The best "Souls Clone" out there. The mechanics are complex and take some getting used to, but once mastered it becomes a fantastic experience.

Be warned, this game is very time consuming. You can't just do main quests without being severely under-leveled and you have to get pretty far into New Game+ (called Way of the Strong) to be a fair level to beat the 3 DLC areas. The loot system is also pretty complex. The first playthrough is fine, higher level and better rarity usually means better stats. Way of the Strong adds a new rarity called "Divine" that can be upgraded by combining them together. Way of the Strong was my favorite for this reason as I could throw away any loot not Divine and combine any Divine loot I had. NG++ to NG++++ has both levels and Divine loot and this is where I stopped playing. I think the two systems of levels and combining rare loot don't work very well together. If you are unlucky like me, you can get stuck with the same, now under-leveled weapon from NG+ and not get anything better in the same weapon category you invested stats into. You can increase the level of your items, but it costs a LOT more than just combining weapons, making farming almost a necessity. One hit kills become super frequent in NG+++. This is because of elemental damage not being blocked by most armor, some enemies having attack buffs until they are defeated at least once, and new/stronger enemy attacks that the player will not have seen on their first three playthroughs.

These were the only flaws I had with the game, and the developers have said the Nioh 2 New Game+ difficulties will not be as crazy. I can only hope the loot system will be fixed for New Game+ as well.

Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Difficulty: 10/10
Overall Score: 9/10

The best "Souls Clone" out there. The mechanics are complex and take some getting used to, but once mastered it becomes a fantastic experience. Be warned, this game is very time consuming. You can't just do main quests without being severely under-leveled and you have to get pretty far into New Game+ (called Way of the Strong) to be a fair level to beat the 3 DLC areas. The loot system is also pretty complex. The first playthrough is fine, higher level and better rarity usually means better stats. Way of the Strong adds a new rarity called "Divine" that can be upgraded by combining them together. Way of the Strong was my favorite for this reason as I could throw away any loot not Divine and combine any Divine loot I had. NG++ to NG++++ has both levels and Divine loot and this is where I stopped playing. I think the two systems of levels and combining rare loot don't work very well together. If you are unlucky like me, you can get stuck with the same, now under-leveled weapon from NG+ and not get anything better in the same weapon category you invested stats into. You can increase the level of your items, but it costs a LOT more than just combining weapons, making farming almost a necessity. One hit kills become super frequent in NG+++. This is because of elemental damage not being blocked by most armor, some enemies having attack buffs until they are defeated at least once, and new/stronger enemy attacks that the player will not have seen on their first three playthroughs. These were the only flaws I had with the game, and the developers have said the Nioh 2 New Game+ difficulties will not be as crazy. I can only hope the loot system will be fixed for New Game+ as well. Graphics: 8/10 Sound: 8/10 Gameplay: 10/10 Difficulty: 10/10 Overall Score: 9/10