LogFAQs > #932329321

24. Nioh (2017)
#5 Game of 2017

When discussing Nioh, it is inevitable that someone will describe it as being, "like Dark Souls". But in the year 2020, we exist in an era where saying something is, "like Dark Souls" regardless of how much it aims to be, "like Dark Souls" is wildly offensive to those who both enjoy and dislike Dark Souls. You could say that saying something is, "like Dark Souls" is the dark Souls of comparing things to Dark Souls. In order to avoid creating a difficult space for those who take offense to comparing things to Dark Souls, I will not be saying Nioh, is "like Dark Souls". So without further ado, I present you my write-up for Nioh:

Nioh is like Demon's Souls, the predecessor to Dark Souls. Not just in the fact that it's progression is linked to a manner of skill-based advancement, but also in how it goes about it's level design. The levels are fairly linear, but have this satisfying loop of wrapping around on themselves. They're super compact for the most part, making it a blast to traverse them even after many deaths. Most of this game is spent learning enemy patterns and gaining a feel for the environment relative to what enemies you're up against, and it tends to be fun, at least during the main missions. This is all cranked up when it comes to the boss battles, most of which are quite fun. The only time the combat is actually bad is against other human opponents who are technically supposed to be bound to the same rules as you. Those fights are actually not fair, and not fun by association.

Nioh has a vast array of weapons and skills to use, and experimenting with each of them is encouraged through the sheer amount of loot the game throws at you. Each weapon also has three different stances, allowing for an extra layer of variety in how you approach combat. My favorite weapon type is the ax, which fits in a nice middle ground of speed and damage. You also have talismans that can do some pretty cool things, including ones that will make the enemy slow down. It's a lore-friendly easy mode and I can really get behind this. I only used it on one boss who had a grab attack that would take off half of my health bar. This grab came with no warning, and it was very annoying. I didn't feel bad about using easy mode to beat him.

Nioh will likely always draw comparisons to Dark Souls, even though I have stated that I will not be saying it is, "like Dark Souls". It is a game which uses that as an inspiration, while building it's own identity through its design and mechanics. At what point do we consider something, "inspired by Dark Souls", rather than, "like Dark Souls". Perhaps it is semantics to attempt to make a distinction between such a combination of words, but it bares understanding why the phrase, "like Dark Souls" is such a hot button issue today. Maybe Nioh's inspiration from Dark Souls overshadows it's own uniqueness. There are many parts of the game that aren't, "like Dark Souls", so it could possibly undermine the fact that Nioh is it's own thing. I personally do not care about whether or not people say video games are, "like Dark Souls", because I like Dark Souls, and things that are, "like Dark Souls", will automatically intrigue me more. Whether I find that to hold up or not has little to do with the actual video game, Dark Souls. Please comment on this write-up either with how you feel about Nioh or your general opinions on the phrase, "like Dark Souls".

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