Nioh: Defiant Honor

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Destructoid
    Jul 24, 2017
    85
    It's fascinating how Team Ninja is mostly catering to the hardcore crowd with this string of add-ons up through Nioh: Defiant Honor. You can't really just jump into these levels without having mastered everything up through the campaign, and although that mentality might feel a little unwelcoming for some, I feel like Koei Tecmo gets it, and knows their audience.
  2. XGN
    Aug 4, 2017
    80
    A solid second DLC with better level design and richer storytelling than Dragon of the North. Enemies could have been less generic, but hey, Sanada Yukimura makes up a big deal for that.
  3. Everyeye.it
    Aug 4, 2017
    80
    Net of not so exciting content, at least as far as the main missions are concerned.
  5. Multiplayer.it
    Aug 2, 2017
    80
    NiOh - Defiant Honor is an impressive DLC with lots of content and new good ideas.
  6. Meristation
    Aug 1, 2017
    80
    Another solid chapter on William's new adventure, Defiant Honor captures the cruelty of war while bringing more of the excellent Nioh gameplay. It also ends soon enough, so it leaves us already wanting the third and final DLC.
  7. LaPS4
    Aug 4, 2017
    78
    Defiant Honor is a DLC that is just the connection between the first and third ones. Neither the bosses, nor the new weapon or its plot are that great and its only aim is to put every piece on the board in order for the final battle. It's not a bad DLC, but they will have to work hard for the next one
  8. The Games Machine
    Aug 10, 2017
    75
    Defying Honor is a DLC that keeps the player on edge, with the steep difficulty we already encountered in the original Nioh. Compared to the first DLC, the amount of new content is basically the same, but the level design is much more intriguing. Unfortunately, the PvP still feels sloppy and unbalanced and sloppy.
  9. Critical Hit
    Aug 10, 2017
    65
    Unfortunately the boss encounters and disposable side missions sully whatever good this content had going for it. Still, despite my grievances, I feel as though Team Ninja are finally finding their groove with the DLC and I’m hoping that the final one will knock it out of the park.
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  1. GameSpew
    Aug 11, 2017
    There isn’t really anything to be said negatively about Defiant Honor, other than, like Dragon of the North, I just want more. But Nioh is more than enough, I’m just greedy. I will be eagerly awaiting the final DLC, and the pain it will bring me. Don’t let this game slip away. Experience its ever growing brilliance.

Awards & Rankings

79
#79 Best PS4 Game of 2017

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 57
  3. Negative: 11 out of 57
  1. tbouniverse
    Oct 16, 2017
    7
    I felt letdown by the fact you get only 2 main missions. Too short. The main boss battles were good and challenging. I love the new weaponI felt letdown by the fact you get only 2 main missions. Too short. The main boss battles were good and challenging. I love the new weapon type: Tonfa, which is a melee weapon that is great fun to use. Thus far, the two DLC have introduced great new weapon types. The new region is besieged and as opposed to the beauty of the previous DLC, you are in the middle of war, which isn't the prettiest.

    You fight Sanada Yukimura, the greatest Japanese warrior ever. In this DLC, I love his character as he has shows you true integrity and valor. He is a formidable boss.    … Full Review »
  2. Kaioh
    Jul 31, 2017
    6
    Such a weak DLC.
    2/3 of bosses are reused from previous DLC.
    Like really..? Even though Sanada is not as strong as Date I did enjoy that    Such a weak DLC.
    2/3 of bosses are reused from previous DLC.
    Like really..?
    Even though Sanada is not as strong as Date I did enjoy that boss fight and his will to reject Maria offer.
    Soundtrack was unique to this guy (I believe), but wasn't impressing overall.
    Side missions were all boring, but that's a common thing for Nioh.
    New weapon - Tonfa. This one is actually good addition to the armory, just like as Odachi was. Whoever behind fighting system/armory in Nioh - deserves respect.
    2 main missions are not enough guys, sorry. Still I'm in love with this game!    … Full Review »
  3. BlakDak666
    Jan 7, 2018
    3
    Nioh: Defiant Honor is bad DLC. It is DLC that not only is good enough on its own, but also fails to improve from Dragon of The North'sNioh: Defiant Honor is bad DLC. It is DLC that not only is good enough on its own, but also fails to improve from Dragon of The North's content. In my previous review I gave Dragon of The North a mediocre score and from that I expected a much better chapter for this DLC. Instead we get even LESS missions and virtually nothing new. This is just bad on so many levels.

