Nioh Review

Nioh: Review

Nioh will never be able to escape the "souls-like" tag that has been attached to it, but it takes what Dark Souls brought to the action genre and incorporates other ideas to make something that feels like an evolution instead of a copy. Nioh is like a recipe that has been executed perfectly. It blends Dark Souls style combat and leveling, with a fighting pace similar to Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden, then they threw in a Diablo style random loot engine on top of it all. Not only do these elements come together seamlessly, it ends up being a greater experience than the sum of its parts.

You play as a fictionalized version of the real English sailor, William Adams, who became the first western samurai during the Sengoku period of Japan. The tale weaves real aspects of Adam's time in the far east and the historical figures he met along the way, with Japanese folklore and demons called "Yokai" to create a unique world that is as vivid and beautiful as it is dangerous. The story is a little disjointed and corny sometimes, but it's entertaining and at least kept me interested in moving forward to see what happened next. William does suffer from what I call "The Geralt Effect", named of course after the protagonist of the Witcher series, in that he's mostly just a gruff and boring character that is hard to connect with. Luckly, William is pretty stoic so he leaves a lot of the talking to the infinitely more interesting side characters and spirits of the game. 

"Look how gruff and brooding I am"

Nioh operates on a mission structure instead of an open world, which unfortunately does limit the amount of exploring in each level. While I have had a bit of open world fatigue lately, I was left feeling that a semi-open world would have benefit the game's grand arenas and settings. It's a minor complaint that is circumvented, to an extent, by each mission being stuffed to the brim with secret areas, hidden treasure chests, and adorable little spirits called Kodamas that you can collect to give passive bonuses to things such as weapon and armor drop rates from enemies or a boost to the game's level up currency called "Amrita". 

Combat is predicated on a three stance fighting style that makes battles into a more strategic affair. Low stance utilizing quick but weak strikes, mid stance to play more defensively, and high stance to deliver crushing blows at the cost of speed. I usually stuck with mid stance as my default, then mixing it up against enemies I knew to be more susceptible to the other stances when necessary. You have five weapon types to chose from, katanas, dual swords, axes, spears, and Kusarigamas (a sickle with a chain on it). Outside of the katana and dual swords being similar, the weapons all have distinct play styles that make it fun to try them all out against the wide variety of enemies that inhabit each level.

Open Up!

The enemies in Nioh range from zombie like creatures, to rival samurai, all the way to giant sea monsters, and 20 foot tall demons. The fights against the samurai bosses tend to be the most exciting, but the designs for the big Yokai are generally really cool and frightening. Some of these Yokai use elemental attacks, which will force you to adapt your armor to defend against that particular element or face getting stuck for hours. I was stuck on an early boss in the game who uses moves that afflict you with paralysis until my friend suggested changing my armor to counter that effect, after which I beat her on the next try. In Dark Souls you can mostly stick with armor that just gives you a better defensive rating but in Nioh you have to adapt to elemental damage, or risk dying in the same way over and over again. 

One of the more frightening creatures of Nioh's world

The tool to level up your armor and weapons is unique in that for a price you can "soul match" weaker items that you may be attached to due to weight or abilities with stronger items to raise them up to that level. The cost gets to be very high later but it does help lower weight builds keep up with their heavy duty counterparts. If you have max proficiency with a weapon (gained by using it often) you can pass on abilities while soul matching it to help keep abilities you really enjoy. It's a shame that all of this gets bogged down in a plethora of menus that don't give you many tools to help sort through the mess that your inventory will become after a mission. 

If time is fair, Nioh will take its place in the pantheon of great action games. I had very low expectations for it but it has become my biggest surprise of the young year so far. It it takes a genre that has been well worn lately and breathes new life into it by mixing the formula up in new and exciting ways. Nioh deserves to be mentioned alongside Dark Souls, instead of beneath it.

