The alpha demo for Koei Tecmo's upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive Ni-Oh (or Nioh, NiOh) released today in America, yesterday for other territories, and after a short time with it, I can clearly see some similarities between Ni-oh and Dark Souls. Ni-oh's enemies are brutal and unforgiving in how tough they can be, but with quick thinking and some good timing, they can be dispatched. Shrines stand in for bonfires in Ni-oh, where one can pray to restore health and, presumably, Onmyo or magic.
Ni-oh's story isn't really revealed much in this demo, which isn't surprising; it is an alpha after all. All I know is that my character, which I wasn't able to customize, woke up on a small boat that seems to have been shored in a small island. That's it. Go kill stuff.
Ok, story aside for now, its the gameplay we're really interested in, right? At least for the sake of this alpha. The enemies I've encountered thus far aren't nearly as grotesque as in Dark Souls and for good reason. This isn't quite the fantasy land Dark Souls is set in, its more akin to Edo or Feudal Japan. Samurai in Ni-oh replace the shambling undead Dark Souls, but that doesn't mean they aren't as hard to fight. In fact, I'd venture to say these samurai are even more deadly. If you happen to come across one enemy, only to discover he had a friend lying in wait, your chances of survival have slimmed significantly.
The combat in Ni-oh is brilliantly deadly and will take some getting used to. Most notable about Ni-oh's combat (so far) is the stance system. Each weapon has 3 different stances-- high, medium, and low-- which are interchangeable both in and out of combat and the balancing between them can be key to survival.
Something else key to survival is weapon durability, something I'd taken for granted in Dark Souls (never thought I'd say that). Unlike Dark Souls, weapons in Ni-oh aren't restored from the brink of destruction when you pray at a shrine. This makes the ever present loom of death that much more frightening, for if you were to die too many times, your favorite weapon could end up in disrepair, and in need of a blacksmith, someone I've yet to come across.
Thus far, Ni-oh is shaping up to be just as dark and difficult as Dark Souls, and I have to say, Dark Souls in a samurai era is eternally appealing to me. While I hate to compare games so often, it can't be helped. When a series like Dark Souls has made such a name for itself, a new IP like this is bound to get hit with the comparison stick, but it still manages to stand on its own in a lot of good ways.
One thing's for sure: this is one game that has definitely earned a spot on my radar and i think it deserves a spot on your too. I'll continue to write about in as I make my way through it, updating as often as I can, if I make any progress that is.