    Let's talk about the pros of this **** show. First, performance and graphics are rock solid as they have been, with no glitches or bugs in sight. Second, the combat, while waning now in its fun and enjoyment due to the unnecessary challenge spike, is still as good as should be. The first level of the "story" is actually a neat gimmick; you must hide behind cover or you are shot by a barrage of fire arrows and cannons. You can even use it to hurt enemies nearby that are exposed or not behind cover. It's a neat little trick that made me happy initially that Team Ninja were thinking more of how to make their level designs somewhat more interesting and here they make it a decent one. Initially is the key word though. The inclusion of the Tonfas (which I omitted saying about the inclusion of the Odachi weapons in Dragon of The North) allow some cool gauntlets that you can punch at enemies with some style. The final boss of the level is good, if a little cheap. Aside from that let's talk about the **** and why this is bad overall.

    There are only 2 story missions in this DLC and five side quests. 2....just....how. How can you live with yourselves to make this and sell it to your playerbase for $10? The 2 missions you can complete in not even an hour and the side content once again pissed me off that I didn't even bother to finish it all as a couple were so hard for me I can't even finish them and just want me to grind my soul away to even have a chance. No. THAT IS NOT HOW YOU DO CHALLENGE Team Ninja. The first mission is surprisingly decent, but the other mission ends up being aggravating for me. The inclusion of human bosses and sub bosses is the near bane of this game's existence; instead of having interesting demon bosses or anything of that caliber, we are treated to what is little more than a glorified NPC fight instead. It was lazy in the base game, annoying and tiring in Dragon of The North, and I give this **** a middle finger.

    The only new enemy in this (aside from bosses) is dogs. Ninja dogs to be precise. Dogs you can easily kill and have little challenge to deal with unless you get mobbed. Then they can stun lock you to death because of course they can. Old enemies are reused including new color palette swapped blobs (because of course it can), the previous DLC and base game. It's appalling. This mindset of Team Ninja to do this has gotten out of hand and there is virtually no balance at all in this game. It goes from one extreme to another and it is slowly breaking my temper to the point I might be regretting of putting Nioh in my top list of 2017. If I have to grind in a game like this to even have a halfway decent hope in hell of succeeding, then it might be time for this game to fall on its sword and commit seppuku. The five side missions are mostly bad, with two just being boss fights, two being level-like ones and one just being a trial basically. The two boss fights are broken and you die super fast and in the most broken of ways, the two level-likes are halfway decent but don't have anything worth hitting home about and the trial is basically torture for the mind, your vocal chords and how strong you squeeze the life out of your controller like it was some person who made this ****.

    I honestly have never been so offended by DLC this bad since Destiny and I didn't think laziness of this kind could stoop so low. Had this been free and a part of some update, it STILL would be mediocre at best and at worst bad. At the asking price of $10, this is just asinine greed on display. If this was $10 between this and Dragon of The North together, maybe it could be that price but at its current state it's just not worth it unless you buy the complete edition of Nioh. The additions the game bothers to add is minimal at best and practically ancillary meaningless waste at worst. There is no way I am letting this **** slide.

    Nioh: Defiant Honor is terrible DLC. It is a prime example of what NOT to do to affect the base game and mess with the core mechanics in a way that feels cheaply made to cash in on die hard difficulty fanatics. It felt as if Team Ninja didn't even bother to test this and threw it out as scraps to players and it overall hurts the world of Nioh significantly. Sure the base game is still rock solid and enjoyable mostly, but this end game content is just bad. With one DLC left now, I fear Team Ninja will have done far more damage to Nioh than it would have liked and as a result make it a disappointment and mistake for me to have on my list.    … Full Review »
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