Taking place in war-torn feudal Japan, Nioh will test your ability to swing a katana against legions of 16th century samurai and otherworldly demons from Japanese folklore. This is a game designed for players who love a challenge — it’s reminiscent of the Souls series.

Nioh is developed by Team Ninja, a studio long celebrated for its fast-paced, challenging, polished action games including Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Action fans will find Nioh’s relentless enemy waves familiar, but will notice a number of major, game-defining differences that push Nioh into challenging new territory.

With Nioh, Team Ninja is embracing a deep level of player customization which, when combined with the studio’s legendary action-game prowess, will arm players with powerful new options. Examples include weapon-specific fighting stances, magic talismans that can imbue your arsenal with potent abilities, and guardian spirits that can turn the tide in the heat of battle.

Nioh’s multiple fighting stances bring a great deal of variety and mastery to the game’s melee combat:

High stance delivers powerful, slower attacks

Low stance delivers faster, but weaker attacks

Mid stance allows for a more balanced approach

Nioh features quite a few weapons which, when combined with the fighting stances and upgrades provided by in-game blacksmiths, bring serious depth and customization to the game’s fast-paced combat. It often pays to experiment with different combinations!

Players can also wield more than 50 different types of magic and Ninjustsu, which are powerful abilities that can do everything from deploy projectiles to exploit a specific enemy weaknesses.

Then there’s the in-depth loot system, which rewards players for tackling ever-greater challenges. As with many games of this nature, the stronger the enemy you defeat, the greater the chance will find a highly valuable item. And believe me, there are a ton of desirable items in Nioh: rare, exotic, uncommon, and common weapons; various armor types; consumables; key items; projectiles; even smithing materials. You can buy and sell these items at in-game merchants, or forge weapons and armor yourself from the blacksmith.

Now that you understand a bit more about the game’s mechanics and gameplay style, tell us — what else would you like to know about Nioh?