Yokai, time travel, and warring nations combine in an interesting concoction with Nioh 3. Traversing across the vast land of Japan, through time, players aim to stop the Yokai threat. In the genre filled with tough challenges and stunning boss fights, soulslike titles have another challenger with Nioh 3. Looking to improve upon its predecessors, the newest title brings in a new gameplay format. Plus, new styles of combat are a departure from what players may be used to. However, is it something that lands on target or fades into time?
A Tale As Old As Time?
The Nioh 3 narrative has players step into the shoes of Tokugawa Takechiyo, a young warrior on the eve of becoming the next shogun. However, things sour when various Yokai attack your home. As you aim to defend, you are betrayed, and in a saving glimpse, you are sent back in time. To get revenge, you must deal with the Yokai threat present throughout various stages of time in Japan. Along the way, you encounter both new and returning faces to the Nioh series, and you may recognize some historical figures that you come across.
While the story of the Nioh series hasn’t always been the primary focus, to me it feels weak in this entry. There were some moments where I lost track completely of what was going on. While the time travel aspect is good as a means of seeing different points in time, it can feel a bit jarring story-wise. On the plus side, the introduction of historical figures is always a great touch in the series. Whether it’s Tokugawa Ieyasu or Hattori Hanzo, interacting with them is great. But with the overall narrative, Nioh 2 still claims its top spot in the series.
Oh The Places You Should Go
Nioh 3 changes things up from the last title when it comes to gameplay. Rather than strictly completing missions one by one in the story, it focuses on massive open-world areas. And in this age of gaming, hearing about that type of exploration can be unsettling due to how repetitive it can be. But in the case of Nioh 3, it pulls it off incredibly well. Not only are the areas fun to explore, but they are also a benefit to the player to fully go through. The Nioh series is all about facing tough enemies in fast-paced combat, and being evenly leveled can make it tricky. However, when you fully go through the areas one-by-one, they boost your level which allows you to tackle later areas with much ease. Team Ninja crafted the open-world sections perfectly so that you don’t have to worry about being underleveled. For example, me exploring the Iinoya area, which is recommended as Level 28, but I was at 42.
Additionally, the open-world areas don’t feel repetitive to explore. While they contain some of the same types of collectibles, they all feel different. Lesser Crucibles, as an example, are new. These allow you to fight waves of enemies mainly found in that region. Upon completing them, you get great rewards and clear up part of the region. Or looking for Kodama and Valuables chests, some are hidden and require puzzle solving to find. While others, you need to unlock skills to be able to get the collectibles.
Not only are the exploration zones great, but there are plenty of them to enjoy across various time periods (or maps, if we’re being blunt). The game right away shows that it plans to keep you invested with plenty to do, all of which benefits the player. Rather than badger you with too much content, Team Ninja designed just the right amount. The game doesn’t feel like it overstays its welcome when it comes to exploration. And in a world of gaming where open-world can be rough to withstand, Nioh 3 does well with keeping things fresh and fun.
Fighting Can Be Skillful and Stylish
When it comes to changing things up further, Nioh 3 introduces both new Skills and Combat Styles to give a change of pace. First, the Skills in the game are a fun addition. Players can unlock and add different Common, Ninja, and Samurai skills to the respective categories. Mainly, each one goes to help the player in the game, such as adding +5 to Attack. Some even have negative buffs as a trade-off. To make the planning even better, you only get a certain capacity for those categories and need to change them out to fit your playstyle. It’s a feature that is great to play around with, as it changes up your build — this is more so with separate skills for both Ninja and Samurai.
Furthermore, the new Combat Styles system in Nioh 3 makes fights feel more intense and cinematic than before. Players can swap on the go by pressing R2 and shifting between Ninja and Samurai. The former having faster-paced moves, dodges, and the use of Ninjutsu Arts to slay your foes with no need to worry about Ki Pulse. Whereas the Samurai focuses on the classic style of Nioh 3, where players may utilize the three stances and can use Ki Pulse to earn it back. Plus, having usually more weight, defense, and damage.
The combination of these new combat features is incredible. While it can take some time getting used to switching between styles, it creates unique combos that change the flow in a flash. However, if you are someone who prefers one style over another, as I do, the game absolutely allows for that. Having the skills and styles for Nioh 3 ups the ante on the already fast-paced combat. Allowing you to build into an absolute wrecking ball of yokai slaying carnage if you wish to do so.
