Nioh 3

A triumphant evolution of the series for existing fans, and the best possible jumping-on point (though far from an easy one) for new ones. Nioh 3 demands care, planning, and patience – and gives immense satisfaction in the form of a brutal but engrossing adventure in return.

Nioh 3 fractures Team Ninja’s formula, pushing players to master brutal Samurai power and lethal Ninja agility in every demanding encounter.

Nioh 3 is a brilliant evolution of the series’ formula. This third entry mostly heightens the strengths of its predecessors, while simultaneously streamlining and improving things that didn’t work so well. Meanwhile, its emphasis on switching between Samurai and Ninja styles - in addition to a successful shift to a semi-open-world format - makes Nioh 3 the franchise's most fleshed-out and polished experience to date.

Nioh 3 takes the best elements of the series past and Team Ninja's legacy in delivering one of the most fun and feature-rich action games to start off the new year.

Ultimately, Nioh 3 feels like a confident step forward for the series, expanding player freedom through its Ninja style, Style Shift system, and deep build-crafting without losing what makes Nioh work. While its open-field design can lean on tired ideas, it rarely drags the experience down, and the game's combat is the strongest it has ever been. I enjoyed my time with Nioh 3 enough to immediately jump into New Game Plus, which says a lot on its own, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out now with the increased difficulty and customization options it offers. It also helps how we...

Instead of another iteration, Nioh 3 reworks the foundations of the series, trading its tightly controlled, mission-based structure for a fully open world. It’s the most radical change Team Ninja has made to the series yet, and one that, overall, sticks the landing.

Nioh 3 offers some of the best action and boss fights in the series. However, it is held back by some open world pitfalls that make the experience feel a bit bloated. Regardless, it is one hell of a ride.

Three games into the Nioh series, I’ve been consistently impressed with how Koei Tecmo has evolved this IP game to game. The first Nioh was a solid and challenging first step into this new Souls-like take on the mythology-infested world of Feudal Japan. The second refined that formula with new weapons, ninjutsu, and magic, as well as the new Core system that let us harvest souls from our foes. Now, Nioh 3 takes one of the biggest steps of all by taking the series into an open-world format with a lengthy free-flowing adventure. Nioh 3 makes some big marks on the series, and it does so while kee...

Nioh 3 takes clear cues from Elden Ring, offering multiple sizeable open-world regions to explore and challenging enemy encounters aplenty. Its bosses aren’t particularly memorable, but the deep combat gives you a myriad of ways to approach each confrontation. It’s an impressively large action-RPG that I can’t stop playing.

Since it doesn't directly tie into the first two games (there's even a recap of the story so far that's directly found in the third entry's menus), Nioh 3 is a great place to start if you're an action fan. Since the styles are so open-ended builds are much easier to manage and craft, and the open world setup is a lot easier to acclimate to than the previous level-select system that mirrored older games.

The third entry in the Nioh series delivers exciting battles with vastly customizable actions, at the expense of character storytelling and worldbuilding.

Nioh 3 comes in red hot with welcome additions to the heart-pumping combat the series is known for. However, its open world elements don't quite bring the same heat, perhaps needing a bit more time in the crucible.