As in all games of this kind, boss battles are the most important part. Nioh 2 does a great job here as players are thrown against all manner of difficult creatures. The first boss, Mezuki, for example is a giant horse-headed demon who swings a large cleaver at players. This fight is fun, challenging, and bizarre all at once. All of the non-human boss enemies prioritize learning patterns and are each unique. Human bosses are another issue entirely as most of them can cheaply beaten by spamming certain attacks. Players who figure out how to take these characters down quickly, will feel understandably cheated for missing out on some equally unique fights.

At the end of the day Nioh 2 takes the formula laid out by other soulslike games and manages to improve it at almost every turn. The game is both uniquely challenging and while still having the same addicting quality of other games in the genre. The addition of mechanics like the Yokai Shift manage to set Nioh 2 apart from the pack and add a layer of combat not seen in similar titles. Veterans and newcomers to the soulslike genre alike will get be able to squeeze dozens of hours out of Nioh 2.

Nioh 2 is available on PlayStation 4. A PlayStation 4 code was provided for the purposes of this review.