Liked both quite a bit, but I had to vote Horizon. Just feels like all of its parts came together a bit better. Nioh is fun and brings a unique pace to souls-style action, but I thought it dragged on a bit. Needed more enemy variety for its length, and the story is just sort of there. Meanwhile, I actually really got into the plot of Horizon, and the enemies have so many different factors to consider (abilities, pieces to shoot off, etc) that I didn't burn out on the combat as much.

Horizon felt like the more complete game to me, but I certainly think both were worth the money.

Voted Nioh. While I didn't think it was great, I did enjoy it better than Horizon which I hated.

I said Horizon. I like them about the same in hindsight. What is it you want from the games though? You obviously have an interest in both, otherwise, you wouldn't ask, but what is it you hope they bring you and what concerns do you have? I don't remember how long Horizon took me, but it is certainly a lengthy adventure. I know how long Nioh took me, and that was 70 hours. Nioh's main issue for me is that they reuse the main mission maps for side missions, and it doesn't really alleviate my issue with that even if they change it around a bit since it's still the same layout pretty much. There are some pretty good songs on the soundtrack, ones in which I love to listen to outside of the game, but not enough variety so you might get sick of hearing some of the songs. There's also one boss that shows up way too much throughout the game on side missions. Lastly, they do give you three stances, and they allow for heavy and light attacks/weapons and what have you. I found the game to be pretty easy just by using one stance, one type of sword (or in my case, the axe) and one type of armor as well as one set of heavy attacks, so the game never really gives the incentive to change things up. As for my issue with As for my issues with

As for my issues with Horizon, it mainly came down to an almost, but not quite there fully developed and lovable cast of characters. I thought that many of the side (although still potentially pivotal) characters could have used more time to be fleshed out. Another thing is that some of the impressiveness of the enemies wears down when you've played the game for many hours, once you've seen all that can be seen. And the last thing is that I guess I expected something a little different, a little more original and exciting from the story and just how things are revealed. I thought there'd be more to think about, and I was expecting some bigger twists. It was totally fine, but not what I was expecting is all. It also never explicitly tells you where you are in the game from what I gathered, so it's up to you to know landmarks. I'll give you a clue, it's in Utah. Don't worry, that's not a spoiler.

I'm naming many issues I had, but that's because both games are great, and it's easier to name the few issues they have in my opinion, and ones I think are worth considering.

Do you want to play Far Cry or Dark Souls Destiny?

I voted Horizon, but Nioh' s excellent as well. Get both eventually.

they aren't even comparable, you should just play both if you're into open world games AND dark souls-esque games.

horizon looks like YET ANOTHER open world game focused on the art direction more than anything else. If you're a fan of witcher 3 or tomb raider you'd probably enjoy it, it's a very different kind of game at the same time with its robotics and shit.

nioh would be my choice, it's more so in the vein of a dark souls game, it looks more challenging, the boss fights look more epic, etc i have to say im more of fan of the formula used in nioh than anything else, id rather play a linear game than a huge open world and "explore"

Definitely Nioh. I really disliked Horizon for its story and open world tropes. Nioh's story is bad too, but if you're into the Souls-like genre, Nioh is a good one of those.

Both, Horizon is a very good sci fi story/gorgeous with extremely flexible gameplay; Nioh is one of the best playing games ever and is even better if you have any grasp of Japanese history.

Depends on what you’re looking for. Horizon has awful combat while Nioh has amazing combat.

All I can say is I've been playing Nioh, and I do recommend it .

Horizon is on the well, horizon, Perhaps the next game I play. We'll see.

I got both at launch and they are both great. I'd say maybe Horizon is the more recommendable package, but if you have that soulsish itch going on or just want a great and challenging podcasty game, Nioh is daaaamn good.

Nioh's more my thing but Horizon isnt bad, it's just a much prettier version of games i've already played. I will say that Nioh isnt a looker and it's very disjointed. If you're after story and graphics go with Horizon, if you're after gameplay and value go with Nioh. (Horizon took me 30hrs to beat and Nioh took about 60, plus i'd rather replay it)

On the time and money perspective, Nioh has been out longer and might be cheaper. It is also longer.

Both are fantastic.

I voted Horizon because I played Nioh for a while but fell off from it (I do really want to get back to it though).

Horizon I didn't stop until I finished the game and I damn near did all the side stuff and collectibles too.

Nier Automata. But if I must pick from the list Horizon

Nioh all the way. I haven't finished it yet, but at least i enjoyed what i have played of it and that's more than i could say about Horizon.

I played Horizon to completion and had a good time. It wasn't as awesome as everyone was saying but still really good, and yeah, it's like an awkward Far Cry game. It doesn't play as well as Far Cry and the stealth mechanics aren't as good, but regardless, there's enough spectacle with the story and robots to make it great. Although there's a tedious information dump later in the game, by way of audio logs which was pretty annoying.

