Team Ninja Brings 'Ni-Oh' Out Of The Shadows, Officially Coming To PS4

Team Ninja surprised many fans when the developer announced “Ni-Oh” during the PlayStation Experience event. Even more shocking was the gameplay shown, which seemed to mix the combat of “Onimusha” with the settings and tone of “Dark Souls,” making for a uniquely haunting experience that, at the least, looks fairly intriguing.

According to an article from GameSpot, “Ni-Oh” was originally announced back in 2004 as a launch title for the PlayStation 3. Now that the PS3 is a last-gen console many figured that “Ni-Oh” would never see the light of day until publisher Koei Tecmo brought the game back to life and announced that it would come to PS4.

While comparisons have been made to “Onimusha” and “Dark Souls,” Forbes brought up another apt comparison for the game: “Ninja Gaiden.” While the camera angles are different and the combat is slower, the way the samurai moves his sword and the design of the enemies are quite similar to the acclaimed action game.

Of course Team Ninja, the team that is now developing “Ni-Oh, also developed “Ninja Gaiden” so the comparison is an apt one. Whether “Ni-Oh” reaches the same heights as “Ninja Gaiden” is anyone’s guess at this point, but there’s no denying that the gameplay and graphics look stunning.

The previous comparison to “Dark Souls” is also a strong one, since the trailer doesn’t discuss the game’s plot in any way. Much like “Dark Souls” it seems like most of the storytelling is done through world building and plenty of subtlety, which should please those that like unique plots.

Instead of old castles and dungeons though, it looks like the player will be going through a haunted version of Japan. As a lone samurai, players must take on monstrous creatures and creepy swordsmen to survive.

Mixing genres of action and horror, it looks like “Ni-Oh” will be one of the creepier games to come to the PS4. Sadly there is still no definitive release date, so it looks like fans are going to have to wait a while. Hopefully the game isn’t delayed enough that it has to be released for a PlayStation 5.