Nioh Alpha Demo Impressions

Soon after my character set foot on the village shore that begins the Nioh alpha demo, I noticed a small gathering of glowing swords sticking out of the ground. As I approached them, they displayed names that were obviously user names of other unfortunate players. As Nioh is expected to be derivative of Dark Souls, I activated a grave, expecting to see a player ghost re-enact how they had met their end. Instead, a phantom of that player appeared and slaughtered me in a single unexpected blow.

I took this to be an upfront reminder that Nioh has its own ideas and wants to be more than Dark Souls with a Japanese aesthetic.

Franchise Facelift: The Revival of Niche Titles and Changes to Original Appeal

Michael Gee

In the late years of the last decade, Electronic Arts was not the punching bag for homogenous game design that it is today. At that time, EA was promoting a handful of original, eye-catching titles separate from licensed titles and sports releases in every column. Among those more curious titles (including Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Skate, and Dead Space) was the original Mirror’s Edge, a stylish first-person runner touting a focus on flowing parkour movement, conflict avoidance, and an experimental love-it-or-hate-it control scheme. Unfortunately, the game did not turn the numbers desired and the IP faced early retirement. Now the reboot, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, is on the horizon, leading an upcoming trend of second chances for niche titles—and we would be wise to acknowledge that these releases may be very different from the originals that were so pined for. After all, the developers are counting on it.