Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wickedly tough, bloody series gets anthology treatment.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Nioh Collection
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
THE NIOH COLLECTION bundles together a pair of classic PlayStation 4 exclusives, both remastered to take advantage of PlayStation 5 hardware. Nioh, a brutally difficult action role-playing game (RPG) in the tradition of From Software's popular Dark Souls series, puts players in control of William Adams, an actual historical figure who arrived in Japan near the end of the feudal era. This fictional story sees him traveling to various discrete locations around the island nation, fighting a mix of soldiers and fantastical monsters using period-authentic melee and ranged weapons and various combat styles. Nioh 2 follows a similar formula, except that the protagonist of the sequel is fully customizable, allowing players to select gender, skin tone, and voice. Both games are extraordinarily difficult, forcing players to practice and experiment with the fighting system while simultaneously analyzing and learning to identify enemy patterns and techniques in order to find success. Death is a common occurrence -- and, for some players, frustration will be, too. Fortunately, you can call on help from fellow players online when the going gets really rough. In collecting these two RPGs (plus all of their downloadable content) in a single package, the developers opted not to alter the games themselves, save to provide support for displays with 4K resolution and 120-Hz frame refresh rate and take advantage of the lightning-quick load times offered by PlayStation 5 hardware.
Is It Any Good?
Getting the most out of these two games requires a willingness to weather a good deal of battering punishment along the way. The Nioh Collection doesn't alter the design or difficulty of either of its games, so if you tried and were turned off by the originals you'll likely feel the same about these two remasters. Button mashing is simply not effective. Not only must you master a variety of armaments and techniques, you must also know your enemies, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to anticipate their attacks and movements. Those who invest the required time and energy are likely to experience a growing sense of deep satisfaction as they defeat tougher enemies and bosses, while opening up new areas to explore. Then again, just as many players are, understandably, likely to give up out of aggravation before reaching this Zen gaming state.
What may help new players along, if only slightly, are some of the technical improvements (assuming you have a display that can take advantage of them). The quicker refresh rate means players have a slightly better real-time understanding of what's going on, so you can react a bit more quickly -- and these are games where every millisecond counts. Plus, the marginally lower latency of the PlayStation 5 wireless controller could occasionally mean the difference between life and death when it comes to reaction times. And when your hero eventually does die -- and this is unavoidable -- the PlayStation 5's speedier loading times mean you'll be back in the action quicker than ever before, giving you less time to dwell and fret about your previous deaths. The truth is, though, that these games are designed for a specific audience: players who relish a deep and hardy challenge. Getting both games -- plus all of their terrific world- and character-building DLC -- for the price of a single game is a great deal, providing well over 100 hours of entertainment for dedicated fans. If you haven't played them before and you're up for a serious test of your action gaming skills, The Nioh Collection is well worth a look.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in media. Is the impact of the violence in The Nioh Collection affected by the bloody and visceral combat? Would the impact of the violence be as strong if the violence was cartoonish? Why does violence continue to fascinate us, and what does that say about us as a society?
How does Japan's history compare to that of Western nations? What did you learn about Japanese culture that you didn't know before playing these games?
Game Details
- Platform : PlayStation 5
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Release date : February 5, 2021
- Genre : Role-Playing
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , History
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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