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NI-OH Alpha Demo Available Until May 5 - Prepare to Die A Lot

K

Kaako

Felium Defensor
The Artisan said:
why is it a Ps4 exclusive?
Click to expand...
Clearly because the PS4 is a beast. That is the sole and only reason Team Ninja decided to make this a full exclusive. They saw that sexy matte finish eraser look, them sharp lines/angles, and said god dayumn sons, these edges so sharp you can slice fools in half with. And this product was born.

The end.
 
R

Revan

Member
ShinMaruku said:
The funny thing is NGS and NGB were made by the same people. :p
Click to expand...

Yes and no - Hayashi directed NGS and there were changes to the game that were pretty apparent - as with Sigma 2 and Razor's Edge (vanilla NG3 is not to be spoken of lol) - NioH feels a hell of a lot closer to Itagaki's Black then Hayashi's Sigma games.

EDIT: now that I think about it - do we know who is directing this?
 
I

i-Jest

Member
Kaako said:
Clearly because the PS4 is a beast. That is the sole and only reason Team Ninja decided to make this a full exclusive. They saw that sexy matte finish eraser look, them sharp lines/angles, and said god dayumn sons, these edges so sharp you can slice fools in half with. And this product was born.

The end.
Click to expand...


All of this son. All of this.
 
T

TreIII

Member
Miss the game, already.

Please tell me some type of beta will be released over the summer, Koei Tecmo. Will and I were just getting so well acquainted...
 
T

The Artisan

Member
TheSpoiler said:
Why is anything an exclusive for anything?
Click to expand...
0. because the project is first party
1. because there is a deal in place
2. because the platform creator helped fund the development of the project
3. because the publisher/developer feels that it will sell vastly and mostly on one specific platform and the benefits of just making one port outweighs the costs of multiple ports
4. because of brand relationships, history, and loyalty, I guess?
 
Zambatoh

Zambatoh

Member
The Artisan said:
0. because the project is first party
1. because there is a deal in place
2. because the platform creator helped fund the development of the project
3. because the publisher/developer feels that it will sell vastly and mostly on one specific platform and the benefits of just making one port outweighs the costs of multiple ports
4. because of brand relationships, history, and loyalty, I guess?
Click to expand...

An exclusive can also take full advantage of the hardware.
 
H

HeeHo

Member
Bloodporne said:
What? Hell no. Check the videos people posted in response.
Click to expand...

I have seen the video, but I guess what I was referring to were the animations. You can tell Team Ninja took a hit with all the staff that left with Itagaki in terms of how the animations look now, is all I was inferring. I was a huge Ninja Gaiden fan, and I don't want to seem like a snob, but I couldn't even play Razor's Edge because I could tell the difference not only in animation, but the feel. This feels like Razor's Edge to me mixed with a souls game. I like the game, I'm not trying to jab at it, I just don't think comparing it to Ninja Gaiden 1 or 2 is accurate.
 
B

Bloodporne

Member
HeeHo said:
I have seen the video, but I guess what I was referring to were the animations. You can tell Team Ninja took a hit with all the staff that left with Itagaki in terms of how the animations look now, is all I was inferring. I was a huge Ninja Gaiden fan, and I don't want to seem like a snob, but I couldn't even play Razor's Edge because I could tell the difference not only in animation, but the feel. This feels like Razor's Edge to me mixed with a souls game. I like the game, I'm not trying to jab at it, I just don't think comparing it to Ninja Gaiden 1 or 2 is accurate.
Click to expand...

It's much more accurate than comparing it to Ninja Gaiden 3 in my opinion. It played like crap in both its iterations and Nioh doesn't. I don't think it even particularly feels like NG in the first place but quality-wise I'd argue the above.
 
A

Angelus Errare

Banned
Revan said:
Yes and no - Hayashi directed NGS and there were changes to the game that were pretty apparent - as with Sigma 2 and Razor's Edge (vanilla NG3 is not to be spoken of lol) - NioH feels a hell of a lot closer to Itagaki's Black then Hayashi's Sigma games.

