploit than the first. There is a Diablo loot system (random) and some may not like. I neither like nor dislike and it has not taken away anything from the game that I can tell. There is still blacksmithing when off mission, and option to purchase things out of mission. I am not certain if any NPCs that you really interact with though. More for cut scenes it seems, but I could be wrong. If I didn’t have to work and sleep and say hi to family, I would be playing 24 hours straight. Back to the game!

Nioh is a grueling, challenging title, much like the Dark Souls series. Taking a page from their combat and mixing it with a feudal Japanese story, Nioh delivers satisfying action that only occasionally feels a little cheap. Much lengthier than the Souls titles, Nioh does feel like it slightly overstays its welcome by the end.

The game's story line is fun and very involved. The side missions are fun and challenging, but there are some mechanical flaws and glitches that cause headaches and frustration. Other than that the game is beautiful and you definitely get your money's worth playing all the twilight missions and side stories.

I'm not very good at games. I'm 47 and have played them since I was about 8 years old when I began gaming on the Atari 2600. I write a lot about games. I read a lot about games. But I'm not very good at games. And Nioh is somewhat hard. But make no mistake about it. I'm glad I bought it. I had pondered if I should even buy it since these games are sort of known for their difficulty being high and there is no way to adjust it. But I kept my preorder because I thought the game looked cool. And I'm really glad I did. First of all the graphics and sound are phenomenal on the PS4 Pro. I chose the 60FPS and it's silky smooth. I have played the game for about 30 hours since release day and only recall one time when I saw any hint of slowdown and honestly am not sure if it was my imagination. The sound is superb. One odd choice though is it blocks Spotify from playing in most areas. While I usually put on Spotify while I game the music in this game is really good so I don't mind but I hope this isn't a trend in new games to cut out Spotify. Anyways, yes the game is difficult but you are always progressing, getting better equipment, learning new tactics, etc so you will never get frustrated, or at least I haven't. And I tend to get easily frustrated when I die. But don't worry, even if you get stuck and are at the end of your rope Nioh has a genius feature that will allow you to call in a friend or a random stranger to fight along side of you and finish whatever you are having trouble with. So all in all I whole heartedly recommend this game. It's unbelievably addictive, very in depth and yes it reminds me a lot of one of the best games ever made: Diablo. That is because you get all kinds of sweet loot and can have a lot of ways to play the game depending upon your style of game. So if you are on the fence about this run don't walk to your nearest store and pick it up, you will love it, it's just a phenomenal game and if you're a PS4 Pro owner you definitely will want it to show off the graphical power of your new beastly machine.

Nioh is a punishing game, but it is never not a joy to play. Lush with imagery from Japanese history and mythology, Nioh is a wholly unique action experience. If you own a Playstation 4, you must play this game.