More seriously, this new meeting with Nioh allowed us to discover Mount Ibuki and its surroundings, still in the shoes of William Adams, the hero of the game. Until now, we had never ticked on his Western features and his blond mane; a look that contrasts radically with the Asian context of the title. Present on the scene, Yosuke Hayashi was kind enough to speak on the subject. "It's an idea that hasn't changed since the game was announced ten years ago, said the boss of Team Ninja. In my opinion, the fact that the hero is not Japanese and know nothing about the culture of the country will facilitate the immersion of players who are not familiar with Japanese history, and who will therefore be able to learn a number of things.And on the other hand, even those who are interested in the background of the country will find their account there". It is true that the developers have redoubled their efforts to bring an authentic dimension to Nioh, by integrating figures who really existed; and when you know Koei Tecmo's taste for this type of production (Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors among others), you are anything but surprised. This attention to detail can be found in the dubbing of the characters. Indeed, if the samurai will speak Japanese, William will speak English. "Some protagonists will speak both languages, Hayashi-san assured us. It's really about a meeting between two different cultures".
This is precisely what makes the charm of Nioh, this extreme requirement that puts us off at first but to which we always end up coming back.
Naturally, we were curious to see if this new version would prove to be as sickening as in Los Angeles, or if the one we had tried at TGS had served as a reference. From what we have seen, the balance is there and the room for maneuver will be sufficient for ordinary mortals. We will have to tear ourselves up, of course, but nothing insurmountable either, provided we take the time to study the behavior of the opponents before taking our blade out of its sheath. In any case, we clearly feel that the creators of Ninja Gaiden are in charge of the project. “Indeed, there is a certain influence of the series, especially with regard to the combat system which is dynamic and deep, recognized Yosuke Hayashi. And I think, moreover, that this is what differentiates Nioh of Dark Souls". Precisely, Team Ninja has enormous respect for the work of From Software and even has several fans in its ranks. With Hidetaka Miyazaki's series, Nioh shares this notion of surpassing oneself, but also a bestiary that we wouldn't really like to deal with in the underground car park, late at night. "In fact, the enemies of the game are based on the yôkai which, in Japanese culture, are supernatural creatures, explained to us the boss of the studio. What you also need to know is that we did not just want create monsters, but create monsters that fit perfectly with the context of the game, which is in XNUMXth century Japan, so for the design of each of them, we made sure that it was believable ".
SAMURAÏ GAIDEN
A perfect transition to evoke the realization of Nioh which has been refined over time, even if there are still some points to complain about. For example, we spotted a few coarse textures, and two or three animations seemed suspicious to us. On PS4 Pro, the main interest was to see the game run in 4K, and we must admit that we perceive a difference in sharpness. In terms of gameplay, we've known for a while what sauce we're going to be eaten, and we will therefore have to juggle between three stances depending on the opponent and the desired strategy. In the low position, William's blows are less powerful but faster, which makes it possible not to ruin the stamina gauge in two blows of the blade. In the high position, it's the opposite (more power, less speed) and it is therefore better to aim straight so as not to be countered like a rookie. Finally, we can opt for a last position which is more defensive. The session was too short to go through the character's arsenal and stats, but it's entirely possible that a weapon will be less effective with one stance and more with another. Add to that the subtleties imposed by the level design – take the time to clear before attacking – as well as the combos specific to each weapon, and you get a whole bunch of parameters to take into account in tense situations. This is precisely what makes the charm of Nioh, this extreme requirement that puts us off at first but to which we always end up coming back. We can't wait to be on February 9, despite the fear of getting expensive.
