REVIEW: ‘Nioh 3’ Impresses in Almost Every Way

Nioh 3 is Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja’s latest installment in the fan-favorite Nioh series. While still tough as nails as the other games in the series, if not more so, the game succeeds at providing an unforgettable experience, though not one without drawbacks.

Nioh 3 takes place in a dark, supernatural version of feudal Japan and follows Tokugawa Takechiyo, one of two heirs of the Shogunate, who you can customise to your liking, and who is set to take over as the next Shogun. One day, their brother Tokugawa Kunimatsu, consumed by jealousy and hatred, unleashes hordes of Yokai in a devastating assault that shatters Japan and brings it to darkness.

With the mysterious power of their guardian spirit, Kusanagi, players must transcend time and fight across multiple historical periods. This includes the Sengoku, Heian, and Bakumatsu periods, to confront Tokugawa Kunimatsu, battle formidable Yokai, and ultimately save the kingdom and fulfill their destiny as Shogun.

Nioh 3 continues everything that players love about the franchise.

The game’s narrative, like the previous entry in the series, sees players encounter and even fight several historical figures, all of whom have unique narrative twists. Players also encounter several Yokai, each representing deep Japanese folklore, creating an authentic experience. Additionally, the narrative features several epic, intense moments that lead to truly amazing boss fights.

Gameplay-wise, Nioh 3 introduces some great new elements while refining the formula from previous games. The first and noticeable difference in this entry is the new open world. Players can explore the entire map at their leisure, running into several Yokais, enemies, and bosses along the way.

The new map is incredibly well-crafted. Not only are each terrain, flora, and location different from the last, but several points of interest, such as world bosses, enemy bases, Lesser Crucibles, and more, keep gameplay incredibly engaging. Players are rewarded for exploring the world to its fullest with weapons and critical items such as Kodama and Jizo Blessings, which increase stat boosts, and Samurai and Ninja Locks, which unlock skills, as well as several weapons, armor, items, and more.

Another newly introduced element is the new duo combat system. As part of their Shogun training, your character was trained in the way of the Ninja and Samurai, and in combat, players can use both playstyles.

The samurai playstyle works the same as in previous games, with weighty, precise attacks that quickly deplete Ki, which can be recovered with Ki Pulse. Like in previous games, players have to master the art of the Ki Pulse, as otherwise they will be overwhelmed quickly and lose stamina easily during battle.

The samurai mode is notably slower than the Ninja mode, but attacks deal higher damage depending on the class-specific weapon, and the class has more health and higher defense. In contrast, the Ninja class is significantly faster, more agile, and able to deal more attacks with less stamina and Ki consumption. This new class is notably more accessible and easier to play, but is also comparatively weaker.

As such, players will have to optimize, manage, learn, and master the two-class system by constantly switching between the two during combat. Thankfully, being able to instantly switch between the two classes and use their skills simultaneously feels incredible. Skills like kunai and elemental projectiles, stances, special heavy attacks, and the very Ninja Gaiden-esque Kizuna drop, and more make combat incredibly fun.

Combat in Nioh 3 always feels fluid and flashy.

The combat moves, abilities, and skills are intricate but feel fluid and flashy. Hits have an amazing impact and feedback, and all weapons are unique and have unique unlockable abilities that can be used across all weapons of the same type. Each weapon type, including Swords, Glaives, Spears, Odachi, Dual Ninja Swords, and more, is incredibly fun to use.

Additionally, the spirit guardian abilities, which vary depending on what guardian spirit you have equipped, are actually helpful in combat, as they deal significant damage in exchange for having a cooldown. The ultimate Spirit attack not only gives out devastating damage but also transforms your character with a cool transformation sequence and makes them invulnerable to dying for a limited time, depending on the damage received.

That said, Nioh is still as tough and challenging as ever, and Nioh 3 takes things up a notch with the newly introduced Crucibles. They are hellish new areas teeming with Yokai, all of whom are enhanced by the Crucible, so they deal a lot more damage.

What’s more, any damage taken by a Yokai in a crucible causes Life Corrosion, which essentially means your overall health will be reduced significantly until you recover your grave, rest at a shrine, or kill a Yokai. While Crucibles are a new, challenging inclusion to the Nioh gameplay loop, they can also be incredibly daunting and tedious to deal with.

Challenge is the core of Nioh 3, and it executes it well, if only a tad tedious.

Not only do enemies deal more damage and your health bar reduces, but having to farm Elixirs, the restorative items, is miserable every time, especially while dealing with other elements in the Crucible. While Players can increase the drop rates for elixirs in Crucibles, it doesn’t make the experience less tedious.

Players could even the odds by gathering Jizo Blessing points by scouring the world to recover their health through elixirs in the Crucible. However, unless you have a lot, they’re essentially useless as they barely recover anything. The worst part of Crucibles, however, is the boss fights. Not only do Yokai bosses in Crucibles one-shot you if you aren’t Burst Breaking, which essentially is a parry counter on bosses and enemies, actively missing one could mean your instant death.

Fighting bosses without the right tools and equipment is incredibly punishing. This, combined with the other tedious elements, makes Crucibles an incredibly daunting and annoying new inclusion, especially as the gameplay loop outside Crucibles is incredibly rewarding and engaging without the hassle.

Nioh 3 is solidly the best the series has ever looked.

Other than that, Nioh 3‘s visuals are the best in the series thus far. The art direction is incredibly detailed and accurate to the architecture and landscapes of feudal Japan. Both character and object models are incredibly detailed and picturesque, and character and monster designs are immaculate.

Nioh 3 is clearly the best-looking entry in the series thus far. Finally, the game performs well on PS5, with no frame rate dips, crashes, or other performance issues, despite the chaos that often occurs on-screen and during boss fights.

Overall, Nioh 3 is a fantastically crafted game that blends several intricate and engaging elements to produce a great combat experience. While it has some issues that hinder gameplay, it’s still one of the most engaging soulslikes in recent years.

Nioh 3 will launch on February 6, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.