The PlayStation 5's lighting-fast SSDs makes for a far more immersed experience in both Nioh titles, completely destroying load times when booting or, as in our case, respawning.
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Graphics
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Performance
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Next-gen updates
Something very cruel happened to us this week. The Stuff editorial team received a review copy for the Nioh Collection Remastered a mere two days ahead of the review embargo. Filled with excitement, and a little bit of fear we dove right into the first title, filled to the brim with features tailored for the next-gen console we’re reviewing it on: PlayStation 5. The fear quickly consumed all of our excitement once we finished the tutorial.
The same happened once we booted the graphically beautiful Nioh 2 Remastered and sped through the tutorial. What have we gotten ourselves into?
Nioh is hard. It’s as simple as that. If you’ve ever experienced the deep-seated rage that accompanies a playthrough of any Souls game, you’ll know the general feeling.
The Nioh you know
If you’ve ever played either of the Nioh titles, you’d know it’s hellishly challenging to advance through the game. We experienced this in our two days of reviewing the game. And, yet, we loved every minute of it. Even after dying at the same boss for the umpteenth time.
You’re dropped into a wonderfully enigmatic land of Japan riddled with demons. Think of a third-person adventure with light RPG elements. It’s not just Dark Souls in feudal Japan — it’s a title that holds its own as a mighty influential hard-as-nails slash-em-up.
Expect a good amount of weapons, upgradable skills, a vast trove of treasures and equipment and a variety of combat options. And that’s before you start learning how to balance it all with a constantly draining stamina meter. Keep an eye on that one, called Ki in this case — because it’s even more important than you might find in Dark Souls.
The same goes for Nioh 2, which performs particularly well on the PS5 thanks to a variety of next-gen updates (more on that in a minute). Combat feels slightly smoother, and here you’ve got detailed character creation and the absolutely grand Yokai Shift transformations that increase combat abilities. This is the Nioh you know and love, but on next-gen — which is the point of this review.
Faster, bigger, better
This is why people should invest in next-gen consoles. Whether it’s the gorgeous PS5 (full review here) or the powerful Xbox Series X (check our review), even older titles run brilliantly for a number of reasons, and it’s not just because they look so good on your TV stand.
Within a mere few seconds, the game was booted, run through the startup screens and in a cutscene. This is really the true power of next-gen — that SSD-capable loading speeds are remarkable. It removes any need to doomscroll social media while you gather your strength for the next boss. You’ll dive into the game from your last savepoint within seconds, and it’s astonishing, really.
In Nioh 2, in particular, it became clear that the developers really pushed the graphic performance of this game for the new platform. It’s been remastered to put out true 4K at up to 120Hz. Of course, you’ll need a 4K 120Hz-capable display or TV to really marvel in all its glory — we used the LG OLED55CX in this case. And it’s safe to say feudal Japan looks beautiful in this 2020-title.
Nioh Collection Remastered Verdict
Both feature enjoyable RPG-elements and interactive combat situations with a variety of brutally powerful foes. There are hard games out there, then there’s this, alongside fan-favourites like Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
- Review code supplied by Gamefinity South Africa
- Both titles reviewed on PlayStation 5