EDIT: now that I think about it - do we know who is directing this?
Click to expand...

Hayashi
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
I miss this game... fuck.
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Palculator said:
You feel it, too, don't you?
Click to expand...
Yeah.

Hated this game at first, never gave up though, started liking it 10 hours in. Loved it 20 hours in.
 
B

Bloodporne

Member
GwyndolinCinder said:
please stop bumping, i need to forgot about this game.
I cant even play souls right now because of it...
Click to expand...

Ditto sadly. It probably sounds dramatic but I was so into this demo, it completely ripped me out of Dark Souls 3 and I currently am not very interested in playing anything else.

I booted it up just to try the other day and it went all the way into the main menu and I thought I somehow had cheated it haha.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Copy/paste of my thoughts form the other thread.

Downloaded the alpha a few days in, managed to finish both areas and bosses.

All in all, blown away. Hard to describe, but coming off Dark Souls III (which I adored, mind you), where that was a very familiar and equally welcome experience with a franchise I love, it was Nioh that made me feel like I had to relearn the way these games are play. And I mean, I think the Souls comparisons are valid; there's very heavy inspiration from that series, right on the nose, from top to bottom. But the heart of the combat, the nuances in how to maximise your effectiveness and efficiency, to me felt like I was back playing Demon's Souls for the first time. Where Souls has been a sensible progression of game systems, Nioh was reminiscent of that first Demon's play where I really felt I needed to take time to learn and appreciate just how everything was coming together.

And I really, really appreciate that. The alpha was, for me, a clear example of a game heavily drawing upon vision and concepts popularised by Souls, but reimagining and rebuilding them in ways that give the overall package a very distinct and original flair. Kind of the opposite of something like Lords of the Fallen, which was in many ways a straight up Souls clone. Extremely refreshing, while drawing on familiar elements in Souls that attract me to the genre in the first place.

My only glaring criticism, other than the framerate which is still pretty spotty even in action mode, is the durability balance. I like it in theory and general practice; with a ton of loot drops and item management as a key feature, the idea is by the time your stuff breaks you should have found equivilent or superior gear. And if you haven't you need to use clay/whetstone to repair, or you've badly managed your resources and suffer with a downgrade. It also encourages a lot of weapon and armour swapping for different yet entirely valid weight builds. The problem occurs when you're throwing yourself up against a single powerful enemy required to progress, that you're having a hard time mastering. It's the same problem with Bloodborne's blood vials, and for me this was evident in Nioh's Nue. I had a lot of trouble with the fight. And that's okay, because my victory was through mastery and thus very satisfying. But the gameplay feedback loop results in rapid degradation of gear wherein the only solution is to just...stop fighting the boss and force yourself to do other grindy shit in order to secure new drops. And doing that isn't challenging or fun. It's literal grind, time wasting just so you can continue with the challenge you're actually up against.

That and the menus. The menus need a lot of work, particularly how item drops are arranged. Because by the end I had so much fucking shit (and was regularly selling) that browsing my loot was nothing short of a chore. Needs a total overhaul, or categorisation based on weapon type and then sub listing of the variants you have.

Otherwise yeah, utterly adored the alpha and will be buying day one. 100% sold, unless some serious shit is present in the final build.
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Fantastic impressions.
 
Kudo

Kudo

Member
Great write-up, feel mostly the same.
I wonder if Team Ninja is going to announce the release date at E3, it's hard to wait for something you don't know when it's coming.
 
B

Bloodporne

Member
EatChildren said:
Copy/paste of my thoughts form the other thread.

Downloaded the alpha a few days in, managed to finish both areas and bosses.

