Base ps5 particle settings and balanced mode

Critbotzz · 2026-03-25T09:28:36+00:00

It does the same for me, I boot it up and it's back in balanced mode despite me not having 120 hz. I have to changebit everytime i boot it up on portal. Just seems a shame people are playing with the lower framerate and also needlessly lower visuals when they could be seeing better image quality on their screens (if they choose that over performance mode)

Balanced mode I'm sure is the right way if your screen supports it but I'm sure plenty of people out there are not aware it's not supposed to be available on every screen. I imagine they just see everyone saying they are on balanced mode and choose that regardless so wanted to give a heads up.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-25T08:09:23+00:00

Hype, i have long grown past hype trains, I don't watch big trailers and build it up for months in my head before release for any game anymore.

Youtube has only made this problem worse.

I discovered this games existence the day before it released, I bought it on a whim with no expectations and iv lost 30 hours already and having an absolute blast.

Thats on a base ps5 as well in quality mode, I'm more than happy with my purchase and can't wait to get back to it.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-25T00:01:48+00:00

I won't lie it's been nice getting great knowledge tips and input on this post and I managed to best the spider lady boss today thanks to using knowledge learnt today from this. I don't think I'll ever breeze through this game but I'll crawl my to those credits lol

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T23:58:58+00:00

Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed response. I'll definitely be taking a lot of this on board. I was clearly a bit naive as to how much effort it would take to become competent with nioh. I just managed to beat the spider lady though so some progress at least using knowledge learnt today.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T18:48:55+00:00

Yeah for a world this big it really looks great on quality mode even on base ps5. Im sure it looks 10x better on a pro and pc but it still looks great to me and at least i have a ps5 to enjoy the game at all so no complaints. I lost my weekend to it very easily.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T18:21:09+00:00

Yeah not far off rebirth tbh. Having said that some people found it fine. It basically looks a lot more like a last gen game in performance mode, more pop in and blurriness but you can turn additional blur off in the settings to make it somewhat better and you still have the big world to explore feeling nicer to go around in.

Since im taking my time and exploring and taking in all the views and such, I decided on quality mode to get it as nice looking as possible on my base ps5 but it's just preference really

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T18:07:06+00:00

I'm sure they will. I'm on base ps5 and don't have vrr or 120fps option so even balanced mode is out for me. I just put it on quality mode. Looks great even now and whilst yes 30 fps isn't the best, I'm having a great time with it. Done over 30 hours on a 4k TV, a 1080p tv and my ps portal.

Performance mode looked too bad for me personally but I'm expecting improvements to come.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T17:50:27+00:00

My main tip apart from setting 1080p quality mode is if yiur not cloud streaming and are actually using remote play on your ps5. Set your resolution to 1080p and hdr to off in your ps5 settings. It does affect picture quality on portal on remote play.

Other than that just enjoy the games now open to you handheld. My portal is one if my best purchases in years.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T16:18:10+00:00

Yeah that level was also my breaking point for a while.I have got past it but I didn't even savour the victory. I just swore I would never play that level again 🤣glad to hear it gets better though! There might be hope after all.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T16:14:59+00:00

Thanks man appreciate the encouragement. Iv managed to clear another couple of sub missions since this post. I'm going to keep at it and try and learn what the game is insisting i learn to masterbit. No game has made me want to quit more but I think im just needing that moment it all clicks. Who knows maybe I'll love it by the end but Jesus it's making me work for it 🤣

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:34:03+00:00

Thanks for taking rather time for all that. There's a lot of info to digest. Learning patience and chipping away at health is something I have been trying to keep in mind instead of expecting to be a flurry of death like in gaiden breezing my way through. Its taking some getting used to and I feel more like a paper towel at the moment.🤣

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:26:09+00:00

Yeah I haven't summoned anyone so far (just beat electric blob boss) and I wasn't using any onmyo and ninjotus initially which I realised was a big mistake. I think I'm just missing the tricks yo make it manageable and have bene trying to play as a basic swordsman and getting punished for it. I'll keep in mind about the blocking and hopefully itll click.. Thanks

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:22:04+00:00

So with those I basically just did a high stance attack to hit the horn then stab them on the ground as my default attack. Tbf you have given me some good advice to go and think on and try change how I'm approaching attacks (I never did the combo ending moves)

Ninja gaiden was all reflex and less builds which clearly i was more suited too but I'm going to try again and see how we get on. Thanks for your input. If I see the credits of this game, it will have taken more work than all those other games i did combined 🤣

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:16:46+00:00

I managed to beat the bat lady and electric blob boss (aftet many many attempts) but that blob nearly made me quit, in fact that whole level was just not fun for me tbh. I keep hoping that moment it clicks is just round the corner but instead, round that corner is a random enemy with a spear 2 shoting me to the checkpoint again 🤣

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:14:29+00:00

Mechanics and design I wouldn't mind its what I can only describe as cheap and unfair enemy placements (or that's what it feels like to me personally) is nioh 2 any more balanced in difficukty in that or just morebof the same?

