Gaming setup used for testing Mirillis Action!
Most gaming recorders treat the on-screen overlay as an afterthought — a small FPS counter tucked in a corner. Action! treats it as close to the main feature, with a genuinely more customizable real-time overlay system than most competitors bother building.
The short version: Action! is a paid Windows recorder built around real-time performance overlays (FPS, temperatures, hardware stats) alongside solid hardware-encoded recording and live streaming support. If detailed on-screen stats matter to you — for benchmarking or for a streaming audience — it’s a genuine standout. If you just want clean gameplay footage, the overlay features are nice-to-have rather than decisive.
The overlay system is the actual pitch
Action!’s real-time overlay can display FPS, CPU/GPU temperature, clock speeds, and RAM usage directly on screen while recording or streaming — genuinely useful for benchmarking hardware performance or for a streaming audience that wants to see system stats alongside gameplay. Few competitors build this out as thoroughly; most treat an FPS counter as the ceiling of “performance overlay.”
Recording performance holds up where it matters
Hardware-encoded recording keeps frame-rate impact reasonably low during gameplay capture, in line with what you’d expect from a modern paid gaming recorder. It’s not dramatically better or worse than Bandicam’s game-capture performance — both use hardware encoding by default and both perform competently on modern hardware.
Where it falls behind the free alternative
Action! doesn’t meaningfully outperform OBS once OBS is properly configured, and it costs money where OBS doesn’t. The overlay system is the actual differentiator, not raw recording quality — if you don’t specifically need detailed on-screen performance stats, you’re paying for a feature you won’t use.
Action! vs. Bandicam: the practical difference
Both are paid, Windows-only, hardware-encoded gaming recorders with broadly similar core recording quality. Bandicam leans slightly more toward general-purpose screen and device recording alongside gaming; Action! leans further into the gaming-specific overlay and live streaming angle. If overlays and streaming are your priority, Action! edges ahead; if you also want general screen recording outside of gaming, Bandicam’s broader scope is the safer pick.
Streamers and hardware enthusiasts who want detailed real-time stats visible during recording or streaming are the clearest fit. Casual gamers who just want clean footage without extra stats are better served by Bandicam’s simplicity or OBS’s zero cost.
Frequently asked questions
Does Mirillis Action! reduce FPS while recording?
Similar impact to other hardware-encoded gaming recorders like Bandicam — modest on modern hardware, more noticeable on older systems.
Is Action! better than OBS for gaming?
Not in raw recording quality once OBS is configured properly. Action!’s real advantage is its detailed real-time overlay system, which OBS doesn’t match out of the box.
Can Action! be used for live streaming?
Yes, it includes live streaming support alongside local recording.
How does Action! compare to Bandicam?
Both perform similarly for core gaming capture. Action! leans further into overlays and streaming; Bandicam covers a slightly broader general-recording use case.
Related reading: Bandicam review · OBS vs Bandicam: which one actually fits you · Recording gameplay without tanking your FPS