Nioh launched in 2017 and follows William Adams, who travels to Japan during the late Sengoku period to retrieve his Guardian Spirit. He runs afoul of Yokai and even meets historical figures like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hattori Hanzō, Date Masamune, and even Yasuke. It received acclaim for its clever spins on the Souls-like genre, challenging difficulty and high-skill combat.

Following its success, Team Ninja released Nioh 2 in 2020, where players controlled Hidechiyo, who could transform into a Yokai. Alongside additions to the already solid combat, it adds new mechanics like Yokai Forms and Burst Counters.

Both are available for PS4, PS5 and PC. You can pick them up separately or with The Nioh Collection. Check out our review for the latter here.

Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo haven’t revealed any plans for a third Nioh title. The former is currently working with PlatinumGames on Ninja Gaiden 4, which launches later this year for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Its last milestone was October 2022, with over seven million copies shipped worldwide. Speaking to Denfamicogame (translation by Automaton-Media), Erikawa revealed, “About 90 percent of those sales are in Europe and North America. Recently, ‘SHOGUN‘ by Disney+ has also been getting a lot of attention, hasn’t it?

“Dramas and games related to the history of Japan and China are becoming more and more popular. In the case of manga and anime, history-related works were not very popular in the past, but recently, they have become more accepted.”

Nioh launched in 2017 for PS4 before coming to PC and PS5, with Nioh 2 following in 2020. Both received extensive acclaim from critics for their brutal, unforgiving difficulty and excellent combat systems. Much of the latter carried over into Rise of the Ronin, especially in the stances. Check out our review here for more details.

In the meantime, Rise of the Ronin launches on March 11th for PC, while Ninja Gaiden 4 is out this Fall for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. You can check out our review for Ninja Gaiden 2 Black here.

Returnal

Rogue-like third-person shooter Returnal is relentlessly unforgiving, a game in which time is an agonising loop for astronaut Selene after she crash lands on the hostile alien world Atrophos. Otherworldly creatures stalk cadaverous biomes, hurling bioluminescent bullet hell between Selene’s scavenging for artifacts, resources, and ether. Its challenge can put players off but stick around and the accumulated muscle memory makes subsequent playthroughs a breeze. Returnal’s emotional narrative weighs heavier on successive runs too when the unfolding of events has already been discovered.

HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST

We’ll start things off with one of the most obvious entries. Horizon Forbidden West had the tall order of one-upping its predecessor’s open world, and it did so with surprising ease and confidence. Its map is massive and brimming with engaging quests and breathtaking sights, making exploration endlessly engaging in a way that’s rare to see in games. The fact that it’s also one of the best-looking games ever made only makes its map that much more unforgettable.

FINAL FANTASY 7 REBIRTH

One of the most recent entries on our list, and also one of the most outstanding. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that something on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s scale can even exist in the current AAA market. Its world is mind-bogglingly large, but on top of that, also boasts some of the most impressive environmental variety you’ll ever see. There’s a bevy of towns and cities to visit, an impressive variety of side activities, minigames, and side quests throughout the map, a startling number of unique traversal methods across different regions- and that’s just scratching the surface.

GOD OF WAR RAGNAROK

God of War Ragnarok took the wide-linear, semi-open world approach of its 2018 predecessor and did what you would expect a sequel to do by expanding its scope by a noticeable degree. There’s a handful of large, semi-open maps that you explore throughout the game, and each of them houses a hefty amount of side content that’s almost always well worth seeking out. Some areas are particularly excellent- like the Crater in Vanaheim, which might just be one of the best areas in any God of War game ever

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2

After letting players zip through the same New York City map in two games, with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Insomniac decided to expand the available play space by nearly doubling the size of the map. But Spider-Man 2’s New York isn’t just impressive because it’s larger- it’s particularly impressive because, typically enough for the series, traversing it is an absolute dream. Significant improvements to the core webswinging mechanics (most notably the faster speed of movement) are combined with new mechanics like the Web Wings to ensure that moving through Spider-Man 2’s Manhattan never, ever gets boring.

NIOH

Nioh was obviously not anywhere close to being an open world game, but in spite of its segmented, level-based structure, it was a surprisingly (surprisingly at the time, at least) beefy experience. Levels in Nioh could be quite large, and exploration was often handsomely rewarded. If you’re the sort of player that doesn’t just stick to the critical path, you can lose yourself in Nioh’s world for dozens upon dozens of hours on end.

