Why Wasn't Nioh More Popular?

VGChartz's Issa Maki: "As I close the book on Elden Ring for the second time, I look back at the path that brings us to this moment. What Demon's Souls began has inspired an entire genre in itself, spawning numerous imitators trying to replicate the formula's magic with varying degrees of success: Lords of the Fallen, Mortal Shell, Immortal Unchained, The Surge, even The Legend of Zelda bears signs of how much FromSoftware's DNA has dispersed throughout the video game world.

But of all the descendants that came along, only one possessed the potential to challenge the throne in any meaningful way: the Nioh series. Initially released in 2017 and 2020, Team Ninja's Onimusha/Ninja Gaiden inspired action/RPG drastically improves upon the established paradigm, yet always seems to get swept under the rug and (at best) given little more than token acknowledgment by FromSoftware's fanbase.... so what is it about Nioh that's kept it on the sidelines of popularity?"

[GoodGuy09]

Agreed. I'd consider it the best souls clone. It's own take was amazing imo. Can't wait for Wo Long.

[Crows90]

Which is why I'm confused when they say why it wasn't more popular. It is the most popular after from software titles.

[coolbeans]

I think the thing is *the gap* between that and From Software titles though. You'd think it have the same grab as Dark Souls for being one of the best clones.

At least, that's how I interpret the meaning.

[Crows90]

@coolbeans

Except it's not a clone. The gameplay mechanics and combat are vastly different. The only similarity is difficulty.

If you play it like a souls game then you die.

I must be alone here but I find that most people don't know how to compare games at all. They said Jedi survivor is sekiro....I mean wtf?! Now this game is supposedly a souls clone....do these people actually play these games?

[lucian229]

the game has a horrible inventory and looty system; there is no exploration, lots of levels feel rehashed, and the mission based structure is bad. I enjoyed nioh 2 but the same issues persisted. it really isn't much like souls at all. it's more of a dumbed down ninja gaiden

[coolbeans]

@Crows90

Fair enough. But I'm just using that term loosely with regards to what's categorized as Soulslikes. I see Nioh listed among them all the time.

[X-23]

Nioh and especially Nioh 2 are the very definition of sleeper titles, the character creator in Nioh 2 alone was well worth it, I feel like Wo Long Fallen Dynasty is going to be very successful though and they'll finally get the recognition they deserve, for their take on the Souls genre.

[blackblades]

They did sold millions like 5million back in 2021, they also gave it out to ps+ last year. Wo long feels much faster and fun hopefully it do well since its on both consoles this time.

[FlavorLav01]

Fantastic games. Probably too difficult for casuals to enjoy, and the story felt a little cheesy/tacked on. Mechanic-wise they were very deep for a melee action game and the boss fights were intense. Super fun. If you’ve got grit to push through their learning curve I couldn’t recommend them enough.

[nitus10]

I have not played NioH 2 yet even though I do have it. I just recently got a PS5 and have upgraded my PS4 version of "The Witcher 3" to the PS5 version (it's free) and that game along with "Horizon Zero Dawn" is taking up hours of my time. I also restarted NioH 1, Dark Souls 2 and 3, Bloodborne and I also have "HZD The Forbidden West" although I don't want to start that untill I have finished HZD. Sigh!

BTW. In NioH if you get the Onmyo Magic "Sloth" it makes the game easier since it actually slows down the enemy for a short period of time. Of course if the enemy is really fast and some are, it is possble to miss with this spell.

[Duke19]

Great games but oppressively hard imo. I loved both but could finish neither because eventually hit a wall with a boss

[Crows90]

Well...that's likey because 5heyre not exactly souls games. It's heavy on rpg and builds. Having good equipment goes a long way. Much more equipment based than traditional souls.

[Duke19]

That’s fair. The last boss I remember attempting was a Snake/ lady in a cave in Nioh 2. I thought I was well geared but for the life of me I couldn’t do it

[GoodGuy09]

Yea you do die from 2-3 hits and even one shotted. It's definitely a game that has a big learning curve. Definitely don't play it like souls and go for aggression.

For Nioh 2, Onmyo and Ninja skills are very powerful so always use them even on weak enemies and get those proficiencies up and use them to your advantage.
I highly recommend using Phantom form for its quickness and much easier burst counter.
And ofc, always use ki pulse. Keeping up your ki is very important.

As for Nioh 1...that game was much harder imo lol. I gave up on the game for like a year before finally beating it. Ninja and magic skills are best so I'd put a lot of lv points on those. Do dojos for mastery, do side missions and get those locks for skill points.

I recommend also calling in friendlies to help you out as well. Bosses become pretty easy with them.

[Godmars290]

It wasn't called Onimusha.

[TheColbertinator]

Onimusha was too good for us ungrateful fools back then.

[Elda]

Possibly the difficulty.

[Shiro173]

I'm deep into nioh 2 which I started playing recently and it is insane. Love the amount of builds and weapon types there is. It's on its own field when it comes to difficulty. Souls series is tough for new people but nioh is tough even for souls veterans.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Level design was so so

[edote2032]

Amazing games but the combat systems are way more intricate and the difficulty way more punishing than any souls game, minus maybe OG Demon souls.

[CrimsonWing69]

It’s a hard game, not gonna lie. Plus the end game stuff is borderline impossible. It reminds me of what they did with Stranger of Paradise.

[Furesis]

I'm playing Stranger of Paradise right now and some of these missions on higher difficulties (which i think u need to play to access the new dlc?) are insane. A tiny room with bunch of enemies which u need to kill to fight a boss who spawns with adds. Like wtf some of this shit is just ridiculous. Imagine buying the season pass and getting stuck and never getting to the DLC lol.
And the one shots too hoollly. I'm trucking through it slowly tho.

[CrimsonWing69]

Yea I can’t quite understand how to tackle the DLC missions. Base game was fine and doable, but any DLC missions and you basically get 1-shot. It’s the same with Nioh DLC.

[y2jb]

I found the level design to be average and the combat too reliant on button timing. On top of this I found the difficulty to be annoying rather than challenging like a From game.

They’re not bad games, I enjoyed 1and finished it but 2 I got sick of endless retries after random enemies ganked me after I mistimed a single button press.

[Nacho_Z]

I liked the gameplay a lot, but I found the environments bland, level design basic and I didn't like the loot system. If you're comparing Nioh to Souls it suffers because those are three things From absolutely nails.

[chicken_in_the_corn]

The high difficulty level probably put people off. Great games, just far too difficult.

[Soulsborne]

Team Ninja is in a good place. Elden ring was for the majority their first souls game anyways.

[NapalmSanctuary]

With over 900 hours logged i can say it was very popular with me.