Nioh Review

Where its obvious inspiration is about restraint, this is about density. High, mid and low stances change every weapon's entire moveset and can be switched mid combo, the ki pulse recovers stamina on a timed input so aggression is rewarded rather than punished, and the skill trees for each weapon class run deep enough that two players with the same katana fight differently. Add yokai realms that drain stamina, guardian spirits, living weapons and a Diablo grade loot economy, and the ceiling is enormous.

The boss design earns the comparison, particularly the human duels where reading a stance matters more than pattern memorisation. The costs are structural. Progress runs through a mission select screen rather than a connected world, and those missions reuse the same regions with the enemies rearranged, which drains the sense of place. The story of a blond Englishman in Sengoku Japan is a mess of names and cutscenes nobody follows. The loot volume is also absurd, with most drops existing only to be dismantled.