Let me just say, WOW! The level design is absolutely immaculate. I've played a lot of games, but I don't think I've seen interconnected levels as great as this. I could be midway through a new level, and when I look back to admire the background, I end up spotting the prior level or even further in great detail. The combat is decent; I don't have much to complain about, except maybe the lock-on system, which turns the camera against you. However, the game dips in quality after Anor Londo, significantly so. Everything feels like a chore. But that's when the DLC comes in and fixes everything. The DLC is arguably better than the first half of Dark Souls, in my opinion. The boss fights are just too good. Overall, my experience was enjoyable and I am looking forward to the rest of this trilogy.

This game felt like a chore to complete, the levels are well designed (except Valley of Defilement) but you are expected to run through them and beat the boss in one go, no checkpoints.

Its frustrating at first, but you get used to it. I found it to be a very lame decision as the boss fights are extremely underwhelming and gimmicky. Beat them all in my first attempt except Fool's Idol, Tower Knight, and Dragon God. For a souls game, I expected more of a challenge, however the final boss was quite decent and for that I am not rating it 2-stars.

My first proper 3D Souls-like game.

The combat is extremely fun and fast-paced, with a lot of variety in builds.
However, that's where my compliment ends as Nioh suffers from a lack of enemy variety and reuses certain bosses as reoccurring enemies, which makes them a chore to fight. Some of the side-missions felt extremely repetitive with bosses that are just regular enemies but beefed up. As for the boss fights, they are not very memorable and the final three bosses were straight up just disappointing. For a souls-like this felt a bit too easy, I expected to pull my hair out playing this.

Despite my gripes, it is still a fun game and I would still recommend giving this a go.