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Nioh’s Co-Op System Was Changed So It Wouldn’t Be “Too Easy”, Says Creative Director

Team Ninja's action-RPG Nioh dropped for PlayStation 4 this week, but despite it receiving near-critical acclaim across the board, some fans - particularly those that spent time playing its numerous beta demos - have voiced disappointment over the developer's decision to change how its co-op systems work. For the unaware, Nioh allows those struggling to progress through its campaign to invite other players into their game for an extra pair of hands to help them along.

Team Ninja’s action-RPG Nioh dropped for PlayStation 4 this week, but despite it receiving near-critical acclaim across the board, some fans – particularly those that spent time playing its numerous beta demos – have voiced disappointment over the developer’s decision to change how its co-op systems work. For the unaware, Nioh allows those struggling to progress through its campaign to invite other players into their game for an extra pair of hands to help them along.

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During the limited-time trials released previous to the full game’s launch, the system worked almost identically to that of From Software’s Dark Souls series, but it seems that Team Ninja never intended for it to function in such a manner – the final build allows players to summon others for an area only if the guest has already defeated that stage’s boss.

So, why the change of heart? In a statement provided to Kotaku, Team Ninja creative director Tom Lee said that co-op restrictions in the demo were absent because of the “limited stages and time to try out the demo,” and that the studio always intended for the feature to work as it does currently because otherwise, it would be “too easy for players to beat the game.”

Lee’s reasoning is sound, but his comments are unlikely to change the opinions of those taking issue with the current system, especially if they purchased the title purely on the grounds of going through the entire game with a friend. Had Team Ninja been clear with its intentions from the start, I imagine none of this would have even been an issue, but alas, such is the nature of hindsight.

Nioh is available now on PlayStation 4. If the above isn’t a dealbreaker for you and you’ve yet to pick it up, see our review here.