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8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1157 Ratings

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  1. Mar 29, 2020
    4
    Lowered my score to a 4 after playing through NG+. The game just gets worse the more you play. The flaws are numerous and in your face.

    I was really hopeful for Nioh 2. Nioh 1 was a solid, if messy game. The bones were there for something special, something that could rise up and give us a truly worthy souls-like that didn't come from... uh... From. Instead, Nioh 2 is pretty much more
    Lowered my score to a 4 after playing through NG+. The game just gets worse the more you play. The flaws are numerous and in your face.

    I was really hopeful for Nioh 2. Nioh 1 was a solid, if messy game. The bones were there for something special, something that could rise up and give us a truly worthy souls-like that didn't come from... uh... From. Instead, Nioh 2 is pretty much more of the same, with some baffling inclusions that make it a generally frustrating experience (and not the good kind).

    First off: if anyone says this is better than Sekiro, go ahead and mentally file them away as unfit for gaming in general. Nioh 2 is inferior to Sekiro in nearly every meaningful way (unless you really, really have a thing for picking up loot you'll never use). Just figured I'd add that because I see people comparing the two, and there is no comparison. Sekiro is a much better game.

    So let's run down the list:

    Pros:

    -Graphics are fantastic.
    -There's a lot of level-up options.
    -Lots and lots of gear, I guess?
    -Story is a bit more interesting than Nioh 1.
    -The addition of random summons is... nice? Or would be, if the AI wasn't running on a playstation 1 processor
    -Some of the combat additions are good, like the burst counter and yokai shifts. They don't add a whole lot, when it comes down to it, but it is an improvement.
    -Levels, while often re-used, are much more enjoyable to look at. No more running across a dark, dingy coast for the 80th time. Now you get to explore beautiful vistas... for the 80th time.
    -Framerate is smooth, which is an accomplishment for how good the game looks.
    -The weapon/armor variation is very neat. Note, I'm not talking about how useful that is (that's a con) but how it looks visually. These guys are top notch artists.

    Cons:
    -Bosses suck. No, I don't mean bosses are hard, I mean they suck. There's almost no effort to them. They all boil down to roughly the same tactic (with a few gimick fights here and there): wait, wait, wait, slash, wait, wait, counter, wait, wait, break guard and go ham, repeat. The likely reason for that comes from the next con...
    - Combat feels like it's a decade old. Maybe it's the fact that I just recently finished playing Sekiro again (I don't think it is, as I just recently played Nioh 1 as well), but everything feels like it's moving at a glacial pace, including the response of your buttons. Want to block that attack coming in? I hope you hit the button well in advance, because the game needs to think about it for a bit. Remember hitboxes that extend out too far? Nioh 2 does! It's just so sub-par after Sekiro. And look, I get it, it's not Sekiro, Team Ninja never said it was, but Nioh 2 is inferior in essentially every aspect of combat and it does not feel nearly as satisfying to play.
    -Difficulty is... fake. The game can be difficult, it's true, but that really only lasts so long as you're trying to play aggressive. As soon as you start waiting out attacks and playing defensively, the game loses all challenge. Enemies never force you (which, I mean, they probably can't, due to the combat limitations), and they start to feel more like a chore than any sort of joy to fight. There's a spike when you reach an area with higher level enemies, but it quickly levels off. Bosses are never really hard, because almost none of them require you to learn any new skills, just keep repeating the strategy you've always used and you'll win.
    - Summoning ai sounds like a good idea in theory. It's hilariously bad in practice. No, seriously, I think i've died more often because my AI companion decided to get in my way or block my camera than I have to actual enemies.
    - Speaking of: how on earth do we still have this camera? Even Sekiro had the decency to finally give us a better (albeit, still iffy) camera than past souls offerings. This camera is sooooooooo bad. I cannot believe this was anything other than intentional to artificially increase difficulty, because it's amateurish.
    - FYI, Team Ninja, quantity does not equal quality. Picking up a hundred swords doesn't mean anything if 99 of them are useless to me. It's just early Diablo 3 syndrome all over. Deconstructing items isn't fun, folks. That's not a gameplay mechanic anyone should be jumping over. The skill trees fall into this trap as well, though to a lesser extent. I'm not sure why people are praising it as amazing. It's literally the same kind of skill tree as Nioh 1, but in a different UI. It's not a leap forward, it's a leap sideways.

