New ‘Nioh’ expansion takes us to Osaka Castle this month

By Gabe Gurwin July 10, 2017

Nioh Accolades Trailer | PS4

“Souls-like” games have become so popular that they almost constitute a complete genre at this point, and Team Ninja’s Nioh is one of the best, taking elements of the Dark Souls series and introducing unique twists on the formula. If you’ve already finished the main game as well as its first expansion and are itching to jump back in for more, you won’t have to wait too much longer. Defiant Honor, the game’s second expansion, is out later this month, and it comes with plenty of content to keep you busy.

Protagonist William will be heading to Osaka Castle, which creative director Tom Lee described on the PlayStation Blog as “the largest and most impregnable castle of the Sengoku era.” Nearby, the Sanada Maru stronghold has been built as Sanada Yukimura and the Toyotomi clan prepare for an all-out attack on Osaka — the castle is defended by both William and the Tokugawa clan.

In addition to new PlayStation trophies, Defiant Honor will also include extra difficult levels, stages, and “numerous sub-missions” to keep the game in your disc drive long after you’ve completed the main story. New armor, magic items, guardian spirits, and the new Tonfa weapon — the basis for modern-day billy clubs — will all be available for William to use as he faces off against new Yokai monsters.

If you haven’t checked out Nioh‘s first expansion, Dragon of the North, it’s available to purchase from the PlayStation Store right now. The DLC takes place in the Oshu region and includes new Ninjutsu abilities for William, as well as the Odachi katana weapon. A third expansion pack, Bloodshed’s End, will also arrive at a later date. The three packs can be purchased for $10 each and they’re also included in the $25 season pass.

Once you’ve finished all that Nioh has to offer, you might want to also check out The Surge. Developed by the team behind the original Lords of the Fallen, it’s a great action-role-playing game that offers several different play styles, tough-as-nails boss encounters, and a limb-severing ability that completely changes how you approach individual fights.

Nioh is available now for PlayStation 4. Defiant Honor releases on July 25.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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