Nioh 2 is set in a twisted version of late Sengoku-era Japan, where warlords, clans, and yokai all bleed into the same battlefield. You play as a half-human, half-yokai warrior whose bloodline gives you access to demonic power — and puts you right in the crosshairs of every supernatural thing crawling through history.

Combat is fast, sharp, and punishing. Every weapon — katana, odachi, dual blades, switchglaive, and more — has stance-based movesets that completely change your timing and reach. High stance hits like a truck but commits you; mid stance is your stable workhorse; low stance is all about evasion and precision. Underneath all of that is Ki: your stamina bar, guard meter, and combo limiter rolled into one. Managing Ki with perfectly timed “Ki Pulses” is non-negotiable; do it well and you stay in control, fail and you’re staggered, winded, and dead.

The yokai side is what pushes Nioh 2 past the first game. Soul Cores let you steal enemy abilities and slot them into your own toolkit, essentially letting you build a custom library of burst attacks, movement options, and utility skills. Burst Counters give you a way to challenge enemy super-attacks head-on instead of only dodging them, if your timing is right. Yokai Shift transformations temporarily turn you into a full demon, letting you pull off massive combos and buy breathing room in brutal fights.

Levels are structured as self-contained missions with shortcuts, minibosses, and side routes rather than a single seamless world. That makes Nioh 2 feel more like a series of tightly tuned arenas and gauntlets: each map is a test with its own enemy mix, gimmicks, and boss skill check at the end. Co-op options — from summoning real players to calling AI “Benevolent Graves” — let you soften the edge without removing the mechanical challenge.

In the Vault, Nioh 2 is the go-to for players who want raw, mechanical combat depth. When you’re in the mood for a Soulslike that plays more like a fighting game disguised as an action RPG, this is where you go.