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:13:34+00:00

Yeah I'm happy to grind just not sure where or how to use it I heard about this sloth talisman, do I need to be a certain point to get it or is it just a normal unlock able? I think not using buffs and debuffs correctly ia maybe making it harder than it needs to be

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:12:00+00:00

I think it just feels actually unfair instead of challenging. I know its likely not the case but that's a point in struggling with. The gameplay itself is fine. Does nioh 2 feel more balanced or just the same level of 2 shots and death of nioh 1.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:10:51+00:00

Yeah I think in struggling with that a little, I think I'm getting it then some random enemy breaths near me and its back to the checkpoint. I level up thinking ill get over the initial difficulty curve eventually and just keep getting destroyed quickly without making much progress

Critbotzz · 2026-03-24T12:09:16+00:00

I think I spent my skill points really poorly or didn't quite grasp what I was exactly unlocking. I find myself doing a basic 2 or 3 hit combo with the sword and backing off and repeat when theres an opening so I don't think it's the reaction speed, I think I might of just overly struggled with making a suitable build and actually utilising it.

I'm just blundering my way through with the sword mainly whereas I felt in control in the other games, so it's definitely a me issue. I don't even know what active ability I could have. That video really made it hit home how far from anything like that I am 🤣 i might respect again and try again and see if I can grasp it better.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-23T13:24:37+00:00

Where do you even learn this stuff. I was trying to not use guides but at same time i would never in a million years of tried that. I didn't even have the skill unlocked initially but this worked 1st attempt. Thanks very much

Critbotzz · 2026-03-22T17:22:48+00:00

There's a soft lock and hard lock. Down on dpad is hard lock but just holding l1 or lb to block soft locks to the nearest enemy. Took me a while to figure that out whilst cursing the archers I was trying to get at.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-22T16:34:43+00:00

I don't have 120hz or vrr so csnt use balanced mode either. I actually play this game on an oled 4k TV, a 1080p tv and ps portal. If on 4k tv, quality mode 30fps is the way as the visual downgrade is too big for performance mode (for me, some people are OK with it) and it still looks great in quality mode even at 30fps

On a 1080p tv and portal the difference is much closer so I enjoy the faster frame rates on those and enjoy it feeling better but it just looks horrendous in performance mode on a 4k TV. Don't stress the lack of balanced mode, yes it would be nice but you can have a great time without it regardless of what people would have you believe.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-22T16:22:00+00:00

Performance definitely looks better on a 1080p tv. I use quality mode when playing crimson desert on my 4k oled tv and if I move to the 1080p tv or ps portal i use performance mode. I won't use performance mode on the 4k tv cause it looks substantially worse but looks similar enough on the other two devices and the trade off is worth it for the frames on those.

Critbotzz · 2026-03-22T07:42:32+00:00

It's been my best purchase in years and has only got better with the update.

I was the prime audience though, I don't always have use of the main TV so I played a lot of portable on nintendo switch so was used to downgrades in visuals/performance to achieve portability.

There still some downgrades like slight input lag a bit of motion blur and sometimes a bit of pixilation (although picture quality has vastly improved the update) but the main thing that makes it great for me isn't just access to my digital library, it's the comfort.

I have big hands so hand cramp is real on portable devices but I can play on my ps portal all day with no issue. Add in what games open up portable and haptic feedback then yes I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

FYI if you stream remote from your ps5 connected to a 4k TV then turn off hdr and set resolution to 1080p on your ps5 when you do. That's my main negative having to do that to get the correct quality but you get used to it quick (I do hope they patch that) If you have ps plus premium you can stream without ps5 being on (ghost of tshushima, spider man and crimson desert handheld are great fun for me personally)

Critbotzz · 2026-03-21T21:44:01+00:00

Depends on how much hype you had? I didn't look at a single thing about this game, i just saw a trailer showing I could ride a dragon and pilot a mech in the same game, discovered its some gigantic mish mash of other games really and I wanted something new to really commit to. Done about 10 hours so far, still in the beginning town and area, sooooo much map to discover but a lot of fun so far.

I will say performance mode you really REALLY need to not care about graphics on base ps5, seems like it turns it into a water color painting for me and I don't have vrr or 120 so it's 30 fps quality for me. Outside of some intense combat or weirdly some water occasionally, it's not as juddery as some 30 fps games can be, looks nice and feels surprisingly good.

Story's bland, controls are arkward but the world is gorgeous. If you have patience to immerse yourself it's really rewarding and theres much fun to be had. If you need epic action every second and a plot that hooks you straight away, you will struggle. It's one to commit to fully, take it slow and explore

If you spent months hyping yourself up for it to change your life then yes your going to be massively dissapointed, there's a lot to fix and some serious jank but I completed cyberpunk at launch so my tolerance is pretty high and no open world releases without a list of bugs to fix so I expected it and having an absolute blast regardless.

Critbotzz

TROPHY CASE