Nioh: Onimusouls Action Available on Feb 7!

Beezel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH5UG7AMhOY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELjJ_YZVgLc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH4qu-H47PE

Nioh is a serious autobiographical re-enactment of the tale of William Adams, an English navigator and first of the nation to reach the land of Japan. Best known for becoming an advisor to the shogun, honorary samurai and his general contributions in Mathematics, Engineering and the occasional ogre slaying.




Basically this is an action RPG from Tecmo's Team Ninja. Exclusively for the PS4 set in an alternate dark fantasy version of the 1600s period of Japan. People familiar with "souls like" games will be supremely familiar with this, but there's just enough of it's own quirks to stay fresh. Such as a stance system and an active-reload like function for regaining stamina quickly. Set to have two graphical modes that will let you choose between more pretty or better framerate as well as an expansive weapon/armor/and skill upgrade system.


https://youtu.be/5zLNrelWzM0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqw-tuvbSLw

metaghost

Oooooh, a demo today? Nice.

Those videos make stamina-management look very important.

Beezel

Yeah from the looks of it it's really easy to get caught ass out. And even the early enemies can two-shot you

Beezel

Speaking of, Demo is live in NA

Stupid

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/nioh-demo/cid=UP4108-CUSA04083_00-NIOHTAIKEN000000

Cantido

We are born by the sword
Made men by the sword
Undone by the sword
Fear the old sword

metaghost

This is extremely difficult.

I have no idea how to handle multiple enemies and the combat system feels very complex. Definitely an exciting variation on Souls mechanics but there's a lot to learn. And boy do I hope they ditch the durability system.

Beezel

Yeah weapons degrade way too fast it feels like.

mere_immortal

Strength weapons seem to last a lot longer than the katana I got.

metaghost

The Kick combo-ender seems super useless, as enemies tend to be out of range of it and missing the kick puts you in the defenseless exhausted state. But getting better at ki-pulse and navigating stance-changes during attack chains is really satisfying.

Beezel

Apparently there are low damage combos that merely exist for the sole purpose of doing ki(stamina) damage to exhaust a foe? That's pretty damn rad. It's great for an alpha demo but yeah there's some tightening up to do

metaghost

It's a bit of bummer that they're using a Diablo-style loot system, as I really fucking hate managing a billion similarly named objects with minor differences that may or may not have any impact on the game.

But the combat is really stellar even in Alpha (which maybe shouldn't be much of a surprise considering the game has had 10 years to be refined).

The demo level also does a good job of representing Souls design, with solid shrine (bonfire) placement, unlockable shortcuts, alternate paths, secret loot, and the ability to snipe fools with head shots.

firewaterword

Dang, I'm not going to be able to play the demo. Time limited demos are the pits! The pits I say!

Arthil

It feels... maybe a little too punishing? Though perhaps I'm just not using the guard quite as reliably.

mere_immortal

Arthil wrote: »

It feels... maybe a little too punishing? Though perhaps I'm just not using the guard quite as reliably.

You've really got to be careful until you get a few bits of armour, it's pretty much one hit kill until then.

Artereis

There seems to be a ton of customization in this combat system, and I love how dead players are things you get to fight in your own game. This has some serious potential.

Kadoken

An asian(themed, not made) Dark Souls with Onis and Tengu and shit?

YES.

Edit: is the main character based on this guy?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_(sailor)

Poor bastard

El Fantastico

Played about 2.5 hours of the demo.

With some tuning, this game could definitely be legit. Early on, the weapon and armor degrading is a little much, but once you get a hang of the combat and a few upgrades, it really opens up. I'm definitely all over these axe/hammer weapons.

I like the Diablo-style loot system. I doubt we'll be seeing so many quick upgrades in a full release version because I had 2-3 blue upgrades (which seem to be stronger than purples?) by the time I was finishing up. In the end, I had an axe that did 15% lightning damage and a sweet hammer that boosted equipment, yokai and human drops by 5-7% each.

And I still haven't even beat the demo!

Got as far as killing the Oni in the house halfway up the hill and got the Residence Key.

I wonder how long before we see the final version?

Kadoken

I wonder why the main character isn't just a fully Japanese guy. Apparently his mother was English and his father was Japanese, and that somehow produced Jieraruto No Rivia.

