November 4th 2023.
When I first played Dark Souls back in 2011, I was instantly hooked. Each weapon featured three different movesets, with the stance system making each weapon feel unique. I thought it was a great game and thought it would be hard for anyone to top FromSoftware.
Fast forward to now, and I have to say that Nioh 1 and 2 have definitely given FromSoftware's Soulslike titles a run for their money. Nioh's gameplay was much smoother, fluid, and complex compared to FromSoftware's titles. There was no input delay or double input problems and the combat mechanics allowed for so many ways to approach combat. Plus, each weapon had three different movesets, making them truly unique.
Going back to FromSoftware's titles after playing Nioh, I started to notice some of their flaws. The enemy AI seemed poor, with exploitable tactics like backstabbing and stun-locking. Most weapons had some downright bad movesets. Dark Souls, in particular, didn't require much beyond spamming R1, outside of dodging. This led to the game being nicknamed "R1 Spammer" and it made for quite repetitive gameplay.
In contrast, spamming R1 is not an effective tactic against most enemies in Nioh. You can defeat some cannon fodder enemies this way, but most others will block, dodge, counter, or grab you. This creates a far more interesting gameplay experience, as the games encourage you to explore the full offering of the diverse combat system. There's also far more build variety and customisation options which help create even more ways to approach combat that Dark Souls simply cannot match.
Unfortunately, Elden Ring didn't do much to improve on the Dark Souls formula. The simplistic combat system was still the same, with jump spamming and spamming Ashes of War being used to win against nearly everything. Reused enemies and bosses were also a common criticism against the Nioh games, but it was far, far worse in Elden Ring. Entire areas were filled with the same exact enemies, making for a less than ideal playing experience.
I'd also argue that Nioh's storytelling is better written than FromSoftware's titles. The characters have actual development over time, as opposed to the "character development" in Dark Souls or Elden Ring, where a character goes from one extreme to another the next time you meet them. The dialogue between Tokichiro and the main character is far more compelling than anything FromSoftware has written.
Ultimately, gameplay is what these games boil down to. Despite the stories and characters not being that well written, Nioh offers far better gameplay than Dark Souls and Elden Ring. It's complex and diverse combat system, along with the build variety and customisation options make for a much more enjoyable playing experience.
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