

The beginning allows you the choice of weapon, and you can practise here for as long as you like before committing to your journey. Nothing shows that versatile gameplay like the wide range of weapons. Rewarding those who love to explore, rather than punishing those who simply want to get things done. It’s part of Nioh 2’s wider acceptance of player adaptability.

Exploring every corner of a level will greatly reward the player, but you won’t find yourself punished for beelining it straight to the final boss of the stage. Although smaller in scale, Nioh 2’s level design is a fantastic execution of small, but dense stages. Great world design isn’t sacrificed because of a lack of open-world either. Hopping in and out is comfortable, with players able to set achievable targets which are visualised to them on the world map. In addition to its story, Nioh 2 is level-based as opposed to offering a continuous open world, acting as another tool of encouragement. Far from the greatest plot in videogames, the story of Nioh 2 is better than I expected, with the narrative acting as not only a great break from the action, but a good tool to continue to persevere through the games hardest levels. Telling its story through beautiful cutscenes, in addition to some fantastic voice acting, it’s easy to become invested in Nioh 2, even in the face of its challenging combat. The story of Nioh 2 is a prequel to the original, set 20 years prior to its predecessor and the complete edition comes bundled with all three of the game’s expansions. It’s a style of game not everyone is comfortable with, but Nioh 2 is a unique experience that deserves to stand out on its own. Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition is similar to the Souls series in the same way that the original Battletoads is - it’s difficult. Such is life, we’re inclined to lump even the most vaguely similar things into a pot together. Whether it’s the difficulty or the (unfair) Souls comparison, people seem a lot more tentative when it comes to approaching the Nioh games. Seemingly loved by everyone who plays, it always seems overlooked by the wider gaming community. Reviews // 4th Mar 2021 - 2 years ago // By Adam Kerr Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition Review
