I would say the enemies are more varied and more memorable by a pretty big margin. Bosses are probably on par with both games. I think environments in Nioh 2 are better and varied as well.
I know I sound like Wo Long is trash, but I enjoyed it. It’s just not Nioh 3.
Nioh 2 was created in response to complaints about enemy variety in the first game, very similar to Wo Long. Now there’s still a lot of repetition because it’s a massive game, like wolves and gremlins in Elden Ring, but overall it’s very good.
Nioh 2 is on sale for 30 bucks. I’ll probably pick it up.
Don’t sleep on the NG+ modes if you do get it. I typically ignore extra playthroughs in this genre but the implementation in Nioh 2 is the best there is, in my experience. Really adds a lot if you’re looking for new ways of playing your character in increasing difficulties. And you don’t have to go through the entire game with each NG+ difficulty either.
I am quite tempted to grab Nioh 2 for the Steam Deck (I have it on PS4 which is pretty much only a DRG machine for me these days), but performance reports are mixed.
Mixed is a good way to put it. My experience with Nioh 2 on my Deck was not stellar.
Does not sound worth $30 for a game I already own, then, sadly.
I should give you more info: The main issue was that it chewed through battery at a breakneck speed. It ate about 2.5X more power then Elden Ring running on the same deck. So it played, but it was just not optimized, and there were a few times (as is typical Team Ninja) where the frame rates took a dive on big particle effect scenes.
I’m most of the way through NG+ now. The game feels like a healthy workout for my action game brain. It doesn’t hit the traditional videogame pleasure centers. I just feel pumped up and satisfied after I play it. Maybe it’s all the running around.
Ok whew, 100% complete with NG+. I checked out a few more weapons and I tried to incorporate more spells and weapon switching into my normal flow, but it was hard to get used to!
I’m done till the DLC.
How did you like the spell system and additional weapons? Now that you’ve 100%'ed, tell us your thoughts. How does it compare to its peers? I’m eager to play Wo Long, but I’m concerned about enemy repetition, uneven difficulty, eventually tedious flag capping, and the incredibly bizarre loot system.
Can any of you remember the Wo Long beta that released late last summer? Didn’t it include a more traditional loot system that routinely dropped more powerful items? The way the newest demo presents the loot makes the decision to completely flatten the loot power curve feel like a late addition. Maybe Team Ninja decided to move power progression entirely to the flag/morale system.
I’m not sure I’m the right person to provide a detailed analysis. I just like to slice bad guys in Team Ninja games.
I don’t think the other weapons or spells significantly changed how I played the game. It’s still a lot of parrying, quick attacks, then dump spirit.
I still mostly ignored the loot system. I went back to base and salvaged all my 3* and below gear. The only notable gear is 4* versions of the unique weapons, and I guess the grace system, but I never came close to a full set, so I ignored that too. The embed system is so flexible that I simply moved all my embeds to the new weapons and kept the old ones as +9 blanks. The locked martial arts are a bummer if you’re looking for the unique weapons.
Wow, you went all in. Nice job!
Finally beat Lu Bu! That was a rough fight. Almost up there with the end of Sekiro for me. The relentless non-red attacks when he was off the horse were the worst and would down me in no time. I was annoyed I only had 4 heals, and started looking at youtube where I could have missed some.
Then I realised I had to actually use the items in my inventory and suddenly I was at six and they were also more potent.
Respeccing to water also helped, but by no means made it easy: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty - Lu Bu Boss Guide - YouTube