    All in all, I don't recommend spending 60 bucks on this unless you're just dying for something to do while we're all stuck inside. I am regretting my purchase, not because it's some monumental challenge that I just can't beat (I can, did, and probably will one more time before I shelve it), but because it just doesn't live up to expectations. Sekiro happened, people. Like it or not, that's the standard now, and Nioh 2 doesn't even come close.
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  2. Mar 13, 2020
    10
    Team Ninja made a great game with a few new touches to the old game.

    Great new yokai form vere large skill tree and Great boss desing
  3. Mar 13, 2020
    4
    Ive been playing "Hard"/Challenging games since the 80s. Ive even beaten all the Ninja gaiden games by the same guys that made Nioh, all the souls game etc etc. I dont say this to brag, but to give a bit of relevance to my statement that, the Nioh games are unfair and unbalanced. Nioh 1 the third boss was the first boss that I played a tried a few times then just stopped, I could see howIve been playing "Hard"/Challenging games since the 80s. Ive even beaten all the Ninja gaiden games by the same guys that made Nioh, all the souls game etc etc. I dont say this to brag, but to give a bit of relevance to my statement that, the Nioh games are unfair and unbalanced. Nioh 1 the third boss was the first boss that I played a tried a few times then just stopped, I could see how BS it was and really couldn't muster the effort to try. A good challenging game will have you dying alot, but every time you die you learn something new and can adapt. Good bosses have a weakness to balance their strength eg, If they have a ton of health, they can be slow, or have weak points. If they are insanely fast there's useuall a trap move or AOE attack in your arsenal. Many of nioh bosses have no weakness, they have high health, high armor , do massive damage and have completely random attack patterns. Meaning the only way to beat them is to beat you head against the wall until after ages you have their movements and attacks burned into your memory, and the rest is luck, hopefully you will guess the right attack they will be about to do before you act, and hopefully your luck lasts the entire fight.
    There is many other issues I have with the Nioh game including an bland areas and stupid amount of time you have to spend in each area, to the painful grind.
    Unlike the Souls game where every death is a lesson , in Nioh every death feel like unlucky RNG. And the payoff for the time spent getting through a hard place is just more grinding. No beastly weapon, no massive bump in XP just another small area to go to.
    The game dose run at 60 fps and is great on a technical level, but everything else is the same as the first game with more irritation.
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  4. Mar 13, 2020
    3
    This game is the dark souls 2 of nioh. It follows up a great game with a subpar one. As someone with over 5 k hours in soulsbourne, i have to say that this is by far the hardest game in the genre I've played. You hit like a wet tissue while getting one shot by close to everything. It takes well over 2 full stamina bars to kill a basic bandit, not to even mention the yokai. Maybe I'm justThis game is the dark souls 2 of nioh. It follows up a great game with a subpar one. As someone with over 5 k hours in soulsbourne, i have to say that this is by far the hardest game in the genre I've played. You hit like a wet tissue while getting one shot by close to everything. It takes well over 2 full stamina bars to kill a basic bandit, not to even mention the yokai. Maybe I'm just not good at the game, despite beating nioh on way of nioh multiple times, but i can't figure out this game. The new skill tree is worse than the first one, doing nothing but make it seem fladhy while giving you less info.
    Yokai shift is just a worse version of living weapon and with it's lackluster customization (just the yokai form itself, not the yokai skills) things will be even more cookie cutter than before. Who thought it was a good idea to give every weapon in the game the same moveset? In short, the game's a mess, eorsecthan nioh 1 in ordtty much every way.
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  5. Mar 13, 2020
    10
    Absolutely better than last year "GOTY". deep combat system, deep costumization system, and more stable FPS. Such an underrated game, with so much potential. A must-play game for hardcore gamer
  6. Jun 1, 2020
    5
    It feels like Nioh 1.5 more than a sequel. A lot of reused textures, music, and even some levels. I tried to get through it, but it just doesn't feel balanced and as fun as the original.
  7. Jul 17, 2021
    6
    Nioh found its niche in an audience of Souls fans that were begging for more. Unfortunately I think a niche is where Nioh 1 and 2 belong, although it also seems happy to be there. My biggest gripe with Nioh 2 is probably how little has changed for the better, which may not be a popular opinion.

