Variety is the Spice of LifeĪnother way Nioh 2 ups the ante from its predecessor is with enemy variety. The game continuously pushes you to get better at it, which in turn ups your confidence for tackling the ever more imposing foes that will appear throughout. Instead of having to wait out through devastating attacks, anytime an enemy flashes red before striking is something the player can counter with the creatively titled “Burst Counter.” Requiring the use of anima, a new resource you gain from striking your foes, this mechanic puts more emphasis on getting up close and personal with enemies instead of trying to dodge every attack. You’ll get crushed, but it doesn’t feel as overwhelmingly difficult this time out. The first game may have pushed players to the limit with its difficulty, but Nioh 2 seems to stake the odds more in the player’s favor. Borrowing everything that came before, Nioh 2 smartly iterates on the combat from Nioh by introducing some clever new weapons, a denser and better explained skill tree, and the addition of a Yokai form to even the playing field against foes. Thankfully, gameplay is what I like and Nioh 2 has that in spades. You’re mainly going to be progressing through this title because of its killer gameplay more than any narrative reason. Without the hook of trying to save your loyal spirit, the stakes never feel all that high. There’s something about your character being possessed by an evil force known as Otakemaru and potentially existing in a realm between life and death, but that’s about all I could make out. Despite watching every cutscene and referring to Wikipedia entries on the lives of each of these figures, I still have no idea what happened in this game. In the only downgrade I can think of, the plot of Nioh 2 is demonstrably worse than before. If you found yourself scratching your head at the different threads introduced there, prepare to be completely lost in Nioh 2. Teaming up with the legendary Hatori Hanzo was an absolute thrill, but it was never really clear how William Adams became so involved in these people’s lives or what his real end goal was (apart from saving lost spirit Saoirse). Nioh didn’t exactly make a whole lot of sense and seemed to coast by on its name dropping of famous characters from history to entice players forward.