All in all, blown away. Hard to describe, but coming off Dark Souls III (which I adored, mind you), where that was a very familiar and equally welcome experience with a franchise I love, it was Nioh that made me feel like I had to relearn the way these games are play. And I mean, I think the Souls comparisons are valid; there's very heavy inspiration from that series, right on the nose, from top to bottom. But the heart of the combat, the nuances in how to maximise your effectiveness and efficiency, to me felt like I was back playing Demon's Souls for the first time. Where Souls has been a sensible progression of game systems, Nioh was reminiscent of that first Demon's play where I really felt I needed to take time to learn and appreciate just how everything was coming together.

And I really, really appreciate that. The alpha was, for me, a clear example of a game heavily drawing upon vision and concepts popularised by Souls, but reimagining and rebuilding them in ways that give the overall package a very distinct and original flair. Kind of the opposite of something like Lords of the Fallen, which was in many ways a straight up Souls clone. Extremely refreshing, while drawing on familiar elements in Souls that attract me to the genre in the first place.

My only glaring criticism, other than the framerate which is still pretty spotty even in action mode, is the durability balance. I like it in theory and general practice; with a ton of loot drops and item management as a key feature, the idea is by the time your stuff breaks you should have found equivilent or superior gear. And if you haven't you need to use clay/whetstone to repair, or you've badly managed your resources and suffer with a downgrade. It also encourages a lot of weapon and armour swapping for different yet entirely valid weight builds. The problem occurs when you're throwing yourself up against a single powerful enemy required to progress, that you're having a hard time mastering. It's the same problem with Bloodborne's blood vials, and for me this was evident in Nioh's Nue. I had a lot of trouble with the fight. And that's okay, because my victory was through mastery and thus very satisfying. But the gameplay feedback loop results in rapid degradation of gear wherein the only solution is to just...stop fighting the boss and force yourself to do other grindy shit in order to secure new drops. And doing that isn't challenging or fun. It's literal grind, time wasting just so you can continue with the challenge you're actually up against.

That and the menus. The menus need a lot of work, particularly how item drops are arranged. Because by the end I had so much fucking shit (and was regularly selling) that browsing my loot was nothing short of a chore. Needs a total overhaul, or categorisation based on weapon type and then sub listing of the variants you have.

Otherwise yeah, utterly adored the alpha and will be buying day one. 100% sold, unless some serious shit is present in the final build.
Click to expand...

The menus were actually my only real gripe besides the camera angle being a bit goofy as well. I mentioned in the feedback form that the menus feel very cluttered and stressful to browse for me at least. I feel overwhelmed whenever I'd open the thing. The browsing options with R3 helped, but it was still messy and irritating to go through.

Actually, the colors didn't help matters. The item box menu is a bit of an eyesore and looks like a PS2 Onimusha menu with way more shit in it.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Ricker said:
Not many people will give it that time,especially the way it looks,so unfortunatly this will probably flop...hard.
Click to expand...

Word of mouth may carry this game and if it gets decent scores when it finally releases I could see it being one of those slow burn hits that gets more and more people as time goes on. Would probably help to get a PC port as well but not sure if that's a thing or not.
 
R

Ricky Ricardo

Member
Ricker said:
Not many people will give it that time,especially the way it looks,so unfortunatly this will probably flop...hard.
Click to expand...

I will. I didn't even get a chance to play it, but from all the extensive reading and gameplays I watched, its right up my alley.

It may end up being a niche product, but I'll be there on day one.
 
T

thisbeard

Member
Fantastic write-up above there, Eat. Definitely share most of your impressions. I had a blast playing the alpha and trying to uncover the mysterious systems for myself. In its unfamiliarity, the game was refreshing great unique experience.

I later stumbled on Gaijin Hunter's YouTube material for the alpha, and he demonstrated very important deep mechanics like stance switching movement and attacks together. He also explained equipment sorting by ability. These videos opened up my mind to the latent amazing possibilities of the systems. The alpha has some things to iron out, like durability, for sure.

Overall, I think it's such an important game to come out relatively unchanged because it really feels like a fresh, engaging gameplay experience with a magical new setting and one which we all seem to now miss!
 
