This game is reviewing extremely well! They seem to have turned it around after the middling first alpha last year.

9/10 from Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nioh-review-in-progress/1100-6447481/

10/10 form jim sterling: http://www.thejimquisition.com/nioh-review/

9.6/10 from IGN: http://ca.ign.com/articles/2017/02/02/nioh-review

9/10 from Game Informer: http://www.gameinformer.com/games/nioh/b/playstation4/archive/2017/02/02/the-soul-of-the-samurai.aspx

9/10 from Destructoid: https://www.destructoid.com/review-nioh-415151.phtml

"It's really fucking gooood" Jeff Gerstmann, Giant Bomb dot com.

EDIT: For anyone who isn't familiar, Nioh is Dark Souls with Diablo like loot mechanics in a 17th century japanese setting with demons and other creatures from japanese folklore. From what I played it evolves the Dark Souls formula in very interesting ways by making the combat more involved and deeper. The stamina recovery mechanic, the hard punishement for running out of stamina and the fact that enemies also have a stamina bar are all very cool gameplay concepts that make this thing unique and not just a Dark Souls clone. Add to that loot, daily/weekly hard versions of missions, a cool coop mode, the Team Ninja touch for fluid action, 60fps and this thing could be something special.

fucking HELL

I have been wanting a PS4 just a little bit for Until Dawn and UC4, but never enough to actually get one. This is honestly the game that might flip me over the edge.

Seems like Pro is giving Nioh a pretty good boost. My launch PS4 kinda sounded like a fan during some parts when I tried the "trial" from a while back. Not planning on playing Nioh, but I hope Horizon still manages to give a good perfomance on the regular PS4.

I know pretty much nothing about this game. Which is a good thing if it turns out to be amazing. Will wait for a Quick Look. I am a bit more interested in For Honor though.

While I didn't love everything I played, that last beta surprisingly got it's hooks into me where I kept coming back to level up despite having beaten everything there was to beat. I think it pushes all the right buttons in that satisfaction loop of kill -> level up -> kill -> get new gear.

I'll probably be getting it release day as something to plop in for an hour each day.

This sounds so good. Wish it was out on PC quickly. This is one that makes me want to get a PS4.

@glots: Nioh on NEO?

Waoh!

@humanity: What is this game? I haven't seen anything on it.

(Not necessarily expecting you to answer this, don't feel bad not replying)

@zevvion: It's Team Ninja's take on Dark Souls.

@zevvion: Dark Souls with Diablo like loot mechanics in a 17th century japanese setting with demons and other creatures from japanese folklore. From what I played it evolves the Dark Souls formula in very interesting ways by making the combat more involved and deeper. The stamina recovery mechanic, the hard punishement for running out of stamina and the fact that enemies also have a stamina bar are all very cool gameplay concepts that make this thing unique and not just a Dark Souls clone.

Add to that loot, daily/weekly hard versions of missions, a cool coop mode, the Team Ninja touch for fluid action and 60fps. This thing could be something special.

@warlordpayne: Shit, really? Ninja Gaiden Black is like, perhaps my favorite action game of all time. Obviously no more Itagaki at the helm, but hm. I guess I should really check this out then, given that I love Dark Souls to shit too.

EDIT: @pyrodactyl Thanks. I'm going for a nostalgia trip and get this game without even seeing any footage on it. Just the boxart and people telling me it's my type of game.

I'm curious to see if there are any really dumb design decisions since it was trending that way early in development but has gotten gradually a bit better over time. Dumb design decisions are a hallmark of any Souls-like game; every Souls and not Souls has a "yeah, but" in some form or another (though Dark Souls II is so vast that having an optional piece of garbage like Ancient Dragon isn't quite so irritating); most of them have a lot of those actually.

Should go without saying I'm going to play the fuck out of this game.

Hmm, I do like me some Team Ninja. I think the game looks ugly but it looks fun. Def give it a shot down the line.

Didn't get to try the last beta thing, but i wasn't really into the other 2 tests(granted i didn't get far in the second). Crazy that a game that ugly has to run at 720p to get 60fps on a ps4 though, i could see if it was a looker or something but damn. Well i guess it's good that people seem to like the game though, i will be skipping it though until maybe a huge discount or something.

So I thought Nioh and Nier were the same game until today. Which means today is the day that I learned I would be getting the Ninja Gaiden/Onimusha mashup I have always dreamed of. Fuuuuuck yeah!

I am ready for this.

Great! I played the first alpha and thought that it was a really cool game that probably has too much jank to be propelled above the 7/10 mark for most reviews. Glad to see that the game has done whatever necessary to realize it's full potential. I still have some misgivings with the overall look of the game and it's environments, but that gameplay is good enough to squint my eyes a bit.

I am so hyped for this game the alpha/beta where great, it has the potential to be my GOTY.

@zevvion: well others have covered it quite well already but yah, a Souls game set in feudal Japan where the creatures are inspired from folklore.

Where it falters in level design it really makes up in combat that offers more choices and more systems. There is online co-op and the ability to re-do areas on a higher difficulty that changes enemies to tougher demons, varies up placement, adds elemental buffs etc - generally makes the same place a lot more challenging.

You have an armor weight system for heavy or light dodging. Innovative stamina management and even "supers" in the form of protective dieties.

The only really negative thing I can say about what I played is that the environments are not very interesting, and when playing on the "action mode" that lowers graphic options but maintains a moooostly steady 60 framerate, the game does look kinda dated and ugly.

