Nioh is the latest game from Team Ninja, developers of Ninja Gaiden, and it’s getting a second demo this August.
The demo will launch on August 23, and will end on September 3. Back in April they released an alpha version that accumulated over 850,000 players during its release period.
Team Ninja have been using the demos to improve the game, and they shared their findings from the first demo shortly after it ended. Part of the aim of this demo is looking at how people react to what has changed due to the feedback. You can see graphs they released showing questionnaire answers at the bottom.
The beta demo will include both levels from the alpha demo. It will also include a training level and an as yet unrevealed third level. The training level is something they added in response to the first demos feedback. They also say the demo will have many new weapons for players to try.
For anyone who didn’t play the first demo or has never heard of Nioh, I’ll give you a brief explanation. It’s an Action RPG, not entirely dissimilar to the Souls series, but it carries more than a little of it’s Ninja Gaiden pedigree.
Combat is very punishing, and quite in depth with a range of different weapons and armours. It also features three different stances to change your combat abilities, and an interesting stamina recovery mechanic called a Ki Pulse. A Ki Pulse rewards good timing with an instant stamina refills, though it’s not easy to pull off.
The plot is based on the story of William Adams, a British sailor who was shipwrecked in Japan in 1600 and eventually became the first ever western samurai. They have also confirmed that the player will see other historical figures during the game, such as Hanzo Hattori.
I played the first demo, and I absolutely loved it. It was a fantastically designed game that obviously had a very clear vision of what it was aiming for aesthetically. The demo’s changes will be interesting to see.
The first demo also allowed anyone who beat it download an item from the PSN Store called ‘The Mark of the Conqueror’, which will unlock some items in the full game. There is no word yet if this second demo will offer the same or something similar. You can view the results of the feedback here:
Nioh is due for release on Playstation 4towards the end of this year. You can view the recent E3 trailer here:
