Review: Nioh 3

1 week ago 3

Published Feb 4, 2026, 9:00 AM EST

Scott Baird is a contributor with over a decade's experience writing about video games, along with board games and tabletop RPGs. Scott has previously worked for Dexerto, Cracked, Dorkly, and Gamepur.

The Nioh franchise has always sat in the shadow of FromSoftware's action RPGs, even though the comparison wasn't fair, as Nioh was more about spectacle and loot grinding than its cousins in the Souls series. While its predecessors were amazing titles in their own right, Nioh 3 represents a progression in quality, becoming an early frontrunner for best game of 2026.

Nioh 3 is an action RPG set in feudal Japan, where the demonic Yokai are very much real and have a tendency to break through the barrier between worlds and cause havoc, usually at the behest of corrupt mortals who summon them. It's up to brave samurai warriors and sneaky ninjas to slay these beasts and send them packing back to their hellish realm.

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Nioh 3 takes the story on a much grander ride than its predecessors, introducing time travel. The player is sent back and forth through history to stop a Yokai incursion that threatens to plunge Japan into destruction, under the rule of a false monarch.

Nioh 3 is a Quantum Leap for Weebs

In Nioh 3, the protagonist is Tokugawa Takechiyo, the next in line to become the Shogun of Japan. One day, their castle comes under siege by Yokai, as it's revealed that the protagonist's younger brother, Tokugawa Kunimatsu, has decided that they don't like being the heir and wants to skip ahead to becoming Shogun.

To satisfy their ambitions, Kunimatsu has made a deal with Yokai and intends to use their might to slay the protagonist and seize control of Japan. The protagonist is sent back in time by Kusanagi, a powerful nature spirit, where they must defeat their sibling across several eras.

Anyone interested in Japanese and Chinese history will recognize many familiar faces in Nioh 3's story. I won't spoil them here, but get ready to see anime versions of all kinds of big names. The game is essentially a historical "What If?" crossover for big figures from Japan's history, kind of like the Avengers. Anyone who recognizes the names will be excited, but everyone else will just be left staring at some long names.

The game is essentially a historical "What If?" crossover for big figures from Japan's history, kind of like the Avengers.

The story of Nioh 3 is serviceable, though mostly a framework. Anyone who enjoys battle manga will be right at home here, and it's something that mostly exists to push the player from one scene to the next. It's the gameplay where Nioh 3 truly shines, and the story/setting mostly exists as a pretty box for it to sit in.

Nioh 3's Combat is Stellar

Nioh 3 has added a ton to its combat system. The system from the previous two games is here, with the player able to switch weapon stances in combat to alter their attacking speed/damage in combat, and can press R1 at the end of a combo to regain some of their stamina. That same rhythmic flow to combat is here, only this time it's magnified, with two distinct styles to switch to at the press of a button.

The two combat styles are Samurai and Ninja. Samurai is the style from the first two Nioh games, where weapon stances and Ki pulses are the main focus. If you press R2, you can instantly switch to the Ninja style, which has its own separate weapon selection, is much faster, focuses on dealing stamina damage, and has a selection of "Ninja Arts", which are customizable gadgets (like shurikens and needles) that inflict status elements.

The Samurai has the ability to parry attacks to reduce the damage taken, which is a necessary mechanic for most boss fights. The Ninja is unable to parry. However, the Ninja has an evade move that lets them avoid all damage if they dodge at just the right second (essentially the same timing as parry), along with a special Mist move that creates an illusory duplicate that attracts enemy aggro for a few seconds.

There are also shared gimmicks across both styles, as they can both use ranged weapons (bows, rifles, hand cannons) and can utilize the power of Guardian Spirits. These have meters that can be used to perform powerful element-infused special attacks, as well as transform into a fusion form, known as "Living Artifact", granting a huge strength boost and temporary invincibility, for as long as the meter lasts.

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If that sounds like a lot to juggle, it is, at least at first. It doesn't help that Nioh 3 is a challenging game, especially in its early hours, meaning players need to jump in headfirst and get to grips with the mechanics as soon as possible. It's worth the time investment, as Nioh 3 has an incredible battle system, where juggling the two distinct styles and various special attacks results in a reactive combat flow, where you always have a response to enemy attacks.

While it's technically possible to play Nioh 3 using one of the styles, that's a suboptimal way to play the game. Ideally, you'll constantly be shifting between the more powerful parry-based Samurai and the swift Ninja who can dash in and out of combat while dealing damage. It fills the hole that I didn't even know existed in the previous Nioh games, giving it a distinct combat system that is a blast to experience, from beginning to end.

Nioh 3's Levels are Huge and Full of Life

The other significant change to Nioh 3 is its level design, which the creators have dubbed an "Open Field" world rather than an open world. Rather than having one giant world, Nioh 3 is stretched across several levels set across history, and while a few are smaller areas designed for specific story beats/boss fights, the rest are gargantuan stages that are full of stuff to do.

