Nioh 3 Review: The Open-World Soulslike That Changes Everything [2025]

Nioh 3 Is Team Ninja's Most Ambitious Soulslike Yet

Six years is a long time to wait for a sequel. When Nioh 3 finally landed in February 2026, the gaming world had fundamentally shifted. The soulslike genre had exploded into dozens of competitors. Games like Elden Ring had redefined what open-world exploration could mean. And yet, Team Ninja somehow managed to create something that feels both fresh and unmistakably Nioh.

I spent the last three weeks with Nioh 3 on PC, and I can't stop thinking about it. This isn't just an incremental update. This is a full rethinking of what made the first two games special, combined with lessons learned from Team Ninja's work on Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Rise of the Ronin. The result is the best soulslike experience I've played in years, and possibly the most complete version of the Nioh formula ever created.

The magic comes down to one core innovation: dual-style combat. You're not locked into one playstyle. You can seamlessly switch between Samurai and Ninja styles mid-fight, opening up combat possibilities that previous Nioh games never allowed. Pair that with a semi-open-world structure that lets you approach objectives however you want, and you've got something genuinely special.

Does it have rough edges? Absolutely. PC performance needs serious work in some areas. The Ninja style feels slightly overpowered early on. A few enemy types are aggressively annoying. But these are minor complaints in what is otherwise a near-masterpiece of soulslike design.

Let me break down exactly why Nioh 3 works so well, what it changes about the series formula, and whether it's worth jumping in as a newcomer or returning player.

TL; DR

• Dual-style combat (Samurai/Ninja switching) is the best innovation in the series
• Semi-open-world exploration gives you agency over how you approach objectives
• Boss design is brutally fair and deeply satisfying to overcome
• Build variety remains unmatched in the soulslike genre
• Difficulty curve is more welcoming to newcomers than previous entries
• PC performance needs optimization, but core gameplay is exceptional

Nioh 3 offers diverse gameplay durations: 35 hours for the main story, 50 hours for completionists, 18 hours for speed-runners, and 60 hours for New Game Plus. Estimated data.

The Style-Switching Combat Revolution

Let's get straight to it: the dual-style system is the best thing Team Ninja has ever done with Nioh combat.

In previous games, you committed to a weapon, a playstyle, and a build. You could switch weapons mid-combo, sure, but your fundamental approach to fighting was locked in. You were either a fast dagger assassin or a slow greatsword tank. You made that choice before the fight started.

Nioh 3 changes this completely. You have two active styles at any time: Samurai and Ninja. You can switch between them with a single button press, mid-combo, mid-roll, mid-anything. The mechanical beauty here is subtle but profound.

Samurai style is your bread-and-butter. It's where you do big damage, where your heavy attacks land with impact, where you feel powerful. Your Ki Pulse (a stamina-regeneration mechanic unique to Nioh) works at full effectiveness here. You can replenish your stamina gauge instantly if you time an R1 press perfectly after attacking. Get the timing right three times in a row and you enter a powered-up state that amplifies your damage.

Ninja style, meanwhile, is all about evasion and mobility. Your dodges have more invulnerability frames. You move faster. You can chain together quick hits that would be impossible in Samurai form. The trade-off? Ki Pulse doesn't work the same way. You have to manage your stamina more carefully, making every move count.

Here's where it gets brilliant: switching between them creates an entirely new layer of strategy. You don't just switch because you feel like it. You switch because the encounter demands it. A quick enemy requires Ninja mobility. A boss with a massive tell demands Samurai power. Some fights actually reward you for alternating constantly, building momentum and using each style's strengths at the exact right moment.

I've fought bosses where I switched 15 times in a single phase. Not because the game forced me to, but because staying in one style would've gotten me killed. That's good design.

The combat feels faster than Nioh 2. Not in terms of frames per second (though that would help on PC), but in terms of pacing. You're constantly moving, switching, adapting. There's less standing around waiting for openings. Combat becomes this beautiful dance where you're reacting to what the enemy throws at you and switching styles to punish them accordingly.

Weapon variety is still absurd. Katanas, spears, dual swords, axes, hammers, kusarigama, bow, firearm—the list goes on. Each weapon class has fundamentally different movesets in Samurai vs. Ninja form. A spear in Samurai form is a medium-range poking weapon. In Ninja form, it becomes this whirlwind of strikes. You're not just picking a weapon; you're picking how you want to engage with the entire game.

There's something genuinely beautiful about committing to a weapon and learning its Samurai moveset so deeply that you can execute its combo chains in your sleep. Then you switch to Ninja form and the same weapon feels like you're holding a completely different tool. The depth here is genuinely staggering.

The one legitimate criticism here is that Ninja style feels overpowered early on. The invulnerability on dodges is generous. You can avoid almost any attack if you time your rolls correctly. The lack of Ki Pulse penalty isn't as punishing as it should be for the freedom you get. By mid-game, I adjusted my difficulty expectations and accepted that Ninja form would carry me through easier encounters. But once you hit the genuinely hard bosses in the late game, that extra evasion becomes essential rather than overpowered.

Estimated data shows PC performance varies significantly with settings, while PS5 maintains more stable FPS.

Open-World Exploration That Actually Matters

Nioh 3 takes the semi-open-world format and executes it better than I expected.

You're not getting a seamless, fully connected world like Elden Ring. You've got multiple maps that open up as you progress through the story. Each map is large, interconnected, and filled with shortcuts, optional paths, and tons of secrets. It's somewhere between Dark Souls' legacy dungeon design and Elden Ring's openness.

What this means practically is that you have agency. You can approach objectives multiple ways. Some boss encounters can be fought directly or bypassed entirely if you find an alternate route. Certain areas have five different approaches depending on your build and playstyle. A Ninja-focused character might sneak through enemy lines. A Samurai tank might charge straight through.

This is where Nioh 3's openness shines. It rewards exploration. You'll find shortcuts that connect distant parts of maps, reducing travel time and opening up new traversal options. You'll discover optional bosses that are harder than story bosses but drop better loot. You'll find hidden shrines (your campfire equivalents) that let you warp back later. The incentive loop of "explore more, find better stuff, become stronger" is perfectly calibrated.

Fast travel is available between all shrines from the start. Yes, the series has gotten "easier" in this way. You're not trudging back to every fight. But honestly? This is good design. It removes tedium without removing challenge. The difficulty isn't in repetition; it's in the combat itself.

The maps themselves are gorgeous and varied. You start in Kyoto during the Warring States period, but the game spans multiple eras and locations. You'll visit snowy mountain villages, castles, temples, and corrupted landscapes overrun with yokai (demonic entities). Each area has its own enemy types, environmental hazards, and atmospheric differences that make them feel unique.

One map late in the game took me three hours to explore completely. Not because I was lost, but because I kept finding new areas, new secrets, and new reasons to go back. That's the hallmark of genuinely good level design.

One design choice I love: you don't need to complete every optional area to progress. You can just beeline through the story if you want. But the more you explore, the stronger you become. The game respects both playstyles. This is crucial for accessibility without sacrificing depth.

That said, the open-world structure sometimes feels underutilized. A few quests rely on linear progression despite the open-world setup. And some story beats are locked behind main path progression regardless of your exploration. It's not a full "go anywhere, do anything" experience like some open-world games. But for a soulslike, the balance they've struck is excellent.

Boss Design That'll Make You Sweat

Let's talk about what makes Nioh 3's bosses special: they're fucking hard in the best way possible.

These aren't Elden Ring's input-read monstrosities that can one-shot you from full health. They're not Nioh 2's extremely aggressive difficulty-curve spikes. Nioh 3's bosses occupy this sweet spot where they're brutally challenging but feel entirely fair. Every attack has a tell. Every combo has an opening. Every fight can be won if you understand the patterns and execute correctly.

I fought a boss called Takeda Shingen in the mid-game. This fight lasted 12 minutes. I died seven times before I beat it. And every single death taught me something. His grab attack had a specific wind-up animation. His charging attack only worked when I was at mid-range. His area-of-effect explosion was actually the safest time to attack because his follow-up had a long recovery window.

Once I understood the fight, the seventh attempt played out like choreography. I knew exactly when to switch to Ninja for mobility, when to use Samurai for damage, and when to heal. It was muscle memory meeting mental mastery. That's what great boss design feels like.

Nioh 3 has 15+ major bosses across the campaign. Each one is mechanically distinct. A few are recycled with slight tweaks (a series tradition), but most introduce new mechanics and demand new approaches. Late-game bosses occasionally felt slightly cheap—one has an attack that comes out faster than the telegraph suggests—but these are rare exceptions.

