Nioh Alpha Demo Available

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

This is oddly well-timed considering the latest ZP is about Dark Souls III. For those who don't know, Nioh is a game by Koei Tecmo that is essentially Dark Souls with samurai and Japanese mythological creatures. After a decade of development hell it seems the game will finally be getting released this year.

Anyway, the alpha demo for Nioh has been up on the Playstation Store since April 26. It will remain up until May 5. If you're able to beat the first boss in the demo by then you're rewarded with the Mark of Conqueror which is DLC that will unlock once the full game hits. Keep in mind you have to be signed into the PSN as it is essentially a network test and KT wants feedback

I've gotten past the first boss and am working on the second part. So far I'm liking it as it has its own flair and quirks to differentiate it from DS, such as weapons having multiple stances, a custom combo tree, the enemies having stamina bars, and guardian spirits where you can essentially go into Devil Trigger to have a quick out or just go on a killing spree if you please. Plus the monster design is pretty cool as Japanese folklore has some bonkers creatures. Some quibbles I have are that the game doesn't explain itself well, which will lead to a lot of frustrating deaths, the starting area is probably a bit too harsh despite the game clearly trying to sell itself on difficulty, and the inventory is a bit of a mess. However, it does seem to be shaping up to be a good DS substitute and I look forward to seeing more of it.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Oh, that sounds...

Whelp, never mind. Exclusives have, once again, bested me.

 

[Chanticoblues]

I've played it a little. Haven't really ventured too far out, but I think it has a pretty solid combat system---but I'm not a fan of games that really inhibit you with stamina bars and I'm feeling that a lot. The animation is really good, and I like some quirks (parrying without a weapon has you catch an enemy's blade and stab them with it), but I didn't really have any motivation to do anything. I didn't really feel like going and killing everything, and there really wasn't enough context to the demo to inform me why I should be killing everything.

I probably just wasn't in the mood, so maybe I'll give it another play before its taken down.

 

[Captain Marvelous_v1legacy]

I've been playing it for a little while now and I've got to say, if this is what the Souls games are like, I can definitely see the appeal. The game is as much fun as it is frustrating. I dislike the weapon durability mechanic, since it forces me to change from a weapon I like or one that does a high amount of damage, but other than that the game is fun.

I'm fighting an Oni right now that's kicking my ass. Can't even get its health down 10% before I die. I am really bad at this game! XD I'm gonna go ahead and level up my spirit so I can get some of those Guardian Spirit bonuses. Maybe that'll help.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Just went through the demo twice, once for the initial play and a second one to take petty vengeance on all the enemies that had previously hassled me. This is probably the best Dark Souls-alike I've seen, mostly because it takes inspiration from that series but has some quirks to give it an identity. The demo admittedly does a terrible job of explaining its fighting mechanics, especially the Ki Pulse which makes the flow a lot different from DS. Probably the biggest quirk is how the enemies have stamina gauges like the player and the main tactic in the game is to whittle it down so the player can go nuts on them. KT has a gem on their hands here, but it needs a bit more polish.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I have it downloaded and have been meaning to try it, but, i kinda bought Dark Souls 3 at the same time and am chipping through that currently. However, if this demo is time dependent, then it may be better to attack it first. Thankyou for the recommendation!

 

[Casual Shinji]

I've played it for about an hour, and there's definitely a lot of potential here, but... if they don't put a proper repair mechanic in place for your weapons, then it can kindly fuck right off. I hate abilities and equipment in games opperating on borrowed time. You give me some method to keep up me equipement, and I'm not talking about random item drops of repair powder or something. I want a solid system that'll assure me I can repair my stuff when I need to, whether it's paying for it or buying tools that allow me to do it myself. Don't kneecap your own game like this, Team Ninja.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I have it downloaded and have been meaning to try it, but, i kinda bought Dark Souls 3 at the same time and am chipping through that currently. However, if this demo is time dependent, then it may be better to attack it first. Thankyou for the recommendation!

