Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    After the announcement during E3 2018 and the release of the demo in closed alpha, Nioh 2 only recently has it returned to show itself with a new trailer at TGS 2019, where the lucky participants were able to play a new demo. Parallel to the Japanese fair, Sony has invited us to its offices to try the expected new title of Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo, making available both the same demo present at TGS and another one reserved exclusively for the press.



    The two missions have engaged us for a time decidedly altered by the engaging sense of challenge, and have shown us a more balanced and stable title than the alpha version presented between May and June. A title that does not seem to focus on an overwhelming evolution of dynamics, but which nevertheless promises to be interesting and stimulating.

    Virtually nothing is known about the plot of Nioh 2, except that it will always be set in Japan in the late 1500s, thus placing it chronologically in an earlier time than the first chapter. It is therefore a prequel, and the protagonist this time will not be a pre-set character, but created and customized by the player. Together with comrade Toukichiro they will be known by the name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who historically was one of the greatest warlords and one of the main unifiers of Japan along with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who will remember the players of the first Nioh.

    Before starting the mission we took a look at the editor of our alter ego, whose options were unfortunately for the most part inaccessible, but even without having been able to modify the character much we have glimpsed what seems like a good number of options; in addition to the not negligible possibility of making the protagonist man or woman according to personal preference.



    The first demo of Nioh 2 took us to an oppressively calm nocturnal setting adorned with bright cherry trees. It was a fairly linear path, with only a couple of exploratory detours, in which we got to familiarize ourselves with the controls and game dynamics.

    As already predicted by the closed alpha, we have had the confirmation of being faced with a very derivative second chapter, which reintroduces much of the already excellent game structure of the first Nioh. From the posture system to the weapons, to the interface, almost everything has been faithfully transposed into this chapter, including the pace of play that refers openly to the soulslike, made of cautious advances and an exercised timing for attacks, dodges and parries. And after all, what may seem a traditionalist choice actually seems very prudent, given that the predecessor's system already had an optimal balance that it would have been foolish to break by bringing about particular upheavals. It is also true that some features and the protagonist's skill tree were not available in the demo, so we reserve the right to take a step back on what was said in the review.

    Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    However, we did notice some welcome additions to the combat system. First of all, the most evident from the first trailers, namely the transformation into a demon which virtually replaces the attacks based on the Guiding Spirits of the predecessor; in this case, depending on the Spirit assigned, we will have different skills available. Needless to say, this transformation will make us much more powerful for a limited amount of time.


    A counterattack system that we can perform by countering certain explosive attacks of the enemies, which will allow us both to hit the opponent in turn and to recover a lot of yokai energy. Observing the attack patterns will therefore be even more crucial not only for the defense, but also to create an attack window.


    Finally we observed that it will be possible to make some of the techniques of certain opponents their own by knocking them down and embedding their souls in special slots. Once assimilated, it will then be possible to use them in turn, and this seemed to us one of the most interesting new features to increase our repertoire of attacks.

    Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    As already mentioned, the path of the first demo was quite linear and we took down one by one the yokai that were parrying us on the road. We then arrived in a large garden occupied, needless to say, by the boss of the mission: a mammoth demon in the form of an anthropomorphic horse with long horns and a giant cleaver. Its size, however, was not a burden for its rapid destructive force with which it was able to kill us with a few attacks.

    Before learning and practicing with his repertoire of moves we admit that we have been fallen several times, this to reiterate that even in Nioh 2 you will die several times, as expected from the genre. We have also found that the bosses have the ability to summon the Kingdom of the Yokai throughout the arena, exponentially slowing down the regeneration of our Ki.


    Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    The second demo put us in a much more hostile situation: a burning village infested with yokai. This time we had to face multiple demons at a time, being careful not to be encircled or cornered; some of these minions then had a tendency, in difficult situations, to join together to form an enhanced version of them. In all of this it was necessary to pay much more attention to spaces and our movements, given that areas of fire caused us to lose valuable health points; on the other hand they could also be used to our advantage by pushing the enemies and greatly facilitating their killing.


    Also in this case we crossed a fairly limited area killing any opponent and on our way up to the boss: a donkey cat that moved on big fire wheels. Unlike the horse demon, which we faced in a sufficiently large area and with some covers, in this case the spaces were much narrower and moreover limited by the fire emitted by the boss's wheels; avoiding his attacks turned out to be a much more difficult undertaking.

    Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    Graphically, Nioh 2 does not differ too much from its predecessor, although some improvements are noticeable in cleanliness and visual quality. While testing the demos on PlayStation 4 Pro we found no obvious drops in frame rates, although we don't know what graphics options were set.

    From a stylistic point of view it was a pleasure to return to the magical and dark Japan created by Team Ninja, which in this case (also thanks to the night settings) seems to have chosen to use a greater visual contrast and a more intense saturation of the special effects. The evoked atmosphere is that of a country dominated by dark and chaotic forces, of which we ourselves are somehow part.

    Nioh 2: Tested in two new demos

    Nioh 2 almost seems more like an expansion of the first title, which in any case proposed a game structure that was already very solid and difficult to evolve considerably. The combat system has however been polished and refined in the movements and possibilities of attack and defense, making it even more varied and customizable. The new attacks might suggest a way to alleviate the punitive difficulty unrelated to grinding, but it's still early to draw conclusions. Our test was more than satisfactory to convey great expectations. We just have to wait for the final version of the game that will be released in early 2020.

    ► Nioh 2 is an Action-RPG type game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 13/03/2020

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