RISE OF THE RONIN

Breaking from tradition, Team Ninja recently delivered its first ever open world game in the form of Rise of the Ronin, and though the game’s execution of some of its new ideas divides fans, there’s no doubting that those looking for a massive map to explore will find it here. Rise of the Ronin’s 19th century Japan map is brimming with things to do, and regardless of whether or not it sticks the landing in other areas, when it comes to its traversal mechanics, the game never loses its charm.

FINAL FANTASY 16

Final Fantasy 16 not being an open world game was a disappointment to some, but even with its semi-open structure, the action title succeeds in giving players a large world to explore. There’s a number of sizeable maps that players visit throughout the entirety of the game, with an abundance of side quests, hunts, and more to seek out. Admittedly, mileage varies on how engaging that content is- but those who love the game’s combat enough to fully dive into all of its offerings aren’t left wanting.

FORSPOKEN

The prospect of a new AAA open world action RPG IP from Square Enix was an exciting one on paper, but Forspoken turned out to be one of the more prominent high-profile failures of the industry in recent memory. Even so, though it disappointed in a number of key areas, Forspoken still had its strengths. Chief among them were its traversal mechanics, which made zipping and flying across its world a constant blast, even if other aspects of the open world experience were often subpar.

INFAMOUS 2

We’ve spoken about inFamous Second Son in previous editions of this feature, so here, we’re going to turn the spotlight on its immediate predecessor. Though not as large the many PlayStation open worlds that followed in the years after its release, inFamous 2 was a sizeable game in its own right. The city of New Marais also looked and felt much more alive than the first game’s Empire City, and above all else, served as an excellent sandbox for players to wreak havoc in as a superhero (or supervillain).

THE LAST GUARDIAN

The Last Guardian is another example of how even a linear game craft a deceptively large world- one that perhaps feels even larger than it is. Environments in the acclaimed action-adventure title were often quite large, of course, while their underlying atmosphere of mystery made them seem that much more imposing. And of course, with a companion like Trico always by your side, exploring your surroundings and discovering secrets always felt rewarding, especially as your bond with the adorable creature grew.

KILLZONE SHADOW FALL

Killzone Shadow Fall did something most had never thought Killzone would ever do by shedding the hyper-linear design style of its predecessors in favour of much larger and more open-ended levels- and it worked out surprisingly well. By presenting players with a number of different options when chasing specific objectives, levels in Shadow Fall often encouraged exploration in ways that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a Killzone game. Of course, it was by no means a massive experience in any sense of the word, but it provided an exciting glimpse of what a Killzone game in a larger, more open world could look like- one that still hasn’t been followed up on, unfortunately.

RETURNAL

Given its roguelite nature, you become very familiar with each of Returnal’s six biomes as you make your way through the game, and it’s hard not to be surprised at just how large the game is. Each biome is not only significantly different from most others, they’re all also surprisingly large, and made to feel even more so that the randomization of which areas and rooms you see in each biome changes in every run. Add to that rewarding optional content and some sprinkles of solid Metroidvania-style exploration, and traversing these large maps manages to remain compelling throughout the game.

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END

Naughty Dog has mastered the art of crafting linear, cinematic experiences like no other studio has been able to, but it has also been sprinkling larger and more open-ended levels into its games over the last several years. That started with Uncharted 4, which not only has a semi-open world section in Madagascar, but also has regular levels that are much wider in scope than previous Uncharted titles. Like a couple other Naughty Dog games in recent (or relatively recent) years, it’s an intriguing glimpse of what a non-linear Naughty Dog game would look like.

UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY

Immediately after Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog followed up on its semi-open world section with a similar section with an even wider scop in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, even if the game itself was obviously smaller in totality. Specifically, we’re talking about The Lost Legacy’s Western Ghats, a fairly sizeable map that players are allowed to explore freely, as much or as little as they want. Traversing through the environments in your 4×4 and seeking out optional content and hidden treasure is surprisingly engaging, ensuring that this section stands out as a highlight of the game.

The open-world action RPG also has a “high valuation” by players and is considered a “significant step towards mid to long-term growth.” Though it didn’t provide any sales figures, it noted elsewhere in the report that the sales start “goes beyond the Nioh series (Nioh and Nioh 2).”

It’s worth noting that Nioh sold over one million units worldwide within 17 days of its launch, while Nioh 2 crossed the same milestone roughly two months after launch. The franchise as a whole shipped over seven million units as of October 2022.