Knew there was something special about it from what I played of the two betas. Glad to see people are liking it.

The demo didn't grab me at all but I guess neither did Demon's Souls until about 20 hours in. Or Monster Hunter until 15 hours in. Sounds entirely like this is worth the effort of buying and pushing through until the fun kicks in.

@onemanarmyy: They improved the game quite a bit between the first and second tests. I still didn't like it, but they fixed an awful lot of issues.

Holy shit, i never played any of the alphas or betas or whatever, but I always thought the game looked like it would turn out okay at the very least. Never expected the reception to be this positive though. I'm happy Team Ninja was not only able to step away from DOA for a bit, but also that they were able to knock this one out of the park. I love DOA and Ninja Gaiden, but I still hope thee's more of neither-of-those-things in their future.

@humanity: It is a bit weird how this game looks so bad visually. Ninja Gaiden 2 looked better on last gen consoles and that ran at 60fps too. (mostly)

While I am sad at the slow death of more flashy hack 'n' slash games i'm glad Team Ninja seems to be getting their shit together after the train wreck that was Ninja Gaiden 3.

EDIT: Alright, after watching that Digital Foundry video it does seem to look better, the alpha/beta levels didnt do the game any favours when it came to looks.

If I am not mistaken, switching graphic modes only affects resolution and framerate, not any effects and other graphical flourish..? From videos the game looks great to me.

A nice surprise that it's reviewing so well. Anyone know if it's a proper PS4 exclusive or just a timed one? I'm seeing conflicting reports online.

@quipido: @boozak: Good to hear the full game is looking better cause from what I played of the alphas it certainly wasn't a "looker" and the crummy huts and forest weren't setting my imagination on fire either.

A quick search tells me it's not very likely. Apparently the game was in development since before 2004 and slated for PS3. Sony is publishing it everywhere except Japan. This probably means money changed hands to prevent it from being poured down the drain over the last 13 years.

This is just a guess, but I'm thinking Sony funded this thing enough to warrant it not coming to other consoles ever, even if Tecmo wanted it to. PC always remains an option, since it's neutral ground. Probably not soon though. Especially since it is getting a good reception, Sony probably benefits from it being exclusive for as long as possible, if not forever.

All I know about this game comes from that GBE playdate last year. And all I really learned from that is that Alex is secretly a god.

My wallet can not keep up at this rate. I really enjoyed the betas they put out. I really like the setting of Nioh, only gripe from what I've seen is I wish the game was more colorful. I am excited about a Team Ninja game again and that's cool.

@zevvion: Cheers for doing the heavy-lifting! I'm PC only, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that it comes across at some point.

I've been needing this game to be out for a while. I need my white haired magical sword guy. It's why I'm playing Witcher 3. Just to hold me over.

For people commenting on environements, it does seem like the game's weak point but I've seen a decent amount of variety in some of the videos floating around.

If it's a more loot based soul-like game I'm down with that. I like loot games, but most of them have brain dead combat.

This game seems to solve that problem.

Polygon will not be reviewing this because they thought it was too hard.

@shindig said:

Polygon will not be reviewing this because they thought it was too hard.

Six days of playing it full time isn't enough to complete it and it's extremely demanding? Sign me up!

@shindig:They'll be reviewing it, it's just that it's taking them a while. They didn't have it out at the same time that other Nioh reviews got there, but the article makes it pretty clear that one's coming.

http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/2/14478898/nioh-review-polygon-where-is-ps4-playstation-4-sony-team-ninja

Ha! I don't care how much I'll jinx myself saying this and I realize it is a super elitist thing to say, but while I will most certainly die many times in Nioh, I bet the game will not get close to staggering me to a halt. All these critics who call themselves 'experienced Souls players' are like toddlers to me. They seem quick to mention their expertise in those games only to talk about it in a way that is clear they haven't come anywhere close to master those games at all.

In addition, I heard this is more Ninja Gaiden-like in its gameplay nature than Dark Souls, so I'm good on both fronts. I don't brag this shamelessly easily, but this is my world.

Hit me with a message on here if anyone wants to co-op. I really enjoy co-op in these games.

@shindig said:

Polygon will not be reviewing this because they thought it was too hard.

Polygon are a bunch of softies.

As someone who hates Dark Souls/Bloodborne due to the way the combat and character control feels and their obtuse mechanics, but loves Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 and loot games, these reviews are actually getting me interested in Nioh. Does the gameplay have the fluidity of a Ninja Gaiden, with the difficulty of Dark Souls, or is this just Team Ninja making their own Souls' game, a la Lords of the Fallen?

I am surprised this game is getting such good reviews I played the demo and was not a fan, and I love the Dark Souls and Bloodborne

Even though so much about this game is right up my alley, I was going to skip out on this because I'm pretty tired of the formula, but it's gotten such great buzz that I caved. Besides, I've kind of cooled off on getting Horizon: Zero Dawn this month.

It's definitely more dark souls than ninja gaiden but you can play much faster and agressively than you can in dark souls when you master the mechanics in this game:

Yeah, playing it as a Dark Souls clone makes it feel a little rudimentary but there's a skill ceiling that looks seriously fun to hit.

I kept reading this thread thinking people were talking about Nier, like WTF? ^_^

IGN's review is up 9.6, so hype for this game!!!!

Damn, IGN impressions were good last week, guess they liked it even more as it went on.