Nioh 3 and the unfortunate decline

[King Crispy]

Nioh 2 is a more technical game and a lot more enjoyable as even basic enemies can kill you at the start of the game. Despite beating Nioh 2 multiple times (yes I have done the end/end game) it has a large initial hump of a difficulty curve which means I spent my 2 hours on the first map of the game earning enough weapon XP to unlock moves so I can chain continuously. Even after levelling up a decent amount and unlocking a few things the game still feels hard, you are never out of danger and even the simplest enemies can kill you.

Nioh 3 feels like an arcade game, which is fun for what it is but it lacks any of the technical aspects to the gameplay that made learning Nioh 2 fun. Positioning = non-existent in Nioh 3. Nioh 3 just relies on timing of blocks and the rare dodge (against grabs) and that's it. In contrast look at Nioh 2's snake girl boss. I have spent a good number of hours trying to beat her on my initial attempts simply because of the manner in which you need to position yourself in order to avoid her attacks but at the same time being able to close the distance on her. taking too long to kill her means the fight drags on and you make more mistakes. Nioh 2 teaches you the importance of positioning purely through this enemy alone and you will never beat down this wall without learning it.

Nioh 2's endgame is a lot more arcadey as a result of the power gathered over the course of the game alongside all the skill the player has obtained. Nioh 2's endgame feels like Nioh 3's base game in terms of combat pacing.

Nioh 3 is selling insanely well and the reason for this is the casualisation of the game. This is great for keeping the franchise alive but will scare off the more hardcore audience. Prior Nioh fans hoping for a Nioh game will have to wait and see what the DLC offers, if it offers a serious increase in difficulty.

Looks like I will be spending another 100+ hours on Nioh 2.

[fork]

Play Wuchang, not this Jap DEI-slop.

[King Crispy]

Play Wuchang, not this Jap DEI-slop.

Wuchang is a middle ground of N2 and N3. N2 is like a flight sim and N3 is like Afterburner.

[Maledict]

I tried the demo. I havent played Nioh1 and Nioh2, but I'm a huge Dark Souls fan. I didn't like the added mechanics but what sealed the deal for me was the cutesy animals meowing.

The character creator is extremely detailed. You can paint not only your nails but toenails too!

[methoxetamine]

Nioh 2 is a more technical game and a lot more enjoyable as even basic enemies can kill you at the start of the game. Despite beating Nioh 2 multiple times (yes I have done the end/end game) it has a large initial hump of a difficulty curve which means I spent my 2 hours on the first map of the game earning enough weapon XP to unlock moves so I can chain continuously. Even after levelling up a decent amount and unlocking a few things the game still feels hard, you are never out of danger and even the simplest enemies can kill you.

Nioh 3 feels like an arcade game, which is fun for what it is but it lacks any of the technical aspects to the gameplay that made learning Nioh 2 fun. Positioning = non-existent in Nioh 3. Nioh 3 just relies on timing of blocks and the rare dodge (against grabs) and that's it. In contrast look at Nioh 2's snake girl boss. I have spent a good number of hours trying to beat her on my initial attempts simply because of the manner in which you need to position yourself in order to avoid her attacks but at the same time being able to close the distance on her. taking too long to kill her means the fight drags on and you make more mistakes. Nioh 2 teaches you the importance of positioning purely through this enemy alone and you will never beat down this wall without learning it.

Nioh 2's endgame is a lot more arcadey as a result of the power gathered over the course of the game alongside all the skill the player has obtained. Nioh 2's endgame feels like Nioh 3's base game in terms of combat pacing.

Nioh 3 is selling insanely well and the reason for this is the casualisation of the game. This is great for keeping the franchise alive but will scare off the more hardcore audience. Prior Nioh fans hoping for a Nioh game will have to wait and see what the DLC offers, if it offers a serious increase in difficulty.

Looks like I will be spending another 100+ hours on Nioh 2.

You spent hundreds of hours playing Nioh, I would hope at this point that anything they cook up for early game/base game would be "too easy" for you in subsequent entries. How much have you played of 3 so far?

Play Wuchang, not this Jap DEI-slop.

****** tier suggestion. Not even remotely comparable games and Nioh 3 is better. No one who cares about Nioh or wants a Niohlike is going to be satisfied with Wuchang.

[King Crispy]

You spent hundreds of hours playing Nioh, I would hope at this point that anything they cook up for early game/base game would be "too easy" for you in subsequent entries. How much have you played of 3 so far?

About 40 hours.

The point is that I just went back to playing Nioh 2 and the game still keeps the difficulty to a good degree early on.

[Eyestabber]

Nioh 2 was a huge miss for me. Mechanically it's leaps and bounds better than 1, but without the novelty and the silly-but-soulful story/presentation of Nioh 1 it just felt like a very meh game. Maybe I'll check Nioh 3 out, but for whatever reason I just keep postponing going back to Wukong. Guess I'm just not in a souls-like mood these days.