Nioh: Complete Edition

Nioh may be an unabashed Dark Souls clone, but there’s just enough that distinguishes it from its peers to keep Dark Souls fanboys like myself on their toes. These differences can be hit or miss; while the ki system and skill trees are welcome additions to the Soulsborne formula, repetitive enemies and randomized loot feel like cheap ways to pad the overall content of Nioh. It also foregoes some of the atmosphere and mysterious lore of Dark Souls for a more linear narrative, but a confusing storyline with poorly developed characters (and a really strange scene where the famous Hattori Hanzo uses a cat as a pocket watch) leaves me wondering why they even bothered. It’s a testament to Nioh‘s strengths that these complaints do so little to negatively effect my overall enjoyment of the game.

Nioh: Complete Edition is a great game. That much should be expected as the original release was. However, much like all Koei Tecmo PC ports, this release suffers from some glaring omissions and limitations. Fortunately, Team Ninja have already announced some patches to start improving the release.

When it was released earlier this year, Nioh was far more than just a Dark Souls clone; it was an intense, action-packed and painfully-challenging action RPG that carved its own path. Mixing in historical figures with Japanese folklore brings out more of the dark and dreary world, even though the story itself doesn’t always pace itself properly.