Also, you're going to want to get the shortcut in the starting area quickly so you can get equipment drops (yeah, the durability needs some tweaking) as the beginning area can be frustrating. The Gamefaqs board for it has a pretty decent rundown of mechanics and Gaijin Hunter on Youtube has put up a tutorial for how fighting works:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/181161-nioh/73652896

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXOu1wG70_k

 

[Skatalite]

Yeah, it's really good. Definitely a lot like the Souls games, but unique enough (and good enough) to not make it feel like a rip-off. Might be buying this on day 1, depending on the reviews.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Been giving it a go and gave up in disgust then I found out about Ki burst and that made the game a lot more playable and fun.

Just defeated the 2nd Yokai who went down a hell of a lot faster than the first although he butchered me countless times due to how fast his attacks are and the space I am fighting in with my Axe.

Game is brutal though reminds me of Ninja Gaidens early levels (rebooted Ninja Gaiden not original). Definitely harder than Dark and Demons Souls with a better combat system but that durability system is atrocious. Does it make it more difficult? yeah a little I suppose but I dont think the game needs that and more importantly it is not fun in the slightest in fact it takes away from the fun so I hope they alter it a lot or better yet just rip it out. Inventory is also pretty bad.

The variety on weapons is ok but falls short of the souls games and there isnt really the feeling of finding that awesome bit of loot in the world either.

Game really reminds me of Onimusha mixed with the Souls series mixed with Ninja Gaiden with Geralt as the guest main character. Team Ninja definitely have what it takes to make amazing (and difficult but fair) action games so I am fairly confident this game will be good after what I have played but it definitely needs some work especially with the durability system.

On a side note the Revenant system is pretty cool but think it could also do with some tweaking same could be said for UI and the near useless minimap.

EDIT: Beat the first boss took me ages but once I realised you dodge into it the first phase he became a lot easier. 2nd phase was easier to avoid being hit by until you attacked. In the end I mostly just waited until he fell on the floor or was running towards one of the balls before I attacked as he was really unpredictable after the ground pound move. Think I could have slipped in a few more attacks if I switched to a faster weapon rather than using an axe in high stance all the time but I found it would not reliably switch fast enough in the middle of a fight so did not bother.

Do you get anything after beating the 2nd area? or is the mark of the destroyer all you get after the first?

 

[Something Amyss]

You know, I was really looking forward to this game. Then I heard "Dark Souls," "stamina meter," and "weapon durability."

Maybe I'll pass.

 

[Sharia]

The game and demo is great. It has its own learning curve, but don't listen to people complaining about things like durability etc.

 

[LookingGlass]

I've played for about 30 mins and it's... interesting. I love the Soulsborne games and that's why I decided to try this.

I spent the first 10 mins "summoning" those dead guys at the red sword spots and getting my ass kicked. I did beat one of them though and that allowed me to declare victory and move on. Are they other people playing the demo?

By this time though, my Katana had almost completely fallen apart. I can live with weapon durability in games, but my god it should last longer than that. I haven't yet figured out how to repair it.

Staying on that theme, I haven't figured out much of anything. I've found the three different combat stances and messed around with each. I had no idea what Ki burst is, but I just looked it up after seeing you guys mention it. Interesting.

My biggest problem with the game (and maybe it's just me?) is that I can't see what the hell is going on. It's dark and the camera messes with me a bit and I just struggle to actually see what's happening around me. Also, my health bar seems far too big considering a bunch of guys are 1-2 shotting me.

It's fun though. And so satisfying to defeat enemies. It certainly has potential as a skill-based action RPG. I'll be following closely.


Edit: So I've now beaten the first mini boss type thing (where you get the key to the residence) and now I'm really into it. I'm still struggling to see things, but I have a decent idea of what I'm supposed to do now after getting to the third bonfire (or whatever we're calling them in this game). This game could be very, very good if the rest of development goes well.

Edit 2: Beat the first boss and I'm loving it.

Here's the official feedback survey if you want to tell them what you think of it:
http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/form/nioh_uk

 

[Captain Marvelous_v1legacy]

Well, I finally beat the first boss. It took a few tries, 23 I think, but I finally killed it! I'm pretty sure I was using a weapon that's rewarded to the player for beating the second boss, though I didn't have a high enough skill stat to use it at it's full potential. As soon as my hands stop shaking I'll be moving on to the next area.

