Could Nioh’s ‘Masocore’ Approach End Up Hurting its Quality?

Team Ninja are actively trying to avoid making their upcoming action RPG Nioh too easy, and are trying to aim straight for the "masocore" crowd. But will this move pay off, or could it possibly end up harming an otherwise excellent game?

[SCW1982]

Not one bit.

[Why o why]

Its one of its main attractions. .....it being easy take a whole lot away from souls-esc games like this

[Paytaa]

Yeah if your intention is to make the game difficult, but fair then it should never hurt it's quality if it is a great game.

But there will probably be reviewers who suck at this game claiming it's unfairly hard when they simply can't adapt to the game's mechanics.

Always respected the Souls games even when I sucked at them, but after beating Bloodborne, a new found love for it came about.

[joab777]

It is similar to the Souls games. You can affect the difficulty by leveling.

And I don't care if it does! While once Souls games were relegated to niche status, BB and DS3 have changed this. Nioh will be a breath of fresh air. Also, it is needed right now and I cannot wait! The demo is making the wait even harder! But it's also great to play again!

[SaveFerris]

The approach seems to have worked well with the 'Souls' games.

[BlakHavoc]

Fans of the souls series will enjoy this game, I think it's too challenging for the average gamer. I myself will be digging into this bad boy starting tonight during the trial.

Update:
Challenging indeed! The Ogress wasn't too bad but that damn samurai you fight afterwards is very difficult. Probably cause all my gear is only level 6 though. This games sooo good though, can't wait till the full release.

[CP_Company]

i am average player and i think game is hard but not too hard,you need take some time with the game,the game is hard not because it is hard by it's core,but because it punish you with every mistake you do.

[opinionated]

Do you have to beat those other levels again to fight the ogress?

[BlakHavoc]

I'm not sure I understand your question. The Ogress is the boss at the end of the first level in the demo. Once you reach her, if you die you'll just respond at the shrine near by.

[opinionated]

Like during the beta I had to beat the alpha stage again before I got to the new level. I was hoping I didn't have to do that again lol. Especially since I only have 2 days. If the first level is a new level that would be awesome.

[BlakHavoc]

Oh got it, I'm not sure. The first level in the trial though has Ogress as the boss at the end. You also fight this humanoid crow thing as well. The second level I think starts off with a boss fight against a Samurai, who basically mops the floor with you. He seems impossible right now lol.

[Liqu1d]

The first level is brand new. After you beat the first level you'll unlock the second level, which is the Tachibana Muneshige boss fight from the previous demo, and you'll be able to repat the first level in Twilight mode. If you missed the rewards from the previous demos then you will need to beat the first level on Twilight mode to unlock them.

[sullynathan]

game isn't that hard tbh. if you've played Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3, which many have, you will be fine. The quality on the other hand will be judged better once the full game releases

[opinionated]

I think the launch window will hurt it more than the design. I hope not but I wouldn't be surprised.

[ReNe9aaDe]

no

[DARK WITNESS]

as many have pointed out, the souls games was built on it and it worked for them....

I will add that Ninja Gaiden did the same before dark souls, who made that game again... oh ya, I think these guys know what they are doing.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Jesus Christ this is the same crap we have heard since Demon's Souls. Not every game on the market is going to hold your hand and buy you ice cream. It's just just way it is, and this game isn't for everybody. No game that ever went on sale is for everybody. It's not like their aim is to make a game that is unfair and cheats you out of success. It's just challenging. You don't die in real life if you die in the game.

[Tankbusta40]

Just coming from the demo, it's not too hard. Sure it took me a few deaths to get the hang of the game, much like every time I play a new soulsborne, but nothing too difficult

[Kosic]

I like the combat in Dark souls but the difficulty is what gets me. Most times its usually me feeling like I've been cheated on death. A mob hit me a tad faster than usual, a new ability was used. This is what made me quit ds2 and 3. Would've loved to see the game through but the game never felt hard in the "fair" sense.

As above, the difficulty was there based on unblock able attacks, mobs having long chain combos and you just can't roll away far enough and die.

I would've continued and completed the game but I'm easily frustrated so I gave up on that reason.

Nioh was fairly easy on the first beta. Found a strong weapon and walked through the demo.

If they go the route of dark souls where it's just unfair on its 'difficulty' I'll just skip the game and save myself the money.

They should just have a difficulty selection. I know people hate it, but these games must not sell amazingly well compared to other AAA games.

[Chaos_Order]

"They should just have a difficulty selection. I know people hate it, but these games must not sell amazingly well compared to other AAA games."

People have brought this idea up, and I'm just not convinced. Demon's Souls only ever gained acknowledgement in the first place because of its old school challenge. If that was only relegated to the "hard" mode, and with other "just optional" features like a mini map, objectives list, extra checkpoints etc, only a tiny percentage of people would end up playing the version we have today, and the game wouldn't have garnered much interest. Hell, it might not have even made it out of Japan since it was word of mouth from importers that even got the game released in the west. Just putting more options into a game doesn't suddenly make it appeal to tons more people.

Also, you're gonna get some flack for calling the Souls games cheap and unfair. Very rarely is a death not the fault of the player. (Except for Bed of Chaos boss fight... What a sh*t show)

[BLKxSEPTEMBER]

There's a difference between hardcore and cheap. Last night I fought some Samurai boss and he was able to roll without stamina, not once not twice but three times. Things like that are cheap. So far I'm really enjoying the game but I hope this will be fixed in the final game.

[BlackTar187]

Can for some I imagine. Not me though

[Mithan]

Well, it could harm it a bit, but I doubt it. Dark Souls and Bloodborne have opened the way for this game to succeed.

My concern is that it is "fair". I can deal with fair and hard, I can't deal with "cheap shots" and hard. Dark Souls always respected the player. If you died, it was because you did something wrong, not because the game took cheap shots at you. You could see, predict and counter everything if you payed attention.

[DashArrivals]

NO WAY. It doesn't hurt Dark Souls' games. Stop making useless articles please.

[Sokol]

I finished Bloodborne, Demons Souls, and Working my way with Dark Souls 3. They are difficult games and at times can be frustrating however I was more annoyed at Nioh then all the games I mentioned. Maybe it's just me but I can't get a decent grip with the game... It's almost like it's purposely hardcore to the point where it isn't enjoyable. That's my take on it anyway