Score: 9.5/10

For Honor Thoughts

 For Honor Thoughts

You're Legacy will be painted in Blood

A bloodied battlefield, two warriors from different eras pace around one another, each looking for an opening, a mistake to capitalize on. You see an opening and engage, they dodge, strike and draw blood, you quickly counter attack and more blood falls. You move around each other dodging, blocking, swinging, a deadly dance of blades where one misstep means a swift death. The entirety of For Honor is what I described above, it is an elegantly designed blend of a hack and slash but with the complexities of any fighting game you'd find on todays market. Very rarely do we see a game come around that offers something that you can't find anywhere else on the market, and For Honor has definitely found it's spot to fill.

 The Weak will Break, The Strong Survive

For Honor is a complex beast with a steep learning curve, but highly rewards player skill by offering numerous classes to fit every play style. This is where it takes notes from its fighting game predecessor's and transforms them from a limited 2D/3D fighter, into a true battlefield where  warriors battle to the death. Each class has a move list, complete with combos, counters, dodges, blocks, and signature abilities. Every one of the twelve classes has had immaculate attention to detail given to them, from their appearance, gear, and of course mechanics. There is a break down for each class which are Vanguard, standard, straight-forward, and adaptable. Heavy, which are strong and highly defensive characters. Assassins, fast and agile characters with lower damage per hit, but can rack up damage quickly. Finally there is Hybrid which are a blend of two or more of the other classes. Each class is very unique in their playstyle and knowing your enemies is just as important as knowing your own. There is a stamina gauge as well which is needed for dodging, feint attacks, attack and all, so keeping it well managed while exhausting your opponent is just as important as attacking and defending. I constantly find myself switching my mode of attack depending on my adversary. A Conqueror may get guard broken more because of his defensive style, where a Shugoki may get a flurry of light attacks before he can react. Ubisoft has done an incredible job of making every class very balanced, creating an environment where any class can beat any other as long as you possess the skill and knowledge to overcome them. Very rarely do I lose a fight where I blame the game and not my own mistakes, making me want to get back into the fight and prove myself the superior warrior. The defense system is extremely intricate as well. Each attack comes from one of three different directions, above, left, and right. All characters will stay in a guard stance in the direction you choose (excluding the assassins who only stay in that stance for a couple seconds before returning to a middle stance) allowing you to block all incoming attacks from that direction. You can also parry attacks by hitting the heavy attack button when the attack indicator flashes or deflect by dodging in the direction of the attack right before it connects if you are an assassin class. You also have the ability to guard break your opponent, which is a grab essentially, but be cautious as this can also be broken or "teched" by hitting the guard break button right when it connects. A unique mechanic comes to For Honor as well called the "Revenge Meter", which builds by blocking and taking damage from attacks, and when activated gives you unlimited stamina, half your health as a shield, and super armor on some attacks. For Honor also has a "How to Play" option with a basic and advanced tutorial, free mode, practice duels, and more to hone your warrior prowess. The complex design of For Honors incredible combat creates a deep and satisfying system that rewards reflexes and skill the higher you climb its ladder of warrior legends, ensuring you won't put down the controller until you have mastered the art of war.

Your Warrior is You on the Battlefield

For Honor also has a very cool loot and gear system to it as well. Every class has unique armor, weapons, customization options, unlockable outfits, emotes, effects, feats, and of course gloriously gory executions. This allows you to tailor your warrior to your personal liking and playstyle. Each piece of gear has stats it augments, but the unique part is it never just boosts something, but rather buffs one stat, while simultaneously lowering another. This is great because it makes you really think about what is most important to you in terms of your playstyle. For example a weapon blade may give you increased attack damage at the cost of increasing stamina consumption, or a chest piece may increase damage caused by blocked attacks but reduce revenge meter attack caused. This lets you tailor your class to your exact playstyle, without giving you a completely overpowered character. Gear is awarded at the end of each match by chance, attained through scavenger packs in the heroes menu, and by leveling up occasionally after reaching reputation one. Each piece of gear has a different look, and gets even more savage looking the higher you climb in level. There is even a change look system that lets you change the appearance of a piece of gear you have to look like another at the cost of steel, acquired by completing games, and salvage, acquired by dismantling unwanted gear. There are also contract and event orders that award high amounts of experience and steel by completing different objectives such as winning 5 4v4 dominion matches, or completing 3 1v1 duels as a hybrid class. I love this because it makes you dabble with every game mode and multiple class types, while also rewarding you exponentially for your efforts. There is also a season mode called "The Faction War". At the end of each match you can deploy war assets to a selected area to help your faction attack or defend that area. Every seven hours the territories change based on how your faction performed, and where you deployed your assets. The better you do the more assets you can deploy, so the higher skilled players will inevitably contribute more in the long run. When the territories change it also changes which maps are available to play in each game mode, keeping the multiplayer fresh by cycling maps, and making you feel like you are really a part of the war.