F

Fraxin

Member
HStallion said:
Word of mouth may carry this game and if it gets decent scores when it finally releases I could see it being one of those slow burn hits that gets more and more people as time goes on. Would probably help to get a PC port as well but not sure if that's a thing or not.
Click to expand...

PC port or not. If it gets good praise from the community and the critics I think it might be a sleeper hit, something like Demon's souls (although not with the same success rate). What is worrisome is if it gets treated as a Souls rip-off since all they say when they criticize the game is that its a bad Souls game due to either its difficulty since some can't get the through the first part or how clunky the it is ( I still think Souls is worse in this area).
 
G

GlassEmpires

Member
EatChildren said:
Copy/paste of my thoughts form the other thread.

...

My only glaring criticism, other than the framerate which is still pretty spotty even in action mode, is the durability balance. I like it in theory and general practice; with a ton of loot drops and item management as a key feature, the idea is by the time your stuff breaks you should have found equivilent or superior gear. And if you haven't you need to use clay/whetstone to repair, or you've badly managed your resources and suffer with a downgrade. It also encourages a lot of weapon and armour swapping for different yet entirely valid weight builds. The problem occurs when you're throwing yourself up against a single powerful enemy required to progress, that you're having a hard time mastering. It's the same problem with Bloodborne's blood vials, and for me this was evident in Nioh's Nue. I had a lot of trouble with the fight. And that's okay, because my victory was through mastery and thus very satisfying. But the gameplay feedback loop results in rapid degradation of gear wherein the only solution is to just...stop fighting the boss and force yourself to do other grindy shit in order to secure new drops. And doing that isn't challenging or fun. It's literal grind, time wasting just so you can continue with the challenge you're actually up against.

That and the menus. The menus need a lot of work, particularly how item drops are arranged. Because by the end I had so much fucking shit (and was regularly selling) that browsing my loot was nothing short of a chore. Needs a total overhaul, or categorisation based on weapon type and then sub listing of the variants you have.

Otherwise yeah, utterly adored the alpha and will be buying day one. 100% sold, unless some serious shit is present in the final build.
Click to expand...

Agree with the durability and menus.

I actually found it easier to manage equipped gear through the Offering menu under All Equipment sorted by ability since you can un/equip gear you need and sell what you don't need in batches by tagging them with a button.

Ordering by ability also sorts weapons by Sword/Spear/Axe.
 
R

Ricker

Member
MMaRsu said:
Just like Dark souls amirite?
Click to expand...

Dark Souls has a huge reputation and Dark Souls III looks great...this,not so much.Alot of people I talked to said it looks like a PS3 game.Not saying graphics is all but you know sometimes if it looks awesome,you want to push on a bit more...I am not wishing it to fail,it will probably succeed with the hardcore community,so flop is maybe a big word,shouldnt of used that I guess.
 
Raven117

Raven117

Member
EatChildren said:
to me felt like I was back playing Demon's Souls for the first time. Where Souls has been a sensible progression of game systems, Nioh was reminiscent of that first Demon's play where I really felt I needed to take time to learn and appreciate just how everything was coming together.

.
Click to expand...

This. right here. I felt the same thing. That feeling when the first enemy downs you on the beach...
 
I

IvorB

Member
Ricker said:
Dark Souls has a huge reputation and Dark Souls III looks great...this,not so much.Alot of people I talked to said it looks like a PS3 game.Not saying graphics is all but you know sometimes if it looks awesome,you want to push on a bit more...I am not wishing it to fail,it will probably succeed with the hardcore community,so flop is maybe a big word,shouldnt of used that I guess.
Click to expand...

Well the graphics are sh*t. There's no getting around that but hopefully it's an alpha so things improve. Team Ninja aren't really known for putting out crap graphics.

I miss the demo too. :-(
 
N

Nyteshade517

Member
I do miss playing this...hopefully it's still a "2016" release but with how most things get pushed back these days if they go to 2017 I wouldn't be surprised
 
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