The putting factor about Nioh 3, even in comparison with the primary two video games, is what number of choices you may have in any given battle. An enormous variety of weapons, stances, and skills to create an enormous array of fast-paced assaults, and allow you to survive towards devastating, highly effective opponents.
Writer Koei Tecmo lately gave me an opportunity to go hands-on and discover a brand new space of Nioh 3, full with a pair of powerful bosses to battle. Right here’s all the pieces I discovered, noticed, and fought alongside the best way.
Venturing via a corrupted metropolis and a brand new time interval
Nioh 3 places you within the function of a Tokugawa Takechiyo, who’s on the precipice of turning into the following shogun of the Sengoku period, earlier than their brother, Tokugawa Kunimatsu, kicks off a civil warfare to attempt to take over with a military of troopers and unusual yokai spirits. However Nioh 3 received’t simply take you thru completely different bodily places — you’ll journey to completely different time durations as you discover its expansive “open subject” ranges, as effectively. My preview passed off in an occupied, corrupted Kyoto within the Bakumatsu interval.
Like quite a lot of issues in Nioh 3, the open subject strategy to its ranges seems like a pure enlargement of the sequence’ previous concepts. You’ll nonetheless typically battle and discover your means down paths that loop again on themselves with shortcuts, however ranges are a lot bigger, with facet paths, hidden areas, and extra targets — a few of that are solely accessible with the brand new bounce potential. All that exploration supplies gamers with choices; should you run up towards a battle that’s too powerful, you’ll be able to strive some place else, typically discovering alternatives to energy up your character and earn further rewards.
Fluid preventing with two types
With every new Nioh sport, developer Crew Ninja builds on a basis of fast-paced action-RPG fight, however Nioh 3 turns a steady construction of cool fight skills right into a glittering tower of choices.
As we noticed in our Tokyo Video games Present hands-on report, on the coronary heart of Nioh 3’s fight is the returning Samurai type and the brand new Ninja type. The Samurai type is extra stalwart and defensive, whereas the Ninja type is quick and extremely agile. You possibly can change between types immediately by hitting R2, making use of every one’s strengths relying on the scenario. Utilizing the swap mid-battle, you’ll be able to shortly and fluidly chain collectively assaults and skills from each types. Executed on the proper second, you’ll really feel like a skillful wrecking ball as you pummel an opponent.
The 2 stances additional develop on Nioh’s Guardian Spirit skills, Soul Cores, and heap of weapons — the variety of fight choices you may have in any given battle is sort of overwhelming. When you get the hold of all of it, although, the liberty makes you’re feeling like a ridiculously quick, lethal warrior, chaining all kinds of assaults