    The graphics in Nioh 2 aren't that special unless you play the PS5 remaster, where the 60fps
    Nioh found its niche in an audience of Souls fans that were begging for more. Unfortunately I think a niche is where Nioh 1 and 2 belong, although it also seems happy to be there. My biggest gripe with Nioh 2 is probably how little has changed for the better, which may not be a popular opinion.

    The graphics in Nioh 2 aren't that special unless you play the PS5 remaster, where the 60fps makes it much more appealing. You can tell that the detail and power is there for graphics, but like a common trend in modern games, Nioh 2 lets itself down by using bland, repetitive environments, especially dark ones such as caves and tunnels. The game could really benefit from things being a bit more vibrant and colourful. Add to this the uninspired enemy design that's highly copied from the previous game and it feels a lot more like an extension of Nioh 1.

    A big aspect of Nioh 2 is the Dark Realm, however this area irritated me more than anything as it can make the screen blurry and drained of colour. It's a nice gimmick but it should be used sparingly.

    The gameplay of Nioh is why we are here. Souls and Souls-likes are not famous for being casual and accessible games, however I think Nioh 2 may be the worst of them all with this. As soon as I met my first enemy and saw how much damage I did compared to how much I received, I was flabbergasted. I had to work quite hard to persevere until after the first boss where the game opened up a bit. I doubt most people will want to persist for that long, although mass appeal doesn't seem to interest Nioh to begin with.

    This brings me to a debate I had with myself until after the third boss where I stopped playing - is Nioh too unbalanced? I still haven't drawn a conclusion, but I think the game is more effort than it's worth at least. I don't believe that the changes made have been for the better. For example, the burst counter is an unnecessary gimmick that's too unreliable to consistently pull-off.

    There are also a plethora of systems to develop your character within. Between soul cores, guardian spirits, attributes and gear you can spend far too much time playing manager as opposed to actually exploring and combating your way through the game. Again this is extremely unfriendly to newcomers however the Nioh niche will likely love this due to how immersive it can become. For me it became tedious due to how much attention these systems needed.

    When you strip down to the core mechanics of Nioh 2, I found it quite protracted and tedious, leading to me eventually giving up on it. Just like the first game, you are exploring very similar environments with very similar enemies and bosses who are actually very similar too as you just need to identify a specific strategy for each one. This is a problem all Souls games have but Dark Souls has the atmosphere and interconnected world that Nioh does not.

    The story of Nioh 2 comes across as fairly light, but then again I didn't exactly get too far into it. I rate games well when they don't bore you with a tedious story and Nioh does well here since a Souls-like game allows you to dip into the story at your leisure without affecting gameplay.

    Overall, Nioh 2 is actually a decent game in its own right, however it's not on its own - even the first game does almost everything Nioh 2 does, and when you factor in all the other Souls games, I became very weary from the repetitive styles of gameplay. Nioh 2 isn't breaking much new ground, but it brings more of the same and that will appeal to most fans of the first.
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  8. Nov 23, 2022
    10
    Я не люблю серии игр Dark souls. Из-за отсутствия карты и не очень понятно куда идти. Абсолютно конченный кооператив. Но нио.... Нио я люблю. Отличный полноценный кооперав, прошел с другом , было весело. Как клоп игра отлично подойдётЯ не люблю серии игр Dark souls. Из-за отсутствия карты и не очень понятно куда идти. Абсолютно конченный кооператив. Но нио.... Нио я люблю. Отличный полноценный кооперав, прошел с другом , было весело. Как клоп игра отлично подойдёт
  9. Apr 26, 2021
    8
    Extremely fun game with a lot of care given to player choice. The plot is throwaway, the amount of loot can be anxiety inducing and it can be ridiculously difficult - although the ability to summon help makes it a little less arduous than the original. If you need a game to devour your time and deliver some outstanding combat, this is for you - 8 stars
  10. Mar 5, 2021
    8
    I consider the original Nioh to be about an 8. A game with great gameplay, and an enormous assortment of missions to explore and finish. Well, Nioh 2 is bigger and better in every way. They've added large skill trees for pretty much everything, and have also greatly expanded the bestiary of Yokai you have to contend with, so it doesn't become repetitive.

