10 Best Dark Souls Games That AREN'T Dark Souls
4. Nioh 2
Team Ninja are perhaps one of the only game developers who can rival FromSoftware when it comes to creating intricate combat systems, and while Team Ninja’s Nioh and its sequel crib a lot from Dark Souls, the combat borrows just as much from Team Ninja’s notoriously difficult Ninja Gaiden series.
Nioh 2 is a prequel so it’s an excellent place to start with the series. Most of the systems from the first game are carried over and refined in the sequel.
However, there are a couple of notable gameplay additions: “Soul Cores” can be collected from fallen enemies and used to transform yourself into a monstrous Yokai, allowing you to unleash devastating attacks. The other addition is the “Burst” counter, a special parry which can counter an enemy’s most deadly attacks, which would otherwise be unblockable. It’s a high-risk, high reward manoeuvre that allows you to create openings against strong foes and bosses.
Sadly, common criticisms levelled at Nioh still apply to the sequel, namely a laborious loot system and an uninspiring plot, but there’s a dizzying amount of mechanical complexity to get stuck into if that’s your thing.