Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (254 positive / 46 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Combat25% mention it
- Story & writing15% mention it
- Difficulty & balance8% mention it
- Progression & loot8% mention it
- Visuals & art6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Combat35% mention it
- Story & writing24% mention it
- Difficulty & balance24% mention it
- Progression & loot22% mention it
- Controls & UI22% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
63%
40 reviews
5-15h
76%
33 reviews
15-40h
79%
53 reviews
40-100h
90%
88 reviews
100h+
97%
86 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 85 | 70 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 85 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 87% | 81 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 78% | 73 | 74 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 211 reviews sampled · 145 total reviews in window · weighted 123.6 up / 35 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (101)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Nioh 2 is still a great game for fans of Ninja Gaiden and Dark Souls, which suffers from a weak story, pixelated graphics and outdated solutions, but pleases with addictive mechanics, atmospheric exploration and deep character customization. This is a typical Koei-Tecmo-style sequel, where the developers decided to make careful implementation of small changes, and many things that required a major upgrade were left untouched. Taking into account the lack of a cooperative and a deep RPG components in Sekiro, as well as no news on Elden Ring, Nioh 2 becomes the project that closes an empty niche. This game can be safely recommended to both fans of the first game, and all fans of such Action-RPG genre.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Nioh 2 nicely builds on the groundwork laid by the first game. The original mechanics were refined and new ones add further depth and options that enrich the combat system and take the risk-reward system one step further.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The game is limited by the static nature of its mission-based structure and the protagonist's severe lack of motivation.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Nioh 2 softens the blow of its demanding combat by giving the player myriad ways to decapitate an enemy. An absolute joy to learn how to play.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Nioh 2, despite being quite derivative, full of repetitive missions, and lacking true challenges later in the game, remains a riveting experience. This prequel looks like a mirrored image of the first game, but with some pretty ingenious level design, exciting enemies, and hugely satisfying combat and character creation systems, this game really hits home.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“As extremely hard as the game can be, Nioh 2 is proof that the Soulsborne genre can still be polished, refined, and utilize unique mechanics, all of which makes it worth suffering through. Team Ninja’s latest title is definitely more accessible than Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and certainly an early contender for Game Of The Year 2020.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Nioh 2 [encourages] you to be creative and personalize your whole gameplay experience. The only hurdle for players new to the franchise is it'ss very steep difficulty and learning curve. But if you can tough it out and get past that, this is a game you may even see yourself revisiting time and again.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While it may be incredibly similar to what came before it, Nioh 2 smartly adds yet more depth and mechanics to its engagements to make for one of the best combat systems around.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Brutal from start to finish, Nioh 2 turnes its outstanding combat system into a deadly dance that knows how to be cruel with defeat, but honorable with victory. It may not be far from the first game, but it was enough to refine the elements that founded the franchise to deliver one of the best titles of the closing of this generation.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Despite its difficulty, the game never gets tedious, as it is constantly finding ways to make the player complete one mission after another.”
read full review ↗ - 89
“One of the best Soulslike games ever made. With its gripping story in Japan, where supernatural beings intervene, and more advanced combat mechanics, Nioh 2 has managed to become one of the best action games on Playstation 4. Prepare to fight, prepare to die and loot everything you find!”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Nioh 2 is going to be compared to Sekiro, but it is its own beast. It's an excellent follow-up to the original game, and it isn't any lesser for being compared to FromSoft's attempt at the samurai Soulsborne genre. The new features help keep the smooth gameplay feeling intense and exciting, and the various tweaks do wonders for keeping the game fresh. Its biggest flaw is being "more of the same," but the original game was fun enough that a fresh new set of enemies and items is worth a lot. Just be prepared to die a lot. A whole lot. As in, "I saw multiple corpses by the first enemy of the game."”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
Slant Magazine
Jump Dash Roll
GRYOnline.pl
Kakuchopurei
Too Much Gaming
Push Square
LevelUp
Enternity.gr
Merlin'in Kazanı
Worth Playing…and 89 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition: Ver 1.28 Patch NotesSep 9, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition: Ver 1.27.2 Patch NotesApr 20, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition: Version 1.27 Patch NotesMar 2, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition: Version 1.26 Patch NotesFeb 18, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition: Version 1.25.1 Patch NotesFeb 10, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition: Bug Fix NoticeFeb 10, 2021