Slay Yokai With Others, Somewhat
Players worried about having to go it alone with Nioh 3 don’t have to fear. You can summon other players or AI to assist you not only in the exploration (known as Expeditions) but also in the story or various side missions. Besides needing Ochoko Cups, summoning others is a breeze and something the game doesn’t frown upon. It allows you and two others to conquer the Yokai in various ways. The co-op feels seamless in Expeditions, and if you only need help with bosses, the summon will be teleported out right after. There is no shame in summoning throughout the game, especially if a boss is constantly giving you grief! While it makes things easier, that can be part of the fun for players. It also allows you to see the unique characters and builds that people develop while you take down foes.
The trade-off with the online, though, is that Nioh 3 lacks crossplay support. Therefore, if you have friends you want to dive into this with, then you all need to be on the same platform. In this case, either PC or PS5. It’s a constant that exists throughout the soulslike genre, and it’s a disappointing thing to still deal with in 2026. Being able to hop on and go through this game with friends on PC would be a blast. But with no opportunity to do so, they are likely to play on their own, like me. The feature could be added by Team Ninja in the future. However, it not being included at launch is a shame, with crossplay being more prominent and Nioh 2 not having it as well.
Other than that, the co-op experiences are smooth. There were no issues with lag that I had to contend with, and being able to have someone to summon at different areas and missions of Nioh 3 is great. It allows for a whole experience of the game in co-op and can further incentivize players to open their lobbies to fight alongside others — an aspect that has sadly been missing from other games recently.
Nioh Never Looked And Sounded So Good
Graphically, Nioh 3 is at its best in the series. Without the need to worry about developing for the last generation, you can see the attention to detail a lot more. The main highlight is the blood and the character designs whether in or out of cutscenes. Team Ninja has always done impressive work with the visuals of the series, and it shows they haven’t slowed down. However, my main takeaway from the graphics is the visual design of the world. I was awe-struck at the varying types of landscapes you encounter in the open worlds like the Warring States. Not just that, but the same can be said about Crucible maps. The developers do a great job of portraying the hellish and grim world that the Yokai call home. And while I was fighting to get out of them, I also didn’t want to leave.
The audio of the game is also music to my ears. I mean that both literally and figuratively. The noises that the Yokai and bosses make are dark in the best way. The smashing sounds that certain weapons like my Tonfas made while hitting foes never get old. When it comes to the voice acting, I was mostly pleased with it as well. I played through with the Japanese voiceover on, as I have done with the previous titles, and the emotion is raw but real. The English work isn’t bad by any means, but I just found playing in Japanese felt better for a game like Nioh 3.
The real star when it comes to the audio is its music. The series brings back Akihiro Manabe as the game’s composer, and there are times I am constantly relistening to tracks from it. The Lesser Crucible track is an instant add to my playlist to the point where, in my first Lesser Crucible, I died because I was distracted by the tune. As a bonus, when I heard that the Awakenings song was brought back from Nioh 2, it sent shivers down my spine. The music works well in every aspect of the game and shows how important it can be.
Nioh 3 Hits Hard in the Best Way
I’ve been a fan of the soulslike genre for years. And when I dived into the Nioh series, I was seeing a whole new side of things due to the fast-paced nature of the games. And with the arrival of Nioh 3, I was excited to see what Team Ninja was keeping up their sleeves this time. What followed was new combat in both styles and skills that work well to refresh the series. Each of the enemies may hit hard, like many Souls games, but you can equip yourself to slay them with ease. Along with this, the open-world aspect of Nioh 3 hits a home run for the series. Straying away from the mission-based focus of the game, and while there are side missions that emulate this, the open world is the star, and it shines bright.
The audio and visuals of Nioh 3 are fantastic. From the gorgeous open environments to the eye-catching character designs, Team Ninja made the game look the best in the series yet. And the various locations, such as the Crucible areas, really showcased the team’s work on environments, which was a delight to see. Mixed with the audio and music design is a perfect combination that many players may enjoy. While the story is not at its best with this entry (luckily, you don’t need to play the other games to understand it), and the lack of crossplay is a downer, they don’t hinder the game in the long run.
Overall, Nioh 3 is more than a worthy successor to Nioh 2 and even other soulslike titles. I love many entries in the genre, but Nioh 3 is sitting high now for me. The exploration took up plenty of my attention, and some bosses tested me. However, going back in and conquering them felt satisfying even as I mainly played the fast-paced Ninja. Players, both new and used to soulslike games, should dive into the world of Nioh 3 if they are looking to experience some ARPG goodness to kick off 2026 the right way.
Nioh 3 is out now on PS5 and PC.