(No joke, I looked up would Gerald in Romaji would look like and just subsituted a t.)

Edit: his mother must have been really shocked when she found out Shintoism (the shrines WORK) and magic was real.

Edit 2: this is the problem when media takes place in the (historical) real world but with magic and spiritualism like Earthdawn, Indiana Jones (like why doesn't he tell the world that fucking gods, including the Hindu and Abrahamic gods, are real), or when someone like John Constantine shows up somewhere, meaning due to his presence, at the very least God, Satan, and other faiths and spirituality [like voodoo] exist and what does that mean to the world at large. I have to overthink it.

KoopahTroopah

Looks like a very fast Souls. Color me intrigued.

Beezel

El Fantastico wrote: »

Played about 2.5 hours of the demo.

With some tuning, this game could definitely be legit. Early on, the weapon and armor degrading is a little much, but once you get a hang of the combat and a few upgrades, it really opens up. I'm definitely all over these axe/hammer weapons.

I like the Diablo-style loot system. I doubt we'll be seeing so many quick upgrades in a full release version because I had 2-3 blue upgrades (which seem to be stronger than purples?) by the time I was finishing up. In the end, I had an axe that did 15% lightning damage and a sweet hammer that boosted equipment, yokai and human drops by 5-7% each.

And I still haven't even beat the demo!

Got as far as killing the Oni in the house halfway up the hill and got the Residence Key.

I wonder how long before we see the final version?

I know the demo states "Alpha gameplay" but who knows how far actual development is right now. They must have been incredibly confident about the game mechanics or are looking for feedback for tuning purposes. If I had to guess out of my ass I'm guessing it's going to be 2017 at the earliest.

The things I found frustrating, at least at the beginning, was how very little tools you had to deal with multiple opponents early on and how fast items degrade. I don't know if the "diablo style loot" is because they expect you to be replacing your gear frequently or not. But I do like how each time you die you get a little tip about mechanics you didn't know shit about and can apply that to get a bit further the next time. I don't think enough games do that. But it would be nice to have more explained to you from the jump.

Edit: Apparently those cute little forest spirits are collectibles? Oh god this game is going to be the end of me.

El Fantastico

The demo was generous enough with those glues and whetstones hidden in destructible objects that I don't think gear degradation will be as big of a concern. There was also no shopkeeper (that I've encountered anyway) and I'm sure you'd be able to buy more of those items, or basic weapon and armor bits in the event your main stuff gets trashed enough.

The only mechanic I had yet to figure out was that Ki Pulse business. It made it sound like there was something you could do at the end of a combo to help restore some of your ki so you wouldn't be left winded if you didn't finish a kill.

TOGSolid

Dark Souls with sick combos and Diablo loot? Someone has been reading my Christmas wish list.

Definitely gonna try this when I get home from work!

mere_immortal

El Fantastico wrote: »

The demo was generous enough with those glues and whetstones hidden in destructible objects that I don't think gear degradation will be as big of a concern. There was also no shopkeeper (that I've encountered anyway) and I'm sure you'd be able to buy more of those items, or basic weapon and armor bits in the event your main stuff gets trashed enough.

The only mechanic I had yet to figure out was that Ki Pulse business. It made it sound like there was something you could do at the end of a combo to help restore some of your ki so you wouldn't be left winded if you didn't finish a kill.

Tap R1 just as the blue swirlies come together, it's kind of like an active reload for stamina.

Mojo_Jojo

Diablo style loot is a turn off but there is a vast Onimusha chasm in my life and I'll fill it with anything I can

El Fantastico

Will have to test that more tonight.

metaghost

mere_immortal wrote: »

El Fantastico wrote: »

The demo was generous enough with those glues and whetstones hidden in destructible objects that I don't think gear degradation will be as big of a concern. There was also no shopkeeper (that I've encountered anyway) and I'm sure you'd be able to buy more of those items, or basic weapon and armor bits in the event your main stuff gets trashed enough.

The only mechanic I had yet to figure out was that Ki Pulse business. It made it sound like there was something you could do at the end of a combo to help restore some of your ki so you wouldn't be left winded if you didn't finish a kill.