    Just like the original Nioh
    I consider the original Nioh to be about an 8. A game with great gameplay, and an enormous assortment of missions to explore and finish. Well, Nioh 2 is bigger and better in every way. They've added large skill trees for pretty much everything, and have also greatly expanded the bestiary of Yokai you have to contend with, so it doesn't become repetitive.

    Just like the original Nioh though, the story is of middling quality. I never really found it or the characters to be that engaging, and there are too many overlong cutscenes where people yammer on emotionally about political or military jargon. It reminded me of Phantom Menace in this regard, just way too much tedious yapping. The Souls series is the gold standard for cutscenes; short, meaningful, and awesome to watch. Like the original Nioh, there's also something inelegant about the combat. It's just kind of spammy and imprecise sometimes. Maybe that's the cost of having fights between these super-powered individuals. Going up against giant yokai with my character's own crazy abilities, I sometimes felt like I was playing a super-hero game, and not the grounded samurai combat which I love.

    Anyway, it's a good game, and a very good way to spend a large chunk of time.
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  11. Feb 17, 2023
    10
    It's great. It's the best game I've ever seen. The picture is exquisite, the movement is smooth, and the design is exquisite.
  12. Apr 1, 2020
    5
    Initially, Nioh 2 seems like a natural successor to Nioh 1. I was really enjoying my first 10 hours with the game, but the realization that I had already seen all the good things the game had to offer started sinking in. The new burst counter mechanic feels really nice to pull off, and it's cool that you get so many different types of burst moves. It's just too bad that most of them putInitially, Nioh 2 seems like a natural successor to Nioh 1. I was really enjoying my first 10 hours with the game, but the realization that I had already seen all the good things the game had to offer started sinking in. The new burst counter mechanic feels really nice to pull off, and it's cool that you get so many different types of burst moves. It's just too bad that most of them put you into animation lock that will most likely be the death of you. And that's really all the game becomes, eventually. Conquering your death. You will die, a lot. And very often it's a single hit that does you in. You will most likely need to pop elixir as soons as you took the smallest of nudge, because if you're not in full health, the amount of attacks that will finish you off only increases (it seems a huge amount of different kinds of enemy hits take 80%-100% of your health), which kinda defeat the purpose of any health upgrades you may get. Or armor, for that matter.

    You will notice that the hitboxes on certain moves are pretty bad. I got pretty far before I started noticing that I was nowhere near the hit enemy made when I took damage (this was especially apparent in a boss fight where said boss uses a laser. The hitbox is WAY larger than the actual laser on screen). It's a shame that your movement can't match the speed of most of your enemies, which seem to read your inputs and often are faster than you with their hits. It doesn't help that some enemies have excessively accurate lock on. The burst counter often results in you trading hits with the enemy you're facing, and sometimes, you will essentially stare down a red, rushing burst of energy at the speed of a bullet. Countering it is doable, but failing to do so may result in your death: I ran this issue with a certain huge boss in a pit, and in this case it was a move that is very hard to dodge unless you are very close to the boss. This is another unfair bit. There are times when you need to keep your distance, but this may trigger a move from a boss that you absolutely have no other chance to dodge than to burst counter it without getting hit. And as stated before you may very likely die from that hit, and you very often trade burst counter with the hit of the enemy.

    Another new addition is the acolyte system. Basically, people can leave a blue grave of their phantom, controlled by AI (like the red graves in original), but these ones are NPC's of your own that supposedly assist you in battle. Unfortunately, the programming of the assisting AI works nothing like the red grave AI, which handles aggressive and defensive play quite well. You will find the acolytes either refuse to attack enemies, or despite having 10 chances to heal themselves at the brink of death, they will very rarely do it. They will be useless in boss battles, since they die pretty fast, but scale boss health accordingly because you're now facing the boss with 2 players, essentially. Another weird thing is that summoning acolyte can cost anywhere between 1-5 Ochoko Cups, a relatively rare currency, while summoning an actual human player as a visitor always costs only 1. I don't think I need delve any further to get my point across why this is a horribly implemented system: the AI just doesn't work, and the price for it is way too high. Never, ever resort to these in boss battles.

