These days, there’s no shortage of games inspired by FromSoftware’s Souls series, so-called “soulslikes” (I still despise the term, but at this point I guess I have to accept that it is widely used and understood). From futuristic, limb-focused The Surge to the oversexualized, anime aesthetic Code Vein, from more traditionally told stories in Lies of P, to 2D adaptations such as Salt & Sanctuary. This style of action RPG is easily among my favorite genres. Deliberate, stamina-based combat, hard-hitting enemies, bosses with telegraphed attacks…
But for me personally, no game in this space (and yes, not even the original ones) comes close to the original Nioh. And while this isn’t a review of the first game, everything that made it stand out is not only still present in Nioh 3, but often refined, polished and improved.
If I had to pick one single word that I associate with Nioh, it would probably be “complexity”. But let’s start from the beginning: what Nioh 3 does well, what I actually mean by complexity, and where the game might lose some players.
A Story of Power and Time
Unlike many other games in the genre, the Nioh series is known for portraying a somewhat historically accurate tale (with obvious fictional spice and supernatural flair, of course). Many characters are based on real historical figures, like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ishida Mitsunari, or Hattori Hanzo. Major conflicts and battles take inspiration from real events, such as the Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka, with the story taking place in the respective accurate time period.
The grounding in real Japanese history, borrowed names, timelines, and figures (in particular the Senguku period) is a big part of what makes Nioh stand out from a narrative perspective. At the same time, the supernatural elements (Amrita, Yokai, Guardian Spirits) add just enough spice to keep things exciting and satisfy the fantasy-hungry gamer, even those who couldn’t care less about historical accuracy.
In Nioh 3, you take on the role of Takechiyo as he is about to be appointed the next Shogun – the ruler of Japan. What follows is a story of betrayal, shifting alliances, and power struggles across multiple timelines (and yes, the time travel aspect adds an extra layer of depth, especially for players already fascinated by the story). That said, the storytelling can get messy if you don’t pay attention. You’ll fight humanoid bosses turned Yokai (corrupted by the power of Amrita), and later encounter those same figures again in different roles or time periods. Characters switch sides, reappear, or show up in entirely different contexts, and if you’re not paying close attention, it can get confusing fast. I personally struggled a bit keeping track of all the names and conflicts.
And what about those players that don’t care about the story at all? Honestly that’s perfectly fine. I’d even argue that that applies to a large portion of the player base. Nioh 3 works very well as a pure action experience: you can ignore most of the narrative and still have a fantastic time with the game.
Presentation and Design
From the moment you boot up the game, Nioh 3 feels familiar. The audio design immediately sets the tone of the predecessors, with a mythical-sounding track in the main menu, and the introductory cutscene showcases exactly what you’d expect: brutal battles, power-hungry warlords, Yokai-infested battlefields, and Guardian Spirits watching over their chosen warriors. The overall presentation stays true to the series identity, and that’s a good thing. Nioh has always had a very distinct, unique feel, and the third entry preserves it.
That being said, Nioh has never been the most graphically impressive game, and that is also true for Nioh 3. Not only that, on PlayStation, I did notice some performance hiccups during particularly busy cutscenes. They could feel laggy at times. Thankfully, I never experienced similar issues during regular gameplay, which is what matters most.
World design is another strong point. Environments are detailed and visually appealing, with lighting used cleverly to highlight paths, secrets, or points of interest. Shortcuts are nothing special, mostly simple ladders or logs you can kick down, but they are implemented in a way that makes sense within the world. You won’t find a ladder in the middle of an inhabited forest, but a tree you can kick down instead. There are no immersion-breaking elements; everything feels grounded and cohesive.
Visually, though, the real highlights are the Yokai. While most regular enemies (and even some optional bosses found in sidequests) are familiar faces from previous entries, there are plenty of new and intimidating designs as well. Main story bosses in particular are often spectacular, Amrita-infused monstrosities that take the visual spectacle up to eleven and often look absolutely insane in the best way.
Open World Structure – Does it work?
I’ll be honest: when I first heard that Nioh 3 would be moving to an open world structure, I was very skeptical. Actually, I was worried. I’ve played enough open world games filled with checklist-style content, and I didn’t want to see the Nioh series become one of those bloated games. Get from marker to marker, pick up meaningless collectibles, accept and complete filler sidequests that add little to nothing to the game besides extending the playtime.
Boy am I happy to say: my fears didn’t come true.
Nioh 3 still features linear main and side missions, but they are integrated into a large open world. You discover them more organically while exploring and without breaking the flow of the game and its story, rather than selecting them from a menu. Though completed missions can be replayed via the “Battle Scroll”, which essentially mimics the old mission selection system.
Between missions, you are free to explore the open world, and exploration itself is heavily incentivized. You see, each region (or time period) is divided into multiple areas, and as you uncover an area’s secrets, your exploration rank increases up to a maximum of four.. Each rank unlocks benefits, such as revealing parts of the map or marking the location of shrines or collectibles. Once you’ve maxed out your rank for a particular area, you’ll receive a permanent bonuses to your stats.
But that’s not all. Collectibles and places of interest are worth collecting / visiting in their own right. Jizo Shrines and lost Kodama reward you with blessing points you can spend to level up specific perks. Crucible Spikes enhance the power of your Guardian Spirits and unlock special effects. Everything you do in terms of exploration has tangible benefits and feeds back into your character progression in a meaningful way. And indeed, attempting to complete any mission with or without the exploration boni makes a huge difference.
That’s one issue that I was worried about. Another concern I had was balance, an issue that in my opinion, Elden Ring struggled with, FromSoftware’s attempt at an open world title. In that game, exploring too much could trivialize the main path. The game definitely encourages exploration, but the result is a poorly balanced experience.
In contrast, Nioh 3 avoids this issue surprisingly well. I explored as much as possible before progressing the main story, and while the overall difficulty felt lower than previous entries, I believe that to be due to other factors, and I never felt overpowered.
To make exploration more enjoyable, traversal has also been improved in some clever and satisfying ways. You now have a double jump and an air dash, which make movement feel more fluid and modern, and add a level of convenience that was missing from previous titles. However, these mechanics are a bit too restricted. The air dash barely covers any distance, and the game very obviously prevents you from reaching unintended areas by killing your momentum mid-jump. This is extremely noticeable, and does not feel great at all.
On the plus side, there is also a “supersprint” that activates automatically when no aggroed enemies are nearby, letting you move quickly without consuming stamina. Combined with fast travel to unlocked shrines from anywhere, getting around the world is smooth and convenient.
Loot and Combat
Let’s be real now. I didn’t fall in love with Nioh because of its story or world design. What really makes it special is combat and build diversity.
Nioh 3 brings back the combat complexity from the original Nioh’s stance while also keeping some of the accessibility introduced in Nioh 2, and even expanding it. The solution to including multiple playstyles is in the two distinct combat styles, Samurai and Ninja, which you can switch between on the fly.
Samurai style offers the deep, stance-based combat system I loved in the first game and missed in the sequel. Ninja style, on the other hand, is a more agile, faster playstyle that focuses on mobility and ranged tools, like shuriken. I also believe that Ninja is generally easier to pick up.
The styles feel completely different defensively, too. As a Samurai, you can perform perfect blocks (very reminiscent of Lies of P) and focus on deflecting enemy attacks, while Ninja relies on dodging and evasion.
And while sure, you can stick to one style for the entirety of the game if you want, the game clearly encourages switching between them. And honestly, switching styles back and forth seemingly by the press of a button (combination) feels incredibly satisfying. It introduces a new level of depth, too, since both styles use different weapons, gear, Guardian Spirits and even skills. Building a character and leveling up attributes becomes a (even more) complex balancing act.
The game also subtly pushes you to engage with both systems. For example, Ninja style initially lacks a Ki-Pulse, which is crucial for clearing Yokai Pools that drain your Ki. So even if you prefer Ninja, you’ll find yourself switching to Samurai in certain situations.
And while satisfying and frankly a genius addition, the dual style system comes with some problems as well. Later in the game, you unlock abilities that mitigate these limitations, but early on, managing both styles can spread your stats thin. Different equipment sets have different attribute requirements, and weapons scale with different attributes. Eventually, you’ll be able to remodel equipment at the blacksmith to optimize scaling. This opens up a ton of optimization potential and build possibilities, especially for NG+ cycles and beyond (which, to be honest, is where the true Nioh experience begins). One could argue that in a New Game cycle, scaling isn’t quite as crucial, and they’d be right. But it still doesn’t feel great to have to compromise until that late in the game.
And this is just scratching the surface. Soul Cores, Guardian Spirits, Kodama Blessings, Jizo Blessings, Skills (for each of the styles, as well as hybrid skills), … The systems just keep layering on top of each other.
Then there is combat itself, which is where Nioh truly shines. It takes the stamina-based foundation of soulslikes and blends it with fast-paced, combo-heavy action inspired by hack and slash titles. This isn’t about slowly chipping away at enemies with basic attacks. Once you start chaining combos, switching weapons and styles, and using abilities effectively (both offensively, but also for spacing), combat becomes incredibly dynamic.
It’s a lot to think about, though, and you’ll be utilizing almost every single button (and button combination) on your controller. You’ll be juggling stance switches, style switches, weapon swaps, items and spells, burst counters, Guardian Spirit abilities, all while using multiple attack combos… You also have the aerial component, now that jumps are a thing.
There are also some quality-of-life improvements. For example, your character no longer follows enemies off cliffs (finally) if you are locked-on.
In terms of loot, the Diablo-style randomized system is still here. Personally, I love it, but I know it’s not for everyone. You’ll spend a TON of time going through your loot and managing gear, selling, dismantling or offering equipment pieces you don’t need (because of course there are multiple options for getting rid of useless junk, what did you expect), and later leveling up and strengthening and optimizing those that you want to use. A welcome addition is the option to automatically dispose of gear that meet criteria you can define via a filter, but the time spent looking through your inventory is still significant.
Though also here it must be said, many mechanics are introduced very late into the game. The blacksmith for example is nowhere to be found during the first few hours of the game, and once you finally unlock her, you have only access to some basic options. It is not until much, much later that you unlock her full potential