Tap R1 just as the blue swirlies come together, it's kind of like an active reload for stamina.

In its initial state, it most just staves off exhaustion and allows retreat after take a couple swings. Raising Dexterity increases the Ki Pulse state, which makes it more beneficial, and then there are skills amongst the weapon types that let you leverage the effect in different ways.

Katana has a set of skills based on changing stances during Ki Pulse, and part of Ki Pulse is I guess important when fighting Yokai (the spirit world creatures) as they can afflict you with various debuffs that you can cleanse with precise use of Ki Pulse. Of course, the Yokai tend to just fuck your shit up regardless, so it's not that useful.

metaghost

Man, the demo boss is super rude. Tons of unblockable attacks, he destroys your gear constantly, he has a grab with a huge hit box that does like 800 damage and can exhaust you, you rarely have a chance to trigger ki-pulse, and he has a boatload of life.

Uriel

This game is... hard!

metaghost

The boss is officially just dumb. It seems like you can maybe block some attacks depending on your stance (i.e. low stance can block low), but that also appears to demand a full bar of stamina, so it's not all that useful. And once you break his chains, the pools of "yokai goop" make it almost impossible to get more than one swing in per attack. Plus he likes to just fall on you every so often and kill you.

And they need to ditch durability ASAP, because never has durability made a game more fun nor has it enhanced anyone's perception of a game's "reality" — it's just tedium and drudgery.

Renzo

I beat the boss at level 23. If you can kill the phantom named after the director in the cave near the coast, you'll get a full set of Veteran armor that helps a bit for the boss. I found it helpful to dodge into him/past him, especially to the left. And hold your guard when he does his spin attack with the ball and chain. Once he drops his weapon, again make sure to dodge into him/past him.

Not done with the demo though!

I've never thought very highly of the combat in the Souls games. But in Nioh, the quick, hyper-brutal fights against human opponents, with the stamina system that forces you not to flail, creating a fun and satisfying back-and-forth...I'm really enjoying it.

metaghost

Sadly, that special phantom fell off a cliff and didn't leave any treasure behind.

DeMoN

Honestly I really liked everything about the demo until the boss. Must have fought him about 20 times. It's a cakewalk until the ball and chains come off then he just becomes a pain in the ass. His animations also seemed a little janky compared to the regular enemies.

Maybe I'm just underleveled or need better gear or something, but yeah that boss is not fun at all and kind of put me off the game. Like, if that's representative of how the bosses will be in the full game then no thanks.

*goes back to playing dark souls 3*

Travan

Dropping a timed demo in the middle of finals sure is crummy

Renzo

Nue is ridiculous.

El Fantastico

Nue?

Feel free to spoiler, but what does come after the boss in the ship, if anything?

Arthil

I guess this relates to everything above me. Don't click if you do not wanna see the fight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4bduQgXDSE

Renzo

There's another level not quite as long as the first after you beat the boss on the ship. Nue is the boss of that level, and yeah, that's it in the video above.

El Fantastico

Damn, now I need to work harder to beat the boss on the ship. It's an extremely challenging fight, but I can see being able to do it. The phantoms used to give me problems and now I eat most of them for breakfast.

Spear-users can die in a fire, though. For real.

metaghost

I managed to beat Omnyoki using a Katana, as my Armorbreaker Axe could never seem to block anything which made no sense.

This second level is crazy. Those cyclops-vampires that can turn into giant cyclops oni are goddamn obnoxious. So hard to hit and you inevitably chase it into a pack of ninja.

EDIT: Defeated Nue — much more enjoyable boss fight than Omnyoki; better arena, more diverse attack patterns, doesn't kill you in two hits, has various moments of weakness to take advantage of, and just looks rad.

Rex Dart

I'm really hoping the current weapon durability and the abundance of loot is an element specific to the demo. I also feel like the current build is really generous with the skill points, as I unlocked a ton of cool moves within a few levels.

All of these elements make sense if you want to encourage players to use a lot of different combinations of weapons, armors and skills to see what works and doesn't work. In the actual game, I'd definitely prefer more durability (or DSII style where bonfires restore weapon durability) and less loot.

Combat feels great in this build, though. I'm really looking forward to playing more.