head to head
vs
Dark Souls IIvsNioh
Dark Souls II leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Nioh leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Dark Souls IINioh
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 9
Nioh leans harder on execution: Stance and ki-pulse timing demand inputs
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Nioh leans harder on variance: Loot affix rolls
Optimization7 vs 7
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.