Nioh

Nioh (仁王) –stylized in Japanese as NIOH, originally titled Oni (鬼) and formerly spelled Ni-Oh– is an upcoming action game first announced in 2004 as a PlayStation 3 exclusive. It has been stuck in development limbo for over a decade; its finalized form was presented at the SCEJA Press Conference 2015. The main goal of the project is to present an original "difficult and dark samurai action game" from Koei.

Kou Shibusawa started as the project's producer before being made the general producer. Hisashi Koinuma is the current producer. Team NINJA started as backup before becoming the lead development team for this title. Yosuke Hayashi and Fumihiko Yasuda are the directors. The 2016 main visual is illustrated by Kouji Tajima.

The first model of the project released to the public stated that the game's story would be based on one of Akira Kurosawa's unfinished works. A future film of the same name was set to be directed by his son, Hisao, but both mediums experienced delays. After many years of silence, Shibusawa presented the title again with Yousuke Hayashi at Tokyo Game Show 2010. Shibusawa revealed that they had a prototype role-playing version of the game in 2006 that allowed players to direct generals in battle. He felt it was too rigid to be presented as a revitalizing game for the company.

To remedy the problem, he decided to hand it to Team NINJA to bring new life into it. While he knows that Koei is famous for historical simulations, Shibusawa responded that he doesn't want the same experience with Nioh as he is striving purely for historical entertainment with this title. He feels the newer results from Team NINJA has made a complete revival for the better and is pleased with what has been presented to him. Hayashi responded that it was a pleasure collaborating with Shibusawa on a product, stating he hopes players experience the definition of a samurai within the current age. He later commented that their original prototype was rejected because it was deemed too similar to NINJA GAIDEN. Development was delayed again when Shibusawa wanted a graphical update to the PS4, lengthening the development for the action model to seven years. Koinuma remarks the game shaped into something that satisfied everyone in 2015.

Plot
Hisao's involvement with the final form of the game has not been mentioned. It is likely that the collaboration has been dropped.

The story's setting is a fantasy version of the Japanese Warring States Period. The protagonist is a samurai with "raging blond hair and deepest blue eyes" who fights against demons and specters. Players experience his cutthroat life by the sword.

Gameplay
The game is specifically designed for trial and error. Developers expect players to retry segments multiple times.
 * There are three different attack stances for weapons: low, neutral and high. A low stance allows William to evade attacks and defend. Strong attacks are reserved for a high stance.
 * William can swap between different weapons in real-time. He starts with the katana. Other weapons include a spear, halbard, and bow. Every weapon has their own traits to differentiate from the other.
 * A stamina meter limits the number of actions that can be preformed at a time.
 * Armor can be found and equipped. It customizes William's appearance.
 * Guardian spirits drop from fallen foes. These spirits can fortify William and grant him with various special techniques. Using these techniques depletes the spirits they have collected, so players are advised to time their attack and recovery rate carefully.
 * Shrines are scattered across the map. Players can access these points to level up William and replenish guardian spirits.
 * If players are connected online, they can see sword marker from other fallen players to warn them of the difficulty of an area. Attack the mounds to revive the other players' corpse and gain bonus items.

Characters

 * William Adams

Related Media
This is one of the titles that shall be at Koei-Tecmo's booth in Tokyo Game Show 2015 with a staged introduction September 17 (JST). Booth visitors can pose with mock weaponry from the game at the Nioh photo set up.

An alpha trial will be launched worldwide from April 26 to May 5. Take part of the trial to receive the "Proof of Conquest" which can be redeemed for a special prize in the retail version. Answer the questionnaire to receive a smartphone wallpaper.

Bessatsu Shonen Magazine will serialize a comic adaptation Nioh ~Kiniro no Samurai~ by Yousuke Katayama. It is scheduled to start in the June 2016 issue.