Nioh is a sub-par Dark Souls. It lacks the personality and level variety of DS, but has better combat. I thought I would be happy with a better playing Dark Souls, but it turns out I wasn't. It gets old pretty quick, but it's good if you just want to do something brainless as you listen to podcasts.

I can't speak to Horizon (yet) but Nioh is one of my favorite games of the year. It maybe goes on a little too long for its own good, but if you want your Souls-adjacent video games to have really fun, really satisfying combat it's the best out there.

Nioh all the way. I never could get into Horizon. I recognized Horizon as being a good game but there's just something about the combat and story just never clicked with me. Also they games inventory and weapons system really turned me off.

Nioh's combat on the other hand, feela good immediately and just improved overtime. It's a great game that probably goes on just a little bit too long.

I got quite a ways into Horizon before finally admitting that I was not having any fun in that world.

Nioh is up there with Zelda as my top 2 games this year. Continually impressed with how the action feels. I love the weapons, and switching between the three stances is so tight.

Both are fantastic games. I voted Horizon. All the parts of that fit together better than Nioh. That said, I haven't played Horizon since I beat it, but I do still play Nioh. Once you finish Horizon, there's not much to do (until that DLC comes out). The character progression features that unlock post-game in Nioh at least give you a reason to keep playing if you're up for new game plus and a loot grind.

I voted Horizon. It's a huge open world game with a lot of stuff to do in it. Nioh seems like a challenge run game, it's more fun the more you're into that specific combat.

I would suggest playing both once you have time. The question is which game style better fits your time constraints. I played both games (still finishing Horizon) while working 40 hour weeks averaging 1-2 hours a day and 3-5 hours on days off.

Nioh fit my schedule better because of the repeatable mission structure, there is rarely an hours worth of content within any given mission and you can quit out (a la Dark Souls) at any time using an item. If you're pressed for time you can call in a co-op partner and blast through a tough or long mission. If you miss anything, there are very few collectibles, you can replay any mission infinite times. You might spend a lot of time in menus because Nioh is heavy on micromanaging systems and loot but there are shortcuts for selling and sorting loot that make things easier. Being able to experiment with play style relatively quickly, once you know what you're doing, made Nioh one of the best pick up and play action games for me this year.

Horizon is a typical open world game where saving progress isn't necessarily limiting... but I have had to stop playing in the middle of story missions because the earlier beats chain together for long periods of time. I found it frustrating to pick the game up and I'd forget what I was doing and play for 1-2 hours that were less productive than they would have been if I was able to do longer play sessions. The story hasnt really gripped me like it has others and I think it is because I couldn't commit to extended play sessions. In fact I took a break for a week and beat Uncharted 4 simply because I could put it down or pick it up and easily get right back to things.

So if you're like me and have limited daily game time plus you're a stoner and can't always remember what the hell is going on. I'd say Nioh.

I voted Nioh because that seems like a game that would last you better over the span of a summer. The combat, artistic design of the environments, and loot aspects of the game are amazing, though the story didn't do anything for me. Also, because it so clearly is a Souls-type game, the very disconnected nature of the levels is something that I didn't really like when compared to the original Dark Souls. But then again, that game just did it so well that all games that came after it have failed to live up to its impossibly high standard in world design.

The biggest downside to Nioh, for me, is that ultimately it has too little enemy variety, which does get bothersome in the second half of the game, especially if you're like me and do every single submission and Twilight mission as well. But the combat remains thrilling, and is such a welcome change of pace after 5 Souls games. Nioh really does scratch that same itch, while also feeling quite fresh.

The people saying Horizon has bad combat and/or story are either completely insane, coocoo bananas, or lying filth that wish you ill. They are not your friends, and you should not listen to them. Horizon is the game for you.

I voted nioh as i havent played horizon, but nioh is potentially a very long game where horizon is probably more standard complete the game and be done

@draugen: combat is slow and clunky due to the poor frame rate and lack of variety. It felt off. Nioh combat is perfect for that type if game; it’s hard to go back to Dark Souls.

Horizon for me. Massively underated. IMO better than Zelda;BOW.

For me these two games were sorta complete opposites. Took me a while to get into Horizon, but as I got further into it it opened up more and got more interesting. Nioh on the other hand was interesting at first, but as I got deeper into it it just became reductive and repetitive.

Played both. If your concern is limited time then 100% choose Horizon over Nioh. You will get more value per hour you are able to put in.

HZD 100 times out of 100

This guy beat me to the punch.

Both games were exceptionally well-received by critics and the community. It is worth mentioning that Horizon was more popular than Ni-Oh, so you're probably going to see more recommendations for Horizon. The answer for each individual really shouldn't be a popularity contest because Horizon's going to win that every time - you should be asking yourself the question that I have quoted instead.

