Performance Insights on Team Ninja’s Latest Offering
Team Ninja has garnered a reputation for launching games on PC that often struggle with performance issues. The recent release of Rise of the Ronin last March, following its period of exclusivity on PS5, exemplified this trend. Players encountered a myriad of problems, including significant stuttering, erratic framerate fluctuations, and frequent crashes, all while the visual quality left much to be desired. This was particularly disappointing given the studio’s previous acknowledgment of similar issues with their earlier title, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.
Reflecting on the past, one cannot overlook the launch of Nioh 2, which also faced its share of challenges. While Ninja Gaiden 4 reportedly performed decently, it fell short in terms of customizable settings, leaving players wanting more flexibility.
For those equipped with a Ryzen 5 5600H and 16GB RAM, the experience with Nioh 3 has been a mixed bag. Initially, the game delivers a mostly smooth 60 fps at 1080p when settings are dialed down to “very low.” While this may not be ideal for every gamer, it remains playable. However, as players venture beyond the lengthy tutorial into the expansive open world, the framerate can occasionally dip to around 44 fps.
Fortunately, the introduction of frame generation support in Nioh 3 has led to notable improvements. Activating FSR 3 allows players to elevate their graphics settings from “very low” to “low,” all while maintaining a stable framerate of at least 60 fps in the open world. Even on the “standard” preset, players can expect to hover between 55 and 60 fps, with similar results observed on the “high” setting.
Given that the Nioh series places a premium on precision, some players may find any latency introduced by frame generation to be less than ideal. However, during my experience with the demo, I did not encounter any significant input lag, though it’s worth noting that this is just the beginning.
As I reflect on these results, I find myself content, especially considering my current hardware limitations. This marks the first time Team Ninja has provided a pre-release demo for one of their major titles, and I encourage players to take advantage of this opportunity. Just be sure to explore the open world thoroughly.
In a lighthearted moment, I decided to test Nioh 3 on my Steam Deck OLED, and it quickly became clear that this is not the ideal platform for such a demanding game.