    There are a few high notes for the game, but the overall experience was pretty unpleasant. While you do learn the bosses eventually, and find them to be much easier later on, the process is filled with poor game design and Ki mechanic that doesn't follow the same rules for you and the enemies. You might have easier time in Co-op, and I gave it a try. For me, it worked pretty badly, and the enemies either didn't take the damage that was given to them, they teleported all over the place or simply immediately regenerated the damage that wasn't given. It's hard to say whether this is connection related, since I seem to have no issues with other online games.

    Some people will find this kind of challenge appealing, and will think that the game is good as it is. I find these things to be issues that cannot be overlooked. It would be a much better game if the mechanics worked as perfectly as they seem on paper, or if the enemies were a little bit less punishing with their damage. It is kind of silly that a 90 foot demon hits you with an overhead hammer hit for the same amount of damage as a small, little pesky runt slaps you in the face with their most basic hit (I am not kidding). Every hit was designed to be able to kill you very easily, and I do mean EVERY hit. If this isn't the kind of thing that bothers you, then you will find a game with lots of content and tons of challenge. While my 60 hours have almost resulted in a platinum, I will not return to the game of Nioh 2, and I cannot recommend this over the better examples, like Dark Souls series or especially Bloodborne, which does difficulty miles better.
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  13. Jun 2, 2021
    6
    Tldr : Basically pretty Dark souls for weebs with added 1-shotting. Playing this after Dark Souls, Sekiro or ghost of Tsushima shows just how limited it is.

    Good: Beautiful graphics and character designs. Weapon variety. Stance changing adds variety. Possession is an interesting mechanic. Bad: Too many instances of enemies 1-shotting you. Too many instances of light speed
    Tldr : Basically pretty Dark souls for weebs with added 1-shotting. Playing this after Dark Souls, Sekiro or ghost of Tsushima shows just how limited it is.

    Good:
    Beautiful graphics and character designs.
    Weapon variety.
    Stance changing adds variety.
    Possession is an interesting mechanic.

    Bad:
    Too many instances of enemies 1-shotting you.
    Too many instances of light speed hitboxes killing you before you can react.
    Stop/Start battle dynamics.
    Poor level design.
    Looter sho...slasher mechanic is tired.
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  14. Aug 3, 2020
    7
    As a fan of the SoulsBorne genre, what I disliked the most about this game in comparison to Nioh 2, is that the difficulty feels too artificial. Your hits do so little damage, that most bosses feel like a damage sponge. The game becomes about endurance rather than skill (unlike Souls and Borne games). Even Nioh and Lords of the Fallen did a better job.
    Still a good game to play while
    As a fan of the SoulsBorne genre, what I disliked the most about this game in comparison to Nioh 2, is that the difficulty feels too artificial. Your hits do so little damage, that most bosses feel like a damage sponge. The game becomes about endurance rather than skill (unlike Souls and Borne games). Even Nioh and Lords of the Fallen did a better job.
    Still a good game to play while waiting for the Demons Souls remaster, though.
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  15. Mar 26, 2020
    6
    Disappointing.

    Nioh 1 was an impressive achievement for a first entry in a new series. It had a lot of problems, but the foundation was there. Unfortunately, to a large degree Nioh 2 is a copy of the first game, both in terms of design and content. Pretty much all the problems from the first game are still here. Extremely bland and unmemorable level/area design. A lack of sensible
    Disappointing.

    Nioh 1 was an impressive achievement for a first entry in a new series. It had a lot of problems, but the foundation was there. Unfortunately, to a large degree Nioh 2 is a copy of the first game, both in terms of design and content.

