head to head
vs
Dark Souls IIIvsNioh 2
Dark Souls III leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Nioh 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Dark Souls IIINioh 2
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 9
Nioh 2 leans harder on execution: Stance switching, ki pulse, burst counters demand inputs
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Nioh 2 leans harder on variance: Loot drops with affix randomness
Optimization7 vs 8
Nioh 2 leans harder on optimization: Deep build crafting and stance theorycraft central
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.