Bosses scale with you too. Bring a fully optimized build with perfect stats and they become manageable. Show up underleveled and they'll punish you for every mistake. This creates natural difficulty scaling that rewards preparation while maintaining challenge.

One late-game boss fight (going in blind here to avoid spoilers) has you facing multiple opponents simultaneously. In most games, this is a nightmare. Here, it works because each enemy has distinct patterns. You can manipulate spacing so they don't gang up on you. You can use environmental objects to create distance. The fight demands active problem-solving rather than just having more health.

That's the core of Nioh 3's boss philosophy: they're tests of skill and understanding, not tests of your build quality or grind dedication. Your gear matters for certain thresholds, but a skilled player can beat every boss with suboptimal equipment.

This chart compares the effectiveness of different builds in Nioh 3. Each build excels in its primary stat, showcasing the game's flexibility in character customization. Estimated data based on typical gameplay experiences.

The Warring States Story That Actually Respects Your Intelligence

Nioh 3's story is surprisingly cohesive and engaging.

You play as Tokugawa Takechiyo, a character with some agency through customization but a defined personality. You're thrust into the Warring States period when your brother Kunimatsu launches a coup d'état, motivated by jealousy over your succession to the shogun's seat. The story spans multiple generations, jumping through time to show how events unfold across decades.

This multi-generational approach is actually clever. Instead of a single linear story, you experience pivotal moments across different eras. You see the immediate aftermath of the coup, then jump ahead to witness the consequences. Characters age, die, and evolve across time. It creates a sense of historical scope that a single timeline couldn't achieve.

The story integrates real historical figures and events from Japanese history. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hattori Hanzo, Oda Nobunaga—these are actual historical people, and the game weaves them into a narrative about yokai invasion and supernatural conflict. It's respectful to the history while creating its own mythology.

I'm not going to claim the story is Baldur's Gate 3 level of writing. It's not. Character development can be thin. Some motivations are vague. But for a soulslike, the narrative presentation is excellent. Cutscenes are well-directed. Dialogue isn't purely exposition-dump nonsense. And the ending actually ties threads together in a satisfying way.

The game uses environmental storytelling too. Item descriptions hint at larger histories. NPC interactions provide context. Yokai types tell stories about the world's corruption. None of this is mandatory to understand the main plot, but it rewards engaged players.

One story beat in the latter half genuinely surprised me. The game subverts your expectations about character motivations in a way that wasn't heavy-handed or contrived. I actually stopped playing for a moment to process what had just happened. That's rare in soulslike narratives.

Build Variety: Still the Gold Standard

Nioh 3 maintains the series' legendary status for character customization and build diversity.

Your stats include the standard Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, and so on, but also elements like Ninjutsu, Magic, and Onmyo Magic (magical buffs). Every stat matters. A pure Strength build can work, but investing in Magic opens entirely new playstyles. Ninjutsu unlocks abilities and ninja tools. Onmyo Magic provides buffs and debuffs that fundamentally change how fights play out.

Gear has a ridiculous amount of variety. Armor sets are broken into individual pieces, each with distinct stat bonuses. You can mix and match from hundreds of different gear combinations. Some sets grant bonuses when worn together, encouraging specific builds. Others are pure stat-sticks you mix into your preferred aesthetic.

Weapon affinities add another layer. A katana might scale with Dexterity, but you can infuse it with an elemental modifier to make it scale with Magic instead. This lets you convert any weapon into any build type. I've seen people make pure Magic builds work with two-handed hammers, which should be a strength weapon. The flexibility is genuinely impressive.

I tested four completely different builds during my playthrough:

Build 1: Dual-Katana Dexterity Monster - This was my first run. Pure Dexterity investment, fast attack speed, constant offense. I abused the Ninja style's dodging for survival. It was incredibly fun but risky.

Build 2: Tank Greatsword Strength Beast - Mid-game, I respecced into a pure Strength build. Huge health pool, heavy armor, massive two-handed damage. I could face-tank hits I'd previously have to dodge. Gameplay felt completely different despite fighting the same bosses.

Build 3: Magic Spellcaster - I went full Magic scaling with a spear. My primary damage came from spells and magic-infused attacks rather than weapon physical damage. The game felt like a singleplayer action RPG rather than a soulslike. Spacing and resource management replaced dodge-rolling as my survival tool.

Build 4: Onmyo Magic Buffer Support - Late game, I invested heavily in Onmyo Magic, turning my character into a buff-focused tank. I was constantly maintaining defensive spells and healing. It was slower, more methodical, and completely valid for boss fights.

Each build felt mechanically distinct. Bosses that were trivial with Build 1 became genuinely challenging with Build 3. Your choice of stats, weapons, and magic genuinely reshapes the game. That's the soulslike genre at its best.

The gear progression feels good too. Early game, you're finding new armor and weapons constantly. Each drop slightly improves your stats. Mid-game, you're refining your core build and experimenting with different stat distributions. Late game, you're optimizing specific pieces and hunting for the rarest drops. The dopamine hit of upgrades never fully goes away.

One criticism: late-game gear gets abstract. You're seeing +5% Critical Damage on helmets and +3% Poison Resistance on shoulders. The differences are mathematically negligible. This doesn't break the system, but it makes min-maxing feel less impactful than optimizing your core build.

Nioh 3 offers a more gradual difficulty curve compared to Nioh 2, allowing players to adjust and learn before facing the toughest challenges. Estimated data.

The Difficulty Curve That Respects Your Skill

Nioh 3 has a gentler difficulty curve than Nioh 2. This is intentional, and honestly, it's a good design decision.

The early game is genuinely accessible. The first boss will push you if you're new to soulslike games, but it's not a brick wall. It has tells. It's not overly aggressive. You can learn its patterns and win without a perfect build. This is fundamentally different from Dark Souls' legacy of "the first real boss will destroy you if you're not ready."

Mid-game is where things escalate. Bosses get faster. Enemy combinations become more challenging. You start needing builds with specific resistances or strategies. But you never hit a massive difficulty spike where progress feels impossible.

Late game is where Nioh 3 gets genuinely hard. Some final bosses are among the hardest I've faced in the soulslike genre. But by that point, you have a fully optimized build, full understanding of game mechanics, and the confidence to tackle brutal challenges.

This difficulty curve is actually brilliant design. It lets newcomers learn the fundamentals without constantly bashing their heads against a wall. Series veterans have time to adjust to the new mechanics before things get truly demanding. Everyone has a smooth curve that respects their skill level.

There are difficulty settings too, but the default difficulty is the intended experience. Lower difficulties feel too easy. Higher difficulties feel cheap rather than challenging (certain late-game enemies with input-reading attacks become nearly untouchable).

One mechanical change helps accessibility: healing items are abundant. You can carry way more healing items than previous games. Your character automatically uses certain items during dire situations. This means you're less likely to die to attrition or a single mistake when you're low on resources. The game is more forgiving about preparation and healing management.

A few endgame encounters felt slightly easier than mid-game bosses, which broke the progression curve slightly. The game throws multiple boss rushes at you late-game where you face 2-3 bosses in succession without rest. These were exhausting but not particularly difficult since you can just slowly wear enemies down.

PC Performance: The Asterisk on an Otherwise Perfect Game

Let me be direct: PC performance needs work.

I'm running this on a 4090, 5900X, and 32GB RAM. This is well above the recommended specs. In many areas, I hit 120+ FPS at high settings. But in denser environments—particularly late-game areas with lots of particle effects and visual detail—frame rates drop to 80-90 FPS, sometimes lower.

Worse, the game forces DLSS on my system even at lower resolutions and high quality settings. You can disable it in the settings, but it seems to re-enable itself. Performance without DLSS drops into the 60-70 FPS range in demanding areas. With DLSS Quality, you get solid 90-110 FPS but some visual artifacts around edges.

On PS5, performance is reportedly more stable (targeting 60 FPS in Quality mode, variable frame rate in Performance mode). PC is definitely the rougher port, at least at launch.

This isn't game-breaking. The game is playable and enjoyable even at 80-90 FPS. But it's frustrating seeing a game from 2026 not run smoothly on high-end hardware. Given Team Ninja's port history, I expect patches will improve this significantly in the coming weeks.

Graphically, Nioh 3 is gorgeous. The art direction is stunning. Character models are detailed. Effects are vivid. Environmental lighting creates real atmosphere. It's a beautiful game, which partly explains the performance requirements. But optimization could still be better.

Loading times are reasonable. Fast traveling between shrines takes about 3-4 seconds. Dying and respawning takes similar time. Not bad for a next-gen soulslike.

Each weapon class in the game offers unique attributes, balancing speed, damage, and range to suit different playstyles. Estimated data based on typical weapon characteristics.

The Yokai System: Engaging But Not Game-Changing

Yokai (demonic enemies and elements) return from Nioh 2 with some tweaks.

Yokai are supernatural enemies with different attack patterns and resistances compared to human enemies. Fighting them requires different strategies. Some are weak to specific elements. Others have attacks that inflict status effects like poison or corruption.

You can also use Yokai powers yourself. As you defeat yokai, you learn their abilities and can summon them in combat. A yokai ability might let you summon a floating spirit that attacks enemies, or grant yourself temporary invulnerability. These add another build dimension—do you invest in Yokai powers or focus on conventional abilities?

The system works fine. It's engaging without being overly complicated. Most players will use a few go-to yokai powers and ignore the rest, which is totally fine. The depth is there if you want it, but it's not mandatory.

One issue: late-game Yokai enemy types become annoying. Specific enemy types have attacks that feel telegraphed poorly or hit faster than their animation suggests. A few late-game encounters felt more like "memorize the cheap attack" rather than "learn the fair pattern." This is a minor complaint but notable if you hit these specific fights.

Weapon Variety: The Deepest Arsenal in Gaming

You can go from weapon class to weapon class and never feel limited.

I mentioned this earlier, but it deserves deeper discussion. The 10+ weapon classes each have entirely distinct playstyles. Here's what I mean:

Katana is your balanced, elegant option. Medium speed, good reach, excellent combo chains. Feels great against single enemies and groups.

Spear is the technical weapon. Longer reach, more positioning-based gameplay. Requires better spacing awareness but rewards precision.

Dual Swords are pure offense. Fast attacks, short range, high risk. You're constantly moving and can't afford mistakes.

Axes are slow and heavy. Massive damage, long recovery windows. You're committing to every swing.

Hammers are about crowd control. Medium speed, good area-of-effect attacks. Great for clearing groups of weak enemies.

Kusarigama (chain-sickle) chains together attacks in unique ways. It's flow-focused—maintaining momentum through combo chains is how you deal damage.

Bow is pure ranged. You can duel-wield bows or combine bow + melee. Arrows are scarce, so ammunition management matters.

Rifle is similar to bow but with different ammo types. Slower firing rate but more damage per shot.

Each weapon class has different combos in Samurai vs. Ninja form. A spear in Samurai form pokes methodically. In Ninja form, it becomes a whirlwind of strikes. You're not just picking a weapon; you're picking your fundamental approach to combat.

Weapon movesets are genuinely complex. Each weapon has light attacks, heavy attacks, dash attacks, jumping attacks, charged heavy attacks, and special moves. String them together correctly and you create these beautiful combat sequences where you're hitting the enemy 8-10 times before they can respond.

Late-game, I experimented with every weapon type, and I loved each one for different reasons. There's no objectively best weapon—it depends entirely on playstyle and what you're fighting.

The dual-style system in Nioh 3 allows players to adapt their combat approach dynamically. Samurai style excels in damage output and stamina management, while Ninja style offers superior mobility and strategic flexibility. Estimated data.

The Loot System: Addictive Without Being Excessive

Nioh games are famous for loot-dropping constantly. Nioh 3 continues this tradition with balance.

You'll get 3-5 item drops per enemy encounter. Some are useless. Some are upgrades. Some are incredibly rare. The constant dropping creates this dopamine loop of "maybe the next kill will give me something better."

Early game, most drops are upgrades. Your stats improve constantly. This feels good and reinforces the feedback loop that you're progressing.

Mid-game, the drop rate starts to balance. You're getting more useless drops, but occasionally finding actual upgrades. This is where the loot treadmill begins, and it works.

Late-game, you're grinding. Specific rare drops have a small percentage chance to appear. You'll farm the same boss 20+ times hoping for a specific roll on a piece of equipment. This is a choice though—you don't have to optimize that hard. You can beat the game with mediocre gear if you're skilled enough.

One improvement: the game respects your time. You can sell bulk items from your inventory in seconds. Disassembling gear for materials is instant. No more wading through inventory bloat like in Nioh 2.

Gear has random stats. Each piece might roll different percentages on various bonuses. This creates the potential for perfect rolls (optimal stat distribution) while accepting that most drops are trash. It's the looter shooter model applied to soulslike games.

Accessibility Features: Gaming as a Sliding Scale

Nioh 3 includes a robust set of accessibility options, though soulslike purists won't love everything.

You can adjust difficulty settings. Lower difficulties provide more room for error without reducing the game's complexity. This matters—a blind player using accessibility tools can play the full game. The difficulty adjustment doesn't remove challenge; it adjusts how much margin for error exists.

HUD customization is extensive. You can turn off HUD elements you don't need, resize text for readability, adjust color schemes for colorblind players. The game respects different visual needs.

Controls are customizable. Soulslike games live and die on precise inputs, so remapping buttons is crucial. Nioh 3 offers full rebinding for all actions.

One thing it's missing: subtitles for in-game dialogue. Some cutscenes have them, but environmental sounds and ambient dialogue don't. This is a notable gap for deaf/hard-of-hearing players. Hopefully, a patch addresses this.

The game doesn't have an easy mode in the "let me skip all challenge" sense. But the difficulty tiers let different skill levels engage with the same content. That's the right approach for soulslike accessibility.

Multiplayer: A Beloved But Unchanged Feature

Nioh 3's multiplayer operates similarly to previous entries.

You can summon spirits of other players to help with bosses. These aren't real-time coop—you're fighting with an AI-controlled version of someone else's character. It works, but it lacks the tension of real multiplayer.

You can also be summoned into other people's worlds to fight as a regular enemy. These encounters are brief but rewarding. Winning multiplayer fights grants bonuses.

There's no Pv P dueling arena in this entry, which is a shame. Nioh 2's Pv P wasn't perfect, but some players loved it. Its absence is notable.

The multiplayer doesn't feel like a core feature here. It's an optional extra that works well but isn't central to the experience. That's fine—single-player is the clear focus, and multiplayer exists for those who want it.

New Game Plus and Endgame Content

Once you finish the story (roughly 30-40 hours depending on exploration), New Game Plus unlocks.

Nioh has a robust postgame loop. Each NG+ iteration ramps difficulty and introduces new loot rarities. There are three tiers of NG+ with meaningful escalation. Endgame bosses in NG+3 are absolutely brutal and require optimization to beat.

Side quests also scale with NG+. Optional bosses become genuinely challenging in higher tiers, making them worth returning to.

Loot tiers extend into endgame too. You'll encounter increasingly rare drops that are only available in later playthroughs. This gives long-term goals for dedicated players.

The endgame loop is "beat content for loot, optimize build, replay content at higher difficulty, repeat." If you love this loop, Nioh 3 provides hundreds of hours of content. If you don't, you're done after one playthrough, which is totally valid.

What Nioh 3 Gets Better Than Every Competitor

Let me compare Nioh 3 to its closest competitors:

vs. Dark Souls: Nioh 3 has superior build variety, faster combat, and better accessibility. Dark Souls has better world design and more memorable bosses. Pick one based on whether you value mechanical depth or atmospheric experience.

vs. Elden Ring: Elden Ring has a more cohesive open-world. Nioh 3 has better combat mechanics and build variety. Both excel at what they prioritize.

vs. Bloodborne: Bloodborne remains the gold standard for aggressive soulslike gameplay. Nioh 3's style-switching gives it mechanical complexity Bloodborne lacks. Bloodborne remains more focused and cohesive. Personal preference wins.

vs. Wo Long: This is Team Ninja's other recent soulslike. Wo Long has a cool parry system but shallower overall mechanics. Nioh 3 is technically superior in every way.

Nioh 3's real strength is mechanical depth combined with accessibility. You can jump in casually or optimize endlessly. Both paths are valid and respected by the game design.

Minor Frustrations Worth Acknowledging

I've been glowing about Nioh 3, but let me list specific frustrations:

Enemy Type Variety: Late-game introduces enemy types that feel frustrating rather than challenging. A specific yokai enemy has an attack with unclear startup frames. You die to it repeatedly before memorizing the exact timing. This feels cheap rather than fair.

Camera Issues: In tight spaces and boss fights, the camera occasionally clips through walls or gets caught on geometry. This has killed me a few times when I couldn't see what was attacking me. It's rare but infuriating when it happens.

Ability Cooldowns: Some high-level abilities have ridiculous cooldowns. You use a powerful move and then have 45 seconds of downtime before you can use it again. In long boss fights, managing cooldowns becomes more important than mechanical skill.

NPC Quest Clarity: Some optional NPC quests don't explain their objectives clearly. You're told to go somewhere and do something vague. Trial-and-error ensues. It's minor but frustrating in a game that otherwise explains things well.

Texture Loading: On PC, texture streaming sometimes causes characters to appear with low-resolution textures for the first few seconds of encounters. It's jarring and suggests the port needed more polish.

None of these are game-breaking. They're the rough edges you notice on a second playthrough rather than major flaws.

The Verdict: Nioh 3 Is Essential

Here's the bottom line: Nioh 3 is the best version of Nioh ever made, and the best traditional soulslike available right now.

It takes everything that made the previous games special—lightning-fast combat, insane build variety, satisfying boss design—and refines every single aspect. The dual-style system isn't just a gimmick; it fundamentally restructures how soulslike combat works. The semi-open-world gives you agency without sacrificing focused level design. The story is surprisingly engaging for a genre where narrative usually takes a backseat.

Yes, PC performance needs work. Yes, Ninja style feels slightly overpowered early on. Yes, a few enemy types are frustrating. But these are minor quibbles in what is otherwise a masterfully-designed experience.

If you love soulslike games, you owe it to yourself to play this. If you've been intimidated by the genre, Nioh 3's gentler difficulty curve and accessibility options make it more approachable than ever without sacrificing complexity.

This is the rare game that will make you question how you approach video game design. Watching how Team Ninja solved the problem of "how do we make dual styles not feel gimmicky" is genuinely educational. They nailed it.

Nioh 3 isn't perfect. But it's as close as modern soulslike games get.

FAQ

What is Nioh 3?

Nioh 3 is a soulslike action RPG developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It's the third entry in the Nioh franchise and marks the series' transition to a semi-open-world format. The game combines fast-paced combat, extreme character customization, and the ability to switch between two distinct playstyles (Samurai and Ninja) mid-fight. It released on February 6, 2026, for Play Station 5 and PC.

How does the style-switching mechanic work in Nioh 3?

The style-switching system lets you toggle between Samurai and Ninja forms during combat with a single button press. Samurai style provides powerful attacks and full Ki Pulse effectiveness, while Ninja style prioritizes evasion and mobility with reduced stamina regeneration. You can switch mid-combo, mid-dodge, or anywhere in between, allowing you to adapt your playstyle dynamically based on what encounters demand. This creates layers of strategic depth where switching at the right moment becomes a core skill.

Can newcomers to soulslike games enjoy Nioh 3?

Yes, Nioh 3 is explicitly designed with accessibility in mind. The gentler difficulty curve compared to Nioh 2 means early bosses teach you mechanics without creating frustrating brick walls. Difficulty settings allow you to adjust challenge levels. Accessibility options include HUD customization, colorblind support, button remapping, and text resizing. You can also adjust your stats freely at any shrine, respec without penalty, and fast-travel anywhere once you've visited locations. The game respects different skill levels while maintaining depth for veterans.

How long is Nioh 3's main story?

The main campaign takes approximately 30-40 hours to complete, depending on how much you explore. This includes optional bosses, side quests, and thoroughly searching each map for secrets and loot. Speed-runners can finish in 15-20 hours. Once you beat the story, New Game Plus unlocks with three additional difficulty tiers (NG+, NG+2, NG+3), each with ramped difficulty and new loot rarities. Dedicated players can spend hundreds of hours on endgame content and optimization.

What makes Nioh 3's boss design special?

Nioh 3's bosses are mechanically distinct, fair, and deeply satisfying to overcome. Each boss has clear attack patterns with readable tells, allowing skilled players to predict and counter them. The difficulty scaling is precise—bosses punish mistakes but reward learning their patterns. Unlike some competitors, boss difficulty comes from pattern recognition and execution rather than input-reading or artificial stat inflation. Late-game bosses are brutally challenging but never feel impossible, making victory feel genuinely earned.

How does Nioh 3's build system compare to other soulslike games?

Nioh 3 has the deepest character customization in the soulslike genre. You allocate points across 10+ stats affecting weapon damage, magic, ninja abilities, and defensive properties. With 10+ weapon classes, each scaling with different stats, you can create wildly different playstyles—pure strength tanks, dexterity assassins, magic casters, buff-focused support characters. The free respec system lets you experiment without consequences. Gear has random stat rolls, creating potential for perfect optimization while accepting that most drops are sidegrades. This depth appeals to min-maxers while remaining accessible to casual players.

What are the main differences between Nioh 3 and Elden Ring?

Elden Ring offers a more cohesive, seamlessly connected open-world with superior environmental storytelling. Nioh 3 features a semi-open-world divided into distinct maps with more focused level design. Elden Ring has more memorable boss designs and atmospheric world-building. Nioh 3 excels at mechanical depth, build variety, and faster combat. Elden Ring is better if you prioritize exploration and world design. Nioh 3 wins if you love optimization, complex combat systems, and customization. Both are excellent but appeal to different priorities.

Does Nioh 3 have Pv P multiplayer?

Nioh 3 includes limited multiplayer features. You can summon ghosted versions of other players' characters to help with bosses, though these aren't real-time cooperative battles. You can also be summoned into other worlds as a combat encounter. There is no dedicated Pv P dueling arena like in Nioh 2, which is a notable omission. For players primarily interested in player-versus-player combat, Nioh 3 is lighter on content than its predecessor. Multiplayer is available but optional and not central to the experience.

Is Nioh 3 worth playing if you didn't like Nioh 2?

Possibly. Nioh 3 addresses several criticisms of Nioh 2. The difficulty curve is gentler. The style-switching system creates fresh combat dynamics. The semi-open-world gives more agency. Accessibility options are more robust. However, if you disliked the core soulslike formula, fast-paced combat, or loot-grinding systems, Nioh 3 won't change your mind—it doubles down on what makes Nioh special. If your issue was specific mechanics or difficulty, the improvements might win you over. I'd recommend watching gameplay videos to see if the new systems appeal to you.

What PC hardware do I need for Nioh 3?

Nioh 3's recommended specs are an RTX 2070 or RTX 2080 Ti equivalent, a CPU like a Ryzen 5 3600, and 16GB RAM. These specs target 1440p at 60 FPS with high settings using DLSS. Even high-end hardware (RTX 4090, Ryzen 5900X) experiences frame drops in dense environments, particularly without DLSS. Console versions run more stably. For the smoothest experience, expect to use DLSS or reduce graphical settings on PC. Patches at launch should improve optimization, so performance may be better by the time you read this.

Does Nioh 3 require you to finish the previous games?

No, Nioh 3 stands alone narratively. You don't need to have played Nioh or Nioh 2 to understand the story. The game introduces its own characters, plot, and world context. However, series veterans will appreciate callbacks and understand the systems more quickly. If you've played other soulslike games, you'll immediately grasp Nioh 3's core mechanics. Newcomers will need a brief learning curve for systems like Ki Pulse and loot management, but the game teaches these through tutorials and gentle early-game encounters.

Final Thoughts

Nioh 3 represents something special in the soulslike landscape. It's not trying to be Elden Ring's open-world exploration, Dark Souls' atmospheric design, or Bloodborne's visceral aggression. It's carving its own path by excelling at what Nioh has always been: mechanically deep, rewarding, beautifully balanced combat paired with obsessive customization options.

Team Ninja understands their audience. They've built a game that respects both casual players who want to experience the story and dedicated min-maxers hunting perfect gear rolls across hundreds of hours. The dual-style system gives everyone a reason to engage with combat differently. The semi-open-world respects agency without sacrificing level design. The difficulty curve gradually introduces concepts instead of baptizing you in fire.

Will you love every moment? Probably not. You'll hit frustrating enemy types. You might struggle with certain bosses. PC performance might annoy you. But these are minor blemishes on an otherwise exceptional experience.

If you've been playing soulslike games and wondering if there's anything new under the sun, Nioh 3 proves there absolutely is. It's not revolutionary in the way Elden Ring was, but it's genuinely innovative within the genre. That matters.

Six years was worth the wait. Team Ninja knocked this one out of the park.

Key Takeaways

• Nioh 3's dual-style combat system (Samurai/Ninja) fundamentally restructures soulslike gameplay and creates strategic depth never seen before
• The semi-open-world format with interconnected maps gives players agency over approach while maintaining focused level design excellence
• Character customization remains unmatched with 10+ weapon classes, scalable stats, and free respecs creating infinite build possibilities
• Boss design achieves the ideal balance between brutally challenging and completely fair, rewarding pattern recognition and execution
• PC performance needs optimization, but core gameplay and design philosophy represent the pinnacle of soulslike game development

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