NioH - Review

Article by Domenico De Rosa

The meaning of the word “NioH” in theory it would be "benevolent king", but in practice several others and of different nature could be associated: swearing, death, hardship, to name just a few that are pronounceable. Above all, however, I decided to associate another meaning to the word NioH: surprise! Yes, because despite the many Alpha and Beta proposed by Team Ninja, NioH continued to surprise in a positive way, so much so that to consider it one of the usual "souls-like" would turn out to be just an offense to the development team. In fact, the game is not just combat and death (ours and that of the enemies), but evokes a very fascinating historical period, combined with the many mythologies belonging to Japanese culture and brought back to life for the occasion. NioH doesn't just tell the journey of the protagonist William, but at the same time it also allows us to undertake a journey within a world that transcends the universe of the imagination.

From the West with fury

In NioH we take on the role of the brave William Adams which, having left England, will land in the very dangerous Japanese lands looking for a dark enemy which deprived our hero of a very precious asset. William, however, has not come to terms with what awaits him: the Feudal Japan (Sengoku age) is not only home to bandits and swordsmen, but also to undead, Oni and fearsome Yokai. Here, in fact, the darkest demons of Japanese culture came to life, proving to have an indisputable power from ordinary humans. Common humans in fact: William is the exception! Equipped with powers that they transcend the common human being, the western protagonist of the game has decided to learn the way of the samurai, perhaps starting almost by accident. After a tutorial mission in fact (the second tutorial you can skip if you have played the Beta), to spend the time during the journey that will take him to the east, William decides the basics of the samurai way by reading some books. This actually allows us to choose the main weapons and our guardian spirit, laying a solid foundation for what our hero will become in the course of the game. The difficulty of the title is all in the fighting: the enemies, whether human or otherwise, they will always be difficult to deal with and it will be impossible not to leave our feathers during the clashes ... trust us! William, however, is not a man of easy surrender: on your side you will have various types of weapons, including katane, asce, lance, doppie spade e kusarigama, as well as, of course, ranged weapons such as bows and rifles. Also, William can rely on various abilities, various kinds of ninjutsu and some spells. Dunque, if the enemies will be feared, at the same time they too must be afraid of us. Also, the player will be able to rely on superior strength, an entity that will accompany us throughout the journey, that is Guardian Spirit.

Watch over me!

Battling against bandits, samurai, mercenaries, and even some undead is an undertaking that can be faced, but the situation will deteriorate more and more when we will have to clash with the fearsome Yokai. Luck has it that William will have several travel companions ready to support him in the most difficult moments. We are talking about the Guardian Spirits, entities that represent one of the most important features of NioH. This spirit (only one of them will be able to help us) in fact guarantees several stat bonuses, special abilities and furthermore, when the power reached is maximum, it will transform us into an almost unbeatable being. In NioH there are several Guardian Spirits, but finding them will not be an easy task… eh no! At the beginning the game allows you to choose only one (Kato, Isonade or Daiba-Washi), while to increase our "collection" we will need to accomplish several special objectives. Guariamo also represents the keeper of our Amritas (the counterpart of the souls of the Dark Souls), necessary for increase the level of the character. At our death (it will often happen), the Guardian Spirit will guard our tomb and our Amritas for one time: by recovering the remains we will regain both his power and the Amritas accumulated before our departure. While William is not accompanied by the Spirit, all bonuses and abilities generated by the Guardian will be completely inaccessible. 

Much Like, little Souls

Let NioH be influenced by "souls" titles it is undeniable… to say that it is just another “souls-like” but it is extremely wrong. First of all, unlike any Dark Spuls, the game protaognist is one and only one, and not a random character proposed by the game. William Adams has his own personality, background and belief. The customization of the character's abilities, however, is not entirely limited: to William it is possible assign one or more fighting styles and let him learn ninja spells or skills. We would not have a real wizard or a real killer, but customization it will never be completely monotonous. In addition to the protagonist, Team Ninja worked a lot on the setting and above all, was capable of perfectly evoke Japanese myths and beliefs: every boss, every Yokai that will hinder our path is in fact the result of a culture that has centuries and centuries of history on its shoulders. Having said that though, NioH mechanics and gameplay are very reminiscent of souls-style! The bonfires are replaced here by gods small temples: by praying, the player can recover energy, level up, change your Guardian Spirit or trade equipment with Amrita. Even the fights have suffered a lot from the influence (but only the influence) of the "souls": they are difficult, they are many and above all, they are almost unmanageable in numerical inferiority. The boss-fights are also extremely complicated, but with cold blood and after many attempts, even the strongest boss can be killed. Own the high difficulty of the title can represent a two-sided coin: Those who accept the challenge of Team Ninja will be able to discover what NioH has to offer as its wonderful story continues. Those who have never approached this "special" type of game, he may almost immediately regret the money spent on the purchase. Obviously, the developers decided to add a lot of flour from their bag, churning out one of the funniest combat mechanics ever. William in fact, thanks to the simple press of a button, can modify the handle of his weapon, assuming to use a high, intermediate or low one. This will determine the speed and power of his attacks, as well as allow us to access a variety of skills usable only with a specific type of handle. To conclude, the developers could have indulged a little more with the game's HUD: in this case the resemblance to any Souls is far too obvious.

To you the choice!

30 fps, variable frame rate, maximum resolution… what you won't miss will be the choice! Yes, because one of the main features of NioH is to allow the same player to decide to reward action at the expense of graphic quality, or have higher details but a lower frame rate, or even play with the right compromise between resolution and fps. Unfortunately, however, by making the fps variable, the performance of the title turn out to be very unstable, with quite visible drops in frame rates. Even from a graphic point of view, however, there are both joys and sorrows. If on the one hand the boss design is flawless and appealing, on the other hand during the gameplay they are noticeable (albeit fast) drops in graphic quality and loss of detail. This is a problem that I have already encountered during the Beta sessions and apparently, not completely solved yet. Such a pity! Some missions then appear to be a kind of déjà vu: First you meet the humans, then the undead and then the inhabitants of the Yokai kingdom, complete with gradual as well as repetitive increase in the difficulty of the clashes. The soundtrack, catchy during normal gameplay, is to be promoted with flying colors, majestic and sublime during the boss-fights, almost as if the creator of the game wanted to charge us for battle. On the other hand, creatures with such a well-made design could only be accompanied by a soundtrack up to the occasion.

Conclusion

What NioH was a noteworthy game was clear from the time of the first Beta releases of the game. But on balance is it really worth buying the title? Yes, if your aim is to embark on an adventure in one of the most fascinating settings that a game can ever propose. Yes, if you are lovers of the genre and you can't wait to accept the challenge launched by NioH. No, if your patience has an easily reachable limit. NioH will also be a game of high difficulty and easy swearing, but it has its own identity and narrative component similar to a novel, but playable. William's journey is from the west to the east, but this is not the classic title made ad-hoc for oriental users only!