With its initial reveal trailer already two years in the past, Nioh 2 is now just around the corner. The official release date for Nioh 2 on the PS4 is coming up, and while those who prefer the PC will have to wait a little longer, those who are preparing to buy the game would do well to start considering the time commitment that the new title will be.
Announced just one year after its predecessor Nioh found its way onto the PC, Nioh 2 is set to continue the first game's mix of Souls-like combat and Diablo style loot drops and combat diversity. It also, according to those who have played through the beta and demos provided by Team Ninja, shares the previous game's difficulty, which will no doubt contribute to many frustrating roadblocks throughout.
According to an interview with the game's producer, Fumihiko Yasuda, the length of Nioh 2 hovers at around the same as its predecessor in terms of missions and, presumably, side quests and profitably replayable sections. Not counting its DLC, the original Nioh had 20 main missions, each one taking place in an enclosed area as opposed to the sprawling, interconnected zones often associated with a Souls-esque game. There were also a multitude of side missions that stretched out the game's length even more, and these will no doubt make a return in Nioh 2. While Nioh 2's beta and subsequent featured gameplay has been somewhat limited, it is likely that these are just one corner of the world that Nioh 2 will offer.
Yasuda also revealed that Nioh 2 took him around 55 hours to beat, which can most likely be considered average time at least considering how familiar with the game he must be at this point. This is not too far away from the average completion time of the original Nioh, which dedicated players found themselves completing in around 60 hours, although that only covers the main, non-DLC missions. The additional ones could add 20 more hours, which will probably be the minimum expectation for additional content in Nioh 2, unless revisions from the Nioh 2 Beta have convinced Team Ninja otherwise.
All of this, of course, must take into account the difficulty that was a huge part of the original Nioh's selling point. All the supposed progress in the world can wind up meaning nothing when confronting one of the more brutal aspects of the game, whether it's Nioh 2's new Dark World mechanic, or a cripplingly hard boss battle.
In short, there will be a whole lot of game for people to plow through when they purchase Nioh 2, either in March for the PS4 or later on for the PC. Players should start putting together plans to optimize their Nioh 2 builds now, because a little preparation now will negate headaches later.
Nioh 2 launches for the PS4 on March 13th, and will come to PC at an unspecified date in 2020.
Source: Gamespot