    Pretty much all the problems from the first game are still here. Extremely bland and unmemorable level/area design. A lack of sensible input queueing means needing to hammer buttons. Regular enemies having tons of HP makes encounters initially challenging, but once you learn the patterns it just makes for tedious fights. The delay between pushing the button to block and your character actually blocking combined with the generally high speed of swings from enemies results in many hits where you were holding the block button for what felt like the entire incoming swing. Too many ambush enemies, a bit too much useless loot and the odd system of "selling" loot to the kodama for elixirs.

    Some new problems are added. Performing a burst counter will quite often result in both you and the enemy getting hit simultaneously which just feels wrong. Similarly, you don't seem to be protected at all when using soul core / Yokai abilities; triggering a "super" and transforming into a giant beast only to immediately die from being poked by a puny skeleton warrior also feels wrong. Finally, it seems every human boss can be beaten using the same very basic strategy.

    On the positive side the cutscenes look really good and the game has plenty of moments when the combat flows really nicely. Having the three different stances is still good and somewhat unique. Some of the nonhuman bosses are fun and challenging.

    I don't regret my purchase but I don't think the game is worth full price. This isn't so much Nioh 2 as it is Nioh 1.2. Definitely wait for a sale.
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  16. Sep 21, 2020
    5
    The game has too many competing systems that serve to make the game less fun. It devolves at it's lowest level to "hit r1 to clean up monster poop". Unfortunately, nothing really saves it from that.
  17. Jul 16, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Very very nice game and we are the best games and I strongly recommend it. Thank you to all of those in charge of it, and I love you Expand
  18. Jul 4, 2020
    10
    This was my first time playing a game like this and i have to say it was a challenge. This game made me a stronger player having to overcome hard obstacles it brought out the best of me haven't played a game yet this year that did that to me. I am happy with my improvements in hard games like this and that is why iam giving this rating a 10 well done nioh.
  19. Aug 9, 2021
    8
    To give my past experience, I have beat all souls games. Sekiro, Nioh 1, Bloodborne and as many soul likes as I can find on steam. I even bought Returnal and beat it even though it is nothing like these games other than people find it a challenge. Nioh 2 has clear upgrades from the first. You will find many new skills with Yokai abilities that '' in my opinion'' make the game much easier.To give my past experience, I have beat all souls games. Sekiro, Nioh 1, Bloodborne and as many soul likes as I can find on steam. I even bought Returnal and beat it even though it is nothing like these games other than people find it a challenge. Nioh 2 has clear upgrades from the first. You will find many new skills with Yokai abilities that '' in my opinion'' make the game much easier. Once you get down the timing of the burst counter then the mobs and bosses will drop. You have to ki pulse and change stances or you are not going to get anything much from the combat system. I like the challenge. I like making builds with all the gear. This is a good game for the genre. I just cant give it a 10. The levels and mobs still feel the same and I found myself feeling the repetitiveness after a few hours. I love the boss fights and how you can make about any build you want. The options are there to approach the game however you want. So if you are a souls vet or new to the genre, this game is one that should be in your library. Expand
  20. Jul 20, 2020
    8
    best fan service game ever made,
    everything that made the 1st a masterpiece is back, +some new yokai skills that make the whole experience a lot easier than the first game
    the face creator is the best we've seen in a game so far, the body creator is just decent, i really wish there was also an armor creator/editor... the whole experience deserves a 9 but i'm giving it an 8 since it
    best fan service game ever made,
    everything that made the 1st a masterpiece is back, +some new yokai skills that make the whole experience a lot easier than the first game
    the face creator is the best we've seen in a game so far, the body creator is just decent, i really wish there was also an armor creator/editor...
    the whole experience deserves a 9 but i'm giving it an 8 since it feels more like an expansion/fan-service of the 1st game, rather than a sequel that progresses the series forward. i wish that Nioh 3 will eventually do that
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  21. Sep 12, 2020
    7
    Nioh 2 is a good game, but I found myself getting a bit bored after 10+ hrs of gameplay.
  22. Feb 11, 2021
    10
    i love this game so much .really better than nioh 1 in my personal opinion.
  23. May 15, 2020
    5
    Basically they ruined it. going back to Nioh this abomination is buggy, feels weighty, i dont like you have to get help to beat bosses. some of the early creatures and design are kiddie. Hate the timing move breaker which is why i hate Sekiro. I have a rule if it ain’t broken don’t fix it. Man what a let down.
  24. Apr 13, 2020
    7
    Nioh 2 is among the upper tier of Souls Like Action RPGS and is basically a better version of Nioh 1.
    Marginally better graphics, combat, story and presentation though still doesn't do much towards fixing alot of the glaring issues that Nioh 1 had, and adding a few more of it's own.
    After beating the final boss I can say that the game is wayyyyyyy too long and I was ready to be done
    Nioh 2 is among the upper tier of Souls Like Action RPGS and is basically a better version of Nioh 1.
    Marginally better graphics, combat, story and presentation though still doesn't do much towards fixing alot of the glaring issues that Nioh 1 had, and adding a few more of it's own.

