The Nioh Collection Review – Dual Blades

Nioh is a brutally difficult series and it’s no surprise that it’s often compared to Dark Souls. On a surface level, it shares a lot of similar traits with From Software’s cult classic trilogy. Both games are unforgiving action RPGs, built on a system of deliberately heavy combat. Both games are fundamentally different experiences, as Dark Souls is more of a traditional RPG with a heavy emphasis on exploration and discovery whereas Nioh is all about fast-paced combat supported by a really robust loot system.

In fact, it’s that very loot system that sets it apart from other Soulslikes.

It wasn’t until I played other loot-focused games recently that I realized how much Nioh gets right. You can spend hours swapping out gear bonuses to fit your build and playstyle, and that’s the part that’s really important. How you build your character, the gear you choose, and the bonuses you craft all compliment the way the game is played so the time you spend grinding for materials and recipes never feels unimportant. I realized playing these games again that I came for the combat and crazy boss battles but it was always the loot progression that saw me stick around.  

The loot system would be pointless if the game wasn’t actually fun to play but thankfully both Nioh games have some of the best combat systems to date and this new collection allows you to experience it with a bunch of new graphical bells and whistles.

There are now three visual modes to choose from: The 4K mode aims for a native 4K resolution running at 60fps whereas the 120hz mode runs at 120fps at a lower resolution. The Playstation 5’s Standard Mode runs at a lower resolution but with extra graphical features and at 60fps, hitting a sweet spot between performance and quality.

All three modes run incredibly well, and to the casual eye it’s hard to tell the 4K and Standard mode apart. That said, I did experience minor dips in the 4K mode, though none so frequent that it was actually a problem. Overall, these are fantastic ports and it gets even better when looking at how fast these games load now.

Below are some rough benchmarks I took across both versions of Nioh 1 and 2:

One of the best new features however is being able to load your latest save straight from the console Home menu using Activity Cards. So from a cold boot, both games take roughly 8 to 10 seconds to load using this method. It’s a really exciting glimpse into the future once games start fully utilizing the PS5’s SSD. 

If you’ve never played any of the Nioh games before, then this is an excellent package for you. With all the content updates and DLC included it has an insane amount of bang for your buck. While Nioh 1 doesn’t have a free upgrade path for next-gen consoles, if you own Nioh 2 on PS4 you’ll be able to upgrade to the PS5 version for free. Do note that you need to have the original games installed to transfer your saves over from PS4, which is not exactly ideal.

This is the definitive way to experience one of the best loot-focused action RPGs on the market. While some graphical updates may be harder to spot, the increased resolution and solid performance breathe new life into this demon-filled Samurai adventure.

Last Updated: February 9, 2021