 

[klaynexas3]

Now when you say that if you beat the demo you get the DLC, do you have to beat it before a certain date or is it just whenever? Because I know I could download it before the drop date, but I don't know if I could beat it before that date.

 

[Captain Marvelous_v1legacy]

Now when you say that if you beat the demo you get the DLC, do you have to beat it before a certain date or is it just whenever? Because I know I could download it before the drop date, but I don't know if I could beat it before that date.

You have to beat it by May 5th, which is when the demo goes down and The Mark of the Conqueror is no longer available for download. It says as much on the Playstation Store page of the DLC. "This content is only available during the following period: 2016/4/26 - 2016/5/5"

Edit:

Spoiler: Photo evidence

 

[Ishigami]

Thought it was something like Onimusha then I found out it's more like Demons Soul. Switched it off and uninstalled it right afterwards.
Not interested in these types of games.

Considering the tons of defeated players by the very first 5 enemies alone I suspect I?m not the only one sucking at this game.
I don?t see the appeal in this nor do I have the time to be stuck at a section of a game for a prolonged period of time.

A shame, I would have liked something Onimusha. Moving on.

 

[Something Amyss]

Please, any Dark Souls game is way better than this. Calling this game a shitty Dark Souls clone is an insult to shitty Dark Souls clones.

Haven't played it, no frame of reference. I set it to download before I heard the comments, and ANY Dark Souls comparison was enough to put me off. Whether it's worse than Dark Souls or not...I don't really care, because "shitty dark souls" isn't going to improve my chances of playing.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Been giving it a go and gave up in disgust then I found out about Ki burst and that made the game a lot more playable and fun.

Just defeated the 2nd Yokai who went down a hell of a lot faster than the first although he butchered me countless times due to how fast his attacks are and the space I am fighting in with my Axe.

Game is brutal though reminds me of Ninja Gaidens early levels (rebooted Ninja Gaiden not original). Definitely harder than Dark and Demons Souls with a better combat system but that durability system is atrocious. Does it make it more difficult? yeah a little I suppose but I dont think the game needs that and more importantly it is not fun in the slightest in fact it takes away from the fun so I hope they alter it a lot or better yet just rip it out. Inventory is also pretty bad.

The variety on weapons is ok but falls short of the souls games and there isnt really the feeling of finding that awesome bit of loot in the world either.

Game really reminds me of Onimusha mixed with the Souls series mixed with Ninja Gaiden with Geralt as the guest main character. Team Ninja definitely have what it takes to make amazing (and difficult but fair) action games so I am fairly confident this game will be good after what I have played but it definitely needs some work especially with the durability system.

On a side note the Revenant system is pretty cool but think it could also do with some tweaking same could be said for UI and the near useless minimap.

EDIT: Beat the first boss took me ages but once I realised you dodge into it the first phase he became a lot easier. 2nd phase was easier to avoid being hit by until you attacked. In the end I mostly just waited until he fell on the floor or was running towards one of the balls before I attacked as he was really unpredictable after the ground pound move. Think I could have slipped in a few more attacks if I switched to a faster weapon rather than using an axe in high stance all the time but I found it would not reliably switch fast enough in the middle of a fight so did not bother.

Do you get anything after beating the 2nd area? or is the mark of the destroyer all you get after the first?

In many ways I actually think it improves on Dark Souls with stuff like the Ki Pulse so you don't find yourself out of stamina, the enemies having their own stamina bars (of which I learned draining them is the key strategy to dealing with yokai), and the multiple stances with the weapons which give variety and depth to the smaller weapon pool as well as offer tactical advantages like high stance is powerful, slow, and has high Ki usage but also allows you to Ki Pulse with certain attacks, mid-stance has the best guard, regenerates ki while guarding, but lacks vertical strikes, and low stance is quick with the best dodge (even allowing Ki Pulse during dodges) and low ki usage per strike (as well as building up elemental status effects quickly) but is very weak. Another neat wrinkle is the demo offers an option for stabilizing either the frame rate or the resolution (I went with frame rate, but in this kind of game that's king)