    After beating the final boss I can say that the game is wayyyyyyy too long and I was ready to be done with it about ten hours before I actually reached the end. While there is greater yokai variety this time around it still borrows Nioh 1's habit of bland and uninteresting level design. After the 10th derelict castle with a forest on the side it just gets old.

    The Bosses are also very hit and miss, with some tougher bosses in the beginning of the game and some ridiculously easy bosses later on, if the boss quality were a line chart it would be all over the place.

    It also retains and even enhances Nioh 1's penchant for cheap BS, with alot of bosses just straight up one shotting you with most of their abilities no matter how you build your character, Nioh has never been as concerned with tough but fair balance like FromSoft games have, it will just straight up kill you sometimes because RNG said so.

    Basically a marginally better Nioh 1 but still pales in comparison to any of the Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Sekiro.
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  25. Oct 3, 2020
    3
    Just too much going on, I really enjoyed Nioh as my favourite Souls-like game outside of the Soulsborne series. Really suffers from feature bloat to the point the core game mechanics are much less fun.
  26. Jun 20, 2020
    8
    The act part is excellent, and the map design is still choking.............
  27. Jun 22, 2020
    8
    Nioh 2 ciertamente no es para los débiles, y requiere mucha resiliencia, entrenamiento y voluntad. Es rápido, feroz, brutal y tiene uno de los sistemas de combate más complejos y profundos dentro de su género. Es perfecto para aquellos que aman un buen desafío y, tal vez, para aquellos que no quieren jugar nada más hasta el final de esta generación.
  28. Jun 27, 2020
    6
    Nioh 1 was an incredible souls like game. The sequel looks pretty and I love how you can customize your character. The biggest issue is how unfair and frustrating the game is. Unless you cheat and watch youtube ultra build videos your character does fair damage but enemies 1-2 shot kill you in a second at many parts of the game. Not fun at all.
  29. Jul 10, 2020
    9
    The best balance hardcore game , better than nioh 1 , dark souls and other hardcore games !! amazing gameplay and awesome sound !! all music in this game is amazing !!! all bosses is perfect
  30. Jul 20, 2020
    9
    Well Compared to the first game..the second game really improved
    Everything is better
    Have a deep Combat system
    Have a deep skill tree
    Better music and story
    It's more balanced and not too hard
    But still it's not memorable
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 91 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 84 out of 91
  2. Negative: 0 out of 91
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 23, 2020
    100
    The second Nioh is more than just a continuation of the legacy. The authors have been able to learn from the mistakes of the first game, and thanks to that this is an excellent action RPG that will not let you rest and you will want to keep playing. [Issue#303]
  2. Jun 23, 2020
    85
    I love a great third-person actioner, and I’m hard-pressed to think of one that nails the formula as perfectly as Nioh 2 does. The systems are pleasantly crunchy and there are a ton to dig into, the moment-to-moment fights get my blood pumping, and the artwork and theming are all spot-on. Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing, but Nioh 2 is exactly the right amount.
  3. Jun 1, 2020
    85
    Nioh 2 does what a good sequel should. It capitalizes on the best parts of its predecessors while providing new content and mechanics to advance the franchise. While the story structure and level design are largely the same, added weapons, more build depth, and new combat mechanics all enhance what the game has to offer. It doesn't always hit the mark perfectly, but it's a solid addition to the series. And let's face it, being a samurai is awesome.