TJK

@tjk: The Ninja Gaiden games are amazing, but in my opinion Nioh is not especially indicative of them. They are far, far faster paced (I suppose frenetic action is what we expect of Character Action Games, and that's what NG is to me), with a laser-like focus on combos and execution in group enemy settings. Levels are strictly linear and character progression entirely though magic / weapons. They are kind of the ultimate arcade beat-em-up, to some extent, so, expect to walk in to a room then fight waves and waves of Ninjas who spring out from revolving doors. Ninja Gaiden Black (or whatever more recent version of that game) is absolutely worth playing / trying. It was the high water mark for that genre before the rise of Platinum Games.

I dabbled in one of the Souls games, can't remember which one, and played an hour or two of Bloodborne before realizing that I like games for the power fantasy and fun, rather than getting repeatedly murdered. I'm up for a challenge, but those games are too much when I'm looking to unwind after a day of work.

The Bombcast and Quick Look have me very curious, and reading other forums posts for Nioh make me think this game maybe isn't as brutal as a Souls game. Looking to branch out beyond the comfort of my FPS walls and occasional, more casual 3rd person action games (Tomb Raider, Batman, etc.), but is this game not the one I should look to to scratch that itch?

Thanks friends.

@bkbroiler: Yes: soul matching raises the selected weapon up to the "fodder" weapon's level. If the fodder weapon has an inherited trait, then it will pass onto the selected weapon IFF the fodder weapon's familiarity level is maxed (as in you fill in whatever max familiarity level it has, not the overall familiarity capacity itself). Of course there are occasionally some exceptions to this. Thankfully familiarity goes up for a weapon even if it is not used, but as long as it is in the secondary slot. This familiarity build-up applies to all weapons: melee or ranged, as long as it is in weapon slot 1/2 or ranged slot 1/2.

No, not wrong. It isn't Ninja Gaiden. You don't combo chains together. You can still increase the number of hits over time and Ki recovered by combo-ing stuff though and certain skills do allow you to do a combo of sorts, it's just not something you chain yourself creatively. The combat system is definitely its own thing, but it is more Dark Souls than a Ninja Gaiden in terms of mechanics and applicability for sure. That's not a bad thing at all, the combat is pretty great, but all the people going around saying this is nothing like Dark Souls and more like Ninja Gaiden aren't doing anyone any favors. It's just not what it is.

I think it is Team Ninja's best game since Ninja Gaiden Black, quite easily. I hope they will make another Ninja Gaiden game in the future that is actually good. Nioh is a good reminder of what that team is actually capable of even with the departures.

I don't really think the combat is as close to dark souls as you're alluding to but its also not as though you're playing Ninja Gaiden either. I find the combat and how it controls to be much better than Dark Souls, but that's just me.