Of course, both Nioh titles launched as exclusives for the PS4, while Rise of the Ronin is exclusive to the PS5. The latter has a higher price point, which could mean higher overall dollar sales. Stay tuned for more details regarding its sales numbers in the coming months.

September 2023 sees the release of the second paid DLC, Conqueror of Jiangdong. It adds a new weapon type, difficulty level, Divine Beast, equipment level, rarity, gear, story missions and endgame content. The Lies of P collaboration goes live in the same month as part of a free update, which also brings a new Wizardry Spell, balance changes and expansions to existing features.

October 2023 features another free update with balance changes and improvements, while another arrives in November. It contains the collaboration with Nioh, feature improvements and other balance changes.

Regarding its upcoming collaborations, producer/director Masakazu Hirayama said, “The content we are considering will be different than what we have released for the Naraka: Bladepoint collaboration. We are working hard on these partnership contents for fans of these games to be delighted with the outcome.”

Finally, in December, the third paid DLC, Upheaval in Jiangxiang, will release and add a new weapon type, difficulty level, Divine Beast, equipment level, story missions, etc. Another Wizardry Spell is coming in a free update.

It’s worth noting that the endgame content included in the second paid DLC differs from the added difficulty levels. “Further details will be released in the coming weeks, but we are planning endgame content that aims to be played repeatedly based on different ‘strategy,’ which is one of the themes of Wo Long.” It will be expanded on further in Upheaval in Jiangxiang.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC.

SETTING

Let’s get the obvious difference out of the way first. While the Nioh games were set in Japan, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is set in China. Like Nioh, it will make heavy use of dark fantasy elements, but on the historical timeline, it’s going much further back, with the game taking place in the Three Kingdoms era of China. The setting, of course, is going to impact other aspects of the experience as well. For instance, the combat is built around Chinese martial arts, which means it’s going to place a much greater emphasis on speed. More on that in a bit.

JUMP BUTTON

As you may have guessed, the gameplay front is where Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is going to differ from Nioh the most, and it’ll do that in a number of different ways. Even basic movement and traversal are going to have their own unique flow, thanks to the fact that, unlike Nioh, Wo Long will have a dedicated jump button. From combat to level design, that’s going to impact gameplay in a variety of ways- speaking of which…

MORE VERTICALITY

According to Team Ninja, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is going to sport level design that will feel quite different from Nioh in some crucial ways, one among them being a greater focus on verticality. With players now being able to jump, the developer says environments will now be more layered and allow players to explore in a more vertical sense as well. And speaking of exploration…

GREATER FOCUS ON EXPLORATION

Like the Nioh games, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is going with an area-based structure rather than open world design, but Team Ninja says it’s still going to place a much greater emphasis on exploration. Speaking in an interview with Wccftech, the developers explained that the game will feature much more open environments, featuring, in their words, “much bigger locations with huge vistas, unique landscapes, and massive castles.”

FASTER AND MORE FREE-FLOWING COMBAT

This is probably a comparison that you’ve seen often enough already, but it bears repeating nonetheless- if Nioh was Team Ninja’s Dark Souls, Wo Long is their Sekiro, and that’s going to be reflected in the pace of the combat. That’s down to everything from players being encouraged to be much speedier and more aggressive with their attacks to being able to dodge incoming attacks in a variety of ways (especially now that you can jump), while countering and deflecting attacks will also be a core part of the experience. Speaking to PLAY magazine not too long ago, the developers described Wo Long’s combat as “more free-flowing and elegant” than what Nioh fans might be used to.

NO STAMINA

This is one of the biggest reasons for combat in Wo Long being much, much faster paced. Stamina (or Ki) was a key mechanic in Nioh and its sequel, as it tends to be in the vast majority of Soulslike games, but Wo Long is dropping that mechanic. With the game being focused first and foremost on Chinese martial arts, Team Ninja says it decided to remove the stamina gauge so as to allow players to get into a zippier rhythm of attacking and dodging, and to lend that aforementioned free-flowing feel to combat. Again, that sounds a great deal like some of the biggest changes Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice made to FromSoftware’s Soulslike formula.

SPIRIT GAUGE

In the stamina gauge’s place, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is introducing something that puts a very unique spin on the idea. Players will have to keep an eye on their spirit gauge, which is essentially one of the game’s primary ways to encourage players to be more aggressive in combat. Every attack you dish out will fill your stamina gauge, but on the flipside, other actions, such as blocking or getting hit, will take a chunk out of it. As you might imagine, it will be key to find the right windows in which to move in and attack enemies with flurries of blows. Using special martial arts attacks will also consume spirit, so you’re going to want to make sure you’re keeping that gauge filled up.