EDIT: Oh, shit, this was a necro'd thread. Ooops.

Both are awesome, Horizon is better. Nioh really suffers from a lack of enemy variety that you really start to feel around 20 hours in.

Horizon has flaws of its own, but it is one of the best games of the generation.

This is a 7 month old question. You should have beaten one of those games by now.

I like both and as @guitargod pointed out, they are different games.

I don't know if I can do this yet. The objections I had to NIOH was as @ntm pointed out, reuse of maps and it went on a bit long. I wonder if I played the last side missions past the ending, there might have been more story development, but I was sooo tired. It would tempting to add the story itself, but I understood quickly there were two stories with interaction. The protagonist was like a comet, in and out. The complexity of the society and politics, even the geography, was Fabled Japan's.

Horizon on the other hand is a solid and forgivably new open world with what I really did not see in the Far Cry 4 I played; A good story. None of this is 'fucked whatever one chooses'. I'm near the end of the game now, I'm a bit tired, but I am engrossed. Fighting humans is tolerated, fighting the machines can be exhilarating! The very sensation of hunting seems to draw on something, they(the developers) realized it well.

I'm not going to vote, because I played NIOH at the beginning of the year, and will close out Horizon: Zero Dawn this week (a few hours more).

I like them both.

I don't want to discount Nioh but I feel I should add a counterpoint to this - I love the Dark Souls games, I adore Bloodborne. But Nioh just does nothing for me. I'm not sure what it is exactly - I think perhaps the aesthetic and themes just aren't to my personal tastes. But I kept trying to get into that game and it never clicked. It's certainly very beloved by a lot of people, though, so there's definitely something there!

I had a great time with Horizon. I can't really compare difficulties as I only played on Hard, but it felt like the right balance where I was forced to really utilise different strategies and pull out just about everything in my toolkit to make it through encounters. I used all but one of the weapon/ammo types in that game on a regular basis, and I took a variety of different approaches as the moment required. The main story is great and I loved Aloy as a character, but I think a lot of the side quests left a little to be desired versus other games I've played recently. I also don't like the way it looks as much as many people - it's pretty, but a lot of the animation (mostly on the humans) lets it down for me and really broke me out of the moment. I'd certainly recommend it as an overall experience, however.

Horizon will be quicker and easier to complete, if you're time starved. I rarely 100% games that don't make my top 5 of the year, and I got platinum in Horizon in about 40 hours.

Nioh has much more replayability, but it is also a bit harder. It plays like a hybrid of Dark Souls and Ninja Gaiden. As a Souls vet, I found it hard at first, by holy crap does the combat have a lot of depth. That game can easily last you a summer.

So, really, it's a question of casual exploration and good story with moderate difficulty (Horizon) or a deep dive, challenging ninja & demon party (Nioh).

Nioh - I voted this because I am biased against games where Story is the main selling point. Truthfully, I haven't put more than a few hours into Horizon but it felt like the most generic open-world game I put any time into last year. Too much focus on things like traps and a paper-rock-scissors style elemental system made that game feel more like busywork than fun.

With Nioh, you don't get the story of Horizon, but you get a game that allows you to play how you want and accommodates those choices. There is also more content in that game, quests to do, gear to obtain, levels to grind, and there is a depth in the combat system to learn.

Nioh but you should get both. They are both fantastic games that are quite different.

They are two totally different games, but I will say I actually FINISHED Nioh.

Dude, you want a game packed with content and customization get Nioh. Boy that thing can be played for a while, just doing most of the main stuff is 40 hours. But the game actaully starts getting really good once you do that when you can get divine items. A lot of people say the game actually starts to get really good at NG+ which you can access at anytime when you finish it. And you get new rewards for everything. I mean I finished the game at lvl 130~ and people easily play to 400+.

You can definitely sink a whole summer into that game. IF you like the type of game it is. Its very much a loot game in the diablo sense, aka a lot of rerunning optimized levels to get loot. But the good part is that the gameplay is so fun, and there is so much skill involved with the ki-recharge system that everything is always a ton of fun.

The DLC included in the complete edition is also very good.

Yes, similar to Dark Souls, but way more focus on replay-ability and loot.

Horizon... I don't like Dark Souls type games and I didn't like the way Nioh looked/ran. It felt I was playing a PC game on my PS4 with not so good textures on fast forward.

I'd gauge it on what type of game you haven't played most recently in terms of open world games and dark souls-esque games. I'd say keep your experience fresh, so go for Nioh if you haven't played a Souls type for awhile or Horizon if you haven't had an open world game for awhile. Neither really seem below each other in terms of quality, so that's why I'm highlighting the genres.