A Battlefield for every Warrior

For Honor comes with a complete campaign for each of the three factions, but let’s be honest, that's not why we're here. The multiplayer is the main attraction of this title, and it has a decent variety of game modes and maps for you to carve a bloody swath through. the standard is 4v4 Dominion, which is a domination style mode with three points to control, and capturing each of the three rewards 100 points and an additional one per second, and later, taking an enemy controlled point not only rewards you 100 points, but takes 100 away from them. A and C are always captured by just standing on it, but point B is unique. You have a swarm of AI minions that charge to the center of the map from both the defending and attacking sides, and whichever side has the most minions in the center of the map controls point B, that's right, point B is the battlefield itself, and is controlled by your army. This mode feels very true to the war style For Honor is going for, with your soldiers at your back and you, the Hero, cutting through the meek and feeble until the enemy heroes come out to challenge your supremacy. Once either team hits 1000 points, the other team starts to break, removing their respawns and leaving you to eliminate the enemy heroes to win the match. However you can always "Rally" by taking enough points to lower the other team’s points below 1000, which will allow respawns to return to the breaking side. Feats also play a big role here, allowing you to regenerate health by killing minions, attack with projectiles, or even call in a catapult strike (which is awesome by the way). 

 There is also a 4v4 Deathmatch mode which is a best of five rounds elimination that also comes with power ups like speed boost, attack/defense boost, and health regen. The last two are 2v2 brawls and 1v1 duels which are the same, best of 5 rounds elimination with the only difference being the amount of players in the match. More often than not if you are in 4v4 or 2v2 elimination if your teammate dies you will get jumped by the other player’s teammate, leading to you both relying heavily on each other. You can revive your defeated comrades though, unless they have been executed because, you know, you need a head still attached to get up and fight... The true test of skill in For Honor definitely has to be the 1v1 Duels. This mode pits you against your opponent, no power ups, no interference, just two warriors fighting to death to see who will stand triumphantly atop the corpse of the fallen. There is nothing more stressful, yet exhilarating as battling against an adversary of equal skill as yourself. You will find yourself constantly examining, adapting, and baiting your opponent to try and get the upper hand in the confrontation. This is where the beauty of For Honor’s combat shines, and where the fighting game aspects of the game reveals itself. Adaption is key in any fighting game, as any fighting game fan will tell you, and For Honor is no different. One mistake can cost you to lose your head before you even know it, so patience definitely pays off here. Most of the time you will end up going with your bread and butter strategy in the first round, as you and your opponent feel each other out, and next round the adaptation really starts. You may notice your opponent likes to jump in and attack high, so you may start to block and counter attack. Then they may notice you block their first attack and rush in and guard break to thrown you into a wall or heavy attack, so you may answer this by attacking as they rush in, since they can't guard break while you are attacking. Battles go back and forth like that constantly as you and the warrior standing before you try to draw the final drop of blood so they may stand victorious. If you want a second chance, fret not! You can always rematch after the match is over by just hitting ready after the final screen shows up, so you can battle each other to your heart’s content.