MORALE RANKING SYSTEM

The Morale ranking system is one of the biggest changes Team Ninja is making in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. In a nutshell, the system dictates how powerful you and your enemies are, and what kind of a matchup it’s going to be between you and a foe. Both you and every enemy in the game will have a Morale rank that will dynamically change based on your gameplay actions- defeat enough enemies and you can level up your Morale rank at a battle flag (which is effectively a Dark Souls bornfire or a Nioh shrine), which, in turn, will also reward you with new spells. If, however, you die, you run the risk of knocking down your Morale rank. So if you run into an enemy that has a higher Morale rank than you, you’re going to be in for a tough battle- unless you decide to grind and increase your own rank before taking on the foe.

DIVINE BEASTS

Wo Long will also allow players to call upon the aid of mystical mythological creatures. Known as Divine Beasts, each of them will have a unique elemental type that will also determine what skills and abilities they can use. From high damage dealing area of effect attacks and spells that cast a healing aura to imbuing your weapons with elemental magic and a variety of passive effects, summoning Divine Beasts will give you an edge over your enemies in a number of different ways.

STREAMLINED LOOT

The Nioh games have a reputation for going a bit overboard with their loot systems, and given how needlessly excessive the constant barrage of loot can feel at times, that criticism isn’t hard to understand. Players will still have a variety of options and the game will still place an emphasis on build diversity, but Team Ninja says it is tweaking the system to make it feel a little bit less cluttered and a little bit more accessible.

ALSO COMING TO XBOX

Nioh and Nioh 2 are both still PlayStation consoles exclusives, and next year’s Rise of the Ronin is going to be one as well, but sandwiched between them, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is going to be a rare occurrence of a fully multiplatform Team Ninja game. When it releases under a month from now, the action RPG will also be available for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. In fact, not only will it launch for Xbox consoles, it will also be available via Game Pass day one, so Xbox fans who’ve wanted to get a taste of Team Ninja’s Soulslike offerings but have never had the opportunity to are going to be able to dive right in with Wo Long.

It is worth noting that the two Nioh games were able to reach this milestone while only being available on PC, PS4, and PS5. The game is not available on Xbox consoles, and according to series director Fumihiko Yasuda, it is unlikely that Xbox will get Nioh.

The first Nioh was originally released back in 2017 on PS4, eventually being released on PC the same year. Nioh 2, similarly, launched exclusively on PS4 in 2020, coming to PC almost an entire year after its original release.

Back in February, Team Ninja revealed that Nioh 2 alone had shipped over 2.5 million units, and the number has likely gone up since then. The franchise had originally hit the 6 million milestone last year.

Nioh and Nioh 2 are available on PC, PS4 and PS5, and Nioh 2 is headlining the PS Plus Essential lineup in November.

https://twitter.com/TeamNINJAStudio/status/1585324736359415820

I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Speaking recently with VGC, when asked about Team Ninja’s renewed support for Xbox (with the upcoming Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty) and if there’s a chance that the developer ends up bringing Nioh and Nioh 2 to the platform as well, Fumihiko Yasuda – who directed both games – said that the chances of that happening are low.

“There’s nothing really to note about that,” Yasuda says. “Currently, there’s not really too much of a possibility of having Nioh on Xbox platforms, but we do hope Xbox fans enjoy Wo Long and look forward to that game coming out. That’s probably all we can say on that at the moment.”

Publisher Koei Tecmo has, on occasion, suggested in the past that the door isn’t completely shut where Xbox versions of the Nioh series are concerned- though there’s been very little meaningful movement on that front. For now, it doesn’t look like that’s going to change.

Of course, Team Ninja’s next Soulslike action RPG, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, will launch for all platforms, and is due out in early 2023. After that, the developer will release open world action RPG Rise of the Ronin exclusively for PS5 and PC.

Prison Heist – Dying Light

The free Prison Heist DLC exists outside of the main and sees Kyle Crane infiltrating a prison full of guards and Infected for supplies, weapons, and more. Upon entering, the player must dispatch guards and navigate multiple cell blocks, fighting off Infected along the way (with things getting even crazier as multiple Volatiles are discovered). This culminates in a battle with waves of Virals, including two Demolishers, before the prison’s armory is unsealed. But that’s not the end. A timer starts counting down and you need to grab the loot inside and escape before it expires. All in all, a great test of one’s combat and parkour prowess, not to mention an awesome speed-running exercise.