Oh boy, here we go... So, uh, I know I'm really in the minority here, but I'm kinda disappointed with this game so far, honestly. It's got fantastic combat, and from a purely mechanical perspective, I'd say it's the best action game on PS4, but it's just so damn repetitive. I'm over 30 hours in now, in region 4, and I'm still fighting the same enemy types I fought back in the first (well, technically second) level. The lack of enemy variety is really grating at this point, and honestly, the game is starting to feel like a real drag. There are new enemy types introduced every once in awhile, but then they quickly take a backseat to the same random spear dudes and axe Yokai I've been fighting since the beginning.
It's not the game's only problem either. The encounter design is also lacking to me. Rarely does the game try to surprise you with an interesting or challenging combination of enemies. It seem fascinated to a fault with one on one encounters, which are great at first, but ultimately get boring once you've fought every enemy fifty times and learned their moveset by heart. Also, most of the side missions feel like filler, placing you in the same areas you were just in to fight the same enemies all over again. There are some real highlights in the side content (like a few tense Samurai duels, or tense encounters on a bridge with holes everywhere), but most of it feels kinda tacked on.
It ain't all bad. Mechanically, Nioh is brilliant, the boss fights are consistently excellent and challenging, and I do generally enjoy the level design in the main story missions. But, the lack of enemy variety, the (mostly) uninspired encounter design, and the (mostly) dull side missions are all major sore points for me that are seriously impacting my enjoyment of the game.
Does the game pick up at all in it's second half? Does it become less repetitive? Are there tons of new enemy types and cool encounters coming up? It just feels like I've seen everything the game has to offer at this point a hundred times over, at what is apparently only the halfway point. I don't outright hate the game, but at this point, I definitely don't feel as enthusiastic about as I did, initially.