 For Honor comes with its fair share of issues as well. The matchmaking can be spotty, pitting you against players well below, or above your skill level, finding a game can take close to ten minutes depending on how many people you queue up with and in what game mode. Frequent disconnects causing you to lose all the experience you would have got definitely gets frustrating. However despite all of this I haven't lost any desire to jump back in to the battlefield. I'm hoping the server issues and matchmaking are just a launch issue and get patched soon, but Ubisoft has crafted a great game with For Honor. If you are looking for a simple hack and slash game, For Honor is not the game for you. If you're looking for a title with solid mechanics, tense moments, and a great multiplayer with balanced classes and customization, then look no further. Now grab your weapons warriors and choose your side. Will you fight alongside the noble Knights, the savage Vikings, or the honorable Samurai? The choice is yours hero. Now steel yourself and prepare, because your legend is determined by only one thing, the trail of corpses left in your wake.

-Frankie

WCNC Staff 2016 Game of the Year Awards Part 1

Each year, our staff like to present you with our picks for the greatest games to be released in the past year.  2016 has come and gone, so this year each of our contributors are going to discuss their choices for game of the year.  First up are Rory and Frankie, enjoy!

Rory's Second Annual Way Too Late Game of the Year Awards 2016

2016 was a hell of a year for everyone, and I was no exception. Between a rapidly changing political landscape, moving across the country for the second time in two years, and personal relationship struggles, it was a good year to be able to escape reality by jumping into a game. And while I haven't got around to playing some of my most anticipated titles of 2016, Dishonored 2 being the big one, it's time for my second annual game of the year awards. 

Honorable Mention: 
Persona 4 Golden

If this was just a list of my favorite games I played this year regardless of release date, Persona 4 would take the top spot. The gameplay, while very simple and easy, is fun and addictive.  But, the real star of this game is the cast of characters and a story that keeps you locked in from beginning to end.

3. Firewatch

While there isn't much in the way of gameplay, Firewatch nails the feeling of just getting lost in nature. Most of the game is you working a summer in the 1980s for a state wilderness park, doing your normal day to day duties. The games tension and mystery ramp up in the later half of the story but it's really the “lost in the woods” feeling that makes this game special. 

2. Dark Souls 3

I'm a well known fan of FromSoftware's series of difficult games (Bloodborne having placed #1 on this list last year) and 2016's entry Dark Souls 3 is no different. While it's not quite as original as Bloodborne, or grabs the same special feeling that the original Dark Souls had, Dark Souls 3 is the best in the series when it comes to gameplay and polish. This is clearly a development team who has mastered their combat and difficultly scale over their last four games and this is the payoff. The combat is the smoothest it's ever been, and some of the bosses are insanely difficult (I'm looking at you, Nameless King). If this is truly the last game in the series, Dark Souls 3 is a hell of a send off.

1. Overwatch

I'll be honest, I'm not really a big fan of competitive multiplayer games. Outside of Gears of War I've never found a series that pulled me in enough to play the multiplayer for more than a few hours. Then Overwatch was released, and nothing was ever the same. Since its release in May, I have poured well over 150 hours into Overwatch and there's no sign of slowing down. Blizzard is constantly making tweaks to all of the characters to keep the game fresh and to give all of the characters a chance to shine. Two new characters, Sombra and Ana, have also been introduced to the already large cast, along with 3 new maps, and more new additions are already promised to be in the pipeline. Blizzard has also thrown four holiday events to renew interest ranging from the Olympics, to Halloween, to Christmas, and now a Chinese New Year event. Each event brings new skins and other cosmetic items to keep you playing for just one more game. Overwatch has dominated my last 8 months of gaming and I think it's going to stay that way for a long time

Frankie

2016 may have been a pretty crappy year overall, but it was a pretty strong year for gamers everywhere. From titles in development for over a decade, brand new IPS, and AAA games that shake up the tried and true formula, I'd say there is a good bit to choose from as far as Game of the Year goes. Alas, this is yours truly, Franswa's list, so I'll be giving you my top games of 2016.  

3. Pokemon Sun/Moon  

Even though I have only played Sun and haven't beaten it quite yet, I have to give a spot to this long standing RPG series. The first and last true Pokémon I played before Sun was Emerald.  After pouring so many hours into it, I felt I got the gist of what the series had to offer me. Pokémon X/Y definitely enticed me with the new 3D graphics, but it still was just a bit short of pulling me back in. However, Sun and Moon made a very clever move by shaking up the standard formula, while not changing the core gameplay and objective. The new Hawaiian styled setting of the Alola region, Alola forms of original Pokémon, new Pokémon species, and the switch to island champions instead of gym leaders was the perfect mix of new and old to convince me to step back into their world and become the very best, like no one ever was. Within the span of a week I already poured twenty-four hours into this title. That satisfying feeling of building you're Pokémon up, catching new ones, growing with them, watching them evolve, and conquering new challenges together, as a team, was extremely gratifying. For that, I give Pokémon Sun and Moon my number three spot.  

2. Dark Souls III 

 

I would have never guessed this would be a series I would come to love so much.  However, Bloodborne changed that real quick, and Dark Souls III made it 100% official. I called Dark Souls III the crescendo to a fantastic series, and that is a statement I standby. Dark Souls III took all the best aspects of the original Souls series, while incorporating new mechanics and a faster pace from Bloodborne.  Blending them together for a perfect concotion of challenge, exploration, customizability, and a truly special experience. Dark Souls III has been called by many the hardest Souls game currently and I can see why. Not only are the bosses (for the most part) truly a test of skill and wit, but the journey through each area to face them are a trial in and of themselves. No part of this game is a walk in the park, but you will constantly find yourself traversing every inch of this dark and daunting realm, discovering every secret, finding every treasure, and uncovering every bit of lore you can. This is the magic of the Souls series, and it truly hits every high point with this incredible title.  

Honorable Mention. Pyschonauts 

 

I got this title when it became available to download on ps4.  After all the hype one of our talented writers Rory Snyder put behind it I felt it was finally time to put it to the test. Pyschonauts is a brilliant platformer with fantastic levels, clever mechanics, and despite being a ps2 game, has aged incredibly well. Playing as the main protagonist Rasputin, you are at a summer camp for mentally gifted kids with psychic powers. The story not only has way more going for it than just being a summer camp with wacky psychic shenanigans going on.  There is a lot of humor here, mostly of the adult variety. I'm really glad I experienced it when I did because a far younger me would have missed 80% of the jokes. Every character is oozing with personality from your goofy friend Dogen, the paranoid milkman Boyd Cooper, the strict Coach Oleander, The annoying bully Bobby Zilch (uuuuuugh) and many many more that make you want to go and fulfill every interaction with them you can. Each level takes place inside of another characters mind as well, which allows the developers to really show you the personality and issues of each of the characters they have created.  Leading to many beautiful and interesting experiences. From a warzone, to a disco dance party, to a city where you are essentially Godzilla, to a boardgame, every aspect of Pyschonauts is crafted with extreme creativity and care, and is a must play for any fan of 3D platformers.  

1. Overwatch  

Could it be any other? The brand new IP from the ashes of Project Titan, and heavy hitter Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch is a masterpiece among multiplayer shooters. The incredible characters, weaponry, map design, game modes, and cosmetic unlockables will keep you and your friends playing for hours upon hours. Every game whether it's competitive, quick play, or one of the many arcade modes, are always different and changing because of the extensive cast. With a cast of twenty-three characters, each with their own play styles, weapons, and abilities, will always keep you on your toes, and constantly trying to adapt to the enemy teams composition and strategy. The best part of Overwatch is it isn't just limited to players who are good at shooters, the player with the greatest situational awareness, shot caller, or playmaker are just as valuable as the player who is the best shot. No matter what your skill level or play style is, there is a character here for you, and that is the greatest strength of Overwatch. It is incredibly accessible and new player friendly, while also having a deep meta game that can be uncovered for new strategies and higher level play. And it is for that reason I have to give Overwatch my number one spot, and my personal pick for Game of the Year. 

-Franswa