There are multiple ways to approach each stage in Nioh 3, with the player able to explore in multiple directions, take on side quests, clear out enemy bases, or hunt collectibles, like the little Kodama spirits, who provide skill points when found. Each objective completed makes you a little bit stronger or earns you a little more loot, which is needed to help you survive the next big roadblock.

The massive stages solve another issue that the other Nioh games had, as it was very easy to bounce off those titles when facing a hard boss, as there was nothing else you could do until you beat them. In Nioh 3, you can instantly fast travel to previous stages to explore more or complete Battle Scroll missions to earn new gear. You never have to be stuck at a roadblock since there's always something else you can do to get stronger.

There is one downside to this new approach: it involves jumping and platforming. Nioh 3's jumping mechanics are a bit too finicky, and it's very easy to fall into a pool of water or drown because the character slides off the edge of a platform, rather than landing on it. If it weren't for a few brutal boss encounters that took many hours of trying, the majority of my death count in Nioh 3 would be attributed to pit deaths.

Grinding the Gears

Unlike the Souls games, Nioh 3 has a huge focus on acquiring loot. Over the course of the game, you'll be cutting down foes and watching them explode in showers of colored names, each with its own levels. It's likely that you'll only focus on a single weapon for each style, so most of the gear won't be useful to you.

It's not just the equipment you need to consider, as you'll be acquiring accessories, Soul Cores (which are tied to magic spells), titles to earn that provide buffs, a skill tree system, and healing items. There's a central hub you unlock early in the game, which is home to an extensive blacksmithing system, as well as an entire clan battle mechanic, where you can donate gear to help your cause in exchange for special items.

In short, it's a lot, and not all of it feels necessary. Luckily, there are auto-select options that will provide optimized gear and let you mass select items to be deleted, and it's probably better to use these than to dig into the nitty-gritty of the mechanics, especially as it involves quibbling over a measly 1 or 2 percent upgrade to a specific skill.

Throw in collectibles that are spread across the map and the already expansive combat system, and you have a ton of systems that feel like they could have been stripped out to simplify the gameplay. They don't detract from the experience, and it's entirely possible to complete Nioh 3 without engaging with them, but they could have been streamlined to make the downtime between stages flow a bit better.

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Crucibles and Boss Battles are Ridiculously Challenging (In a Good Way)

Each time period in Nioh 3 is home to a Crucible area, where the power of the Yokai is at its strongest, and damage can result in the temporary loss of maximum hit points. The Crucibles can be made easier by seeking out Crucible Spikes in each stage and defeating the enemies there, but they're still punishing to get through.

The Crucibles act like mini exams in each stage, pushing the player to their limits, but they pale in comparison to the boss encounters. The boss fights in Nioh 3 can be extremely challenging. That being said, with a handful of exceptions, they always feel fair. This isn't an Elden Ring situation, where annoying bosses can throw out endless combo chains while waiting to use ranged punishments for people who dare to use healing items.

Each time period in Nioh 3 is home to a Crucible area, where the power of the Yokai is at its strongest, and damage can result in the temporary loss of maximum hit points.

The only real issue with Nioh 3's bosses is that many of the mid-stage ones are simply more powerful variants of the protagonist, using the same weapons/skills they do in combat. There are plenty of unique bosses with cool gimmicks, and these require mastery of the game's systems to overcome.

The bosses in Nioh 3 are challenging in a satisfying way, which is something badly needed after the nonsense that was Shadow of the Erdtree's bosses. While some feel like padding, they're at least fun to fight. There was only one boss in the main story that I felt was unfair and needed grinding/mastery to beat, which, for a Soulslike, is an outstanding number.

Nioh 3 is a Neon Experience

The visuals in Nioh 3 are functional, with the dark, gloomy feudal Japan world punctuated by showers of neon colors, either from the Guardian Spirits or from the piles of loot that spray out of enemies like so much confetti. Nioh 3's setting falls into the trap of other games set in the same era, as it mostly takes place in plains, caves, and muddy villages.

The Crucibles are a huge help in this regard, as these stages are gorgeous and often trippy to behold, with buildings floating in the air and demonic stones creating insect-like walkways throughout. In the end, the visuals in Nioh 3 are fine: nothing to write home about. The performance, at least on PlayStation 5, is stellar, and I only experienced a few frame dips in busier scenes.

The soundtrack in Nioh 3 is a treat, featuring many soaring tunes that match the epic scale of the story. However, Nioh 3 is a long game, so I wouldn't judge anyone who needed podcasts or similar videos to get through the game. Nothing against the soundtrack: it's superb, but there are a lot of collectibles that need finding and monsters that must be slain, so more substantial tunes might be needed to reach the credits.

Nioh 3 is an incredible game that expands on the core gameplay of its predecessors and drops players into a vast world where they can unleash their combat potential to their heart's content. It's a huge step-up for the series as a whole, and I'm excited to see where it goes next.

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Systems

Released February 6, 2026

ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact

Pros & Cons

Rewarding combat system with tons of options when facing enemies
Massive stages full of fun objectives to complete
Challenging boss encounters that (with a handful of exceptions) aren't a slog to get through