16 Most Important Video Games Coming In 2016

5. Ni-Oh

Considering how much of a hardcore fanbase the Souls games have garnered with their unapologetically brutal and learned sense of progression, I'm always surprised more developers don't try and, well, rip them off. Lords of the Fallen certainly did, but until now we've not seen a more high-profile developer put finger to key and do the same. Enter Team Ninja, the Dead or Alive studio, and for the first time in years they're putting their name to something that doesn't jiggle in two specific places. Ni-Oh is essentially 'Japanese Dark Souls' in terms of how it looks to play, but thanks to their proficiency with lightning-fast animations that double as beautiful and incredibly impactful, your moveset has character William (major lols at that name) cutting stylish swathes through demonic samurais and ninjas along the way. More features that differentiate from the Souls series are yet to be revealed, but apparently if you activate certain 'sword mounds' where players have died, you'll trigger an A.I. version of that person which you can attempt to fight for bonus XP - a very cool twist on FromSoftware's games, where doing the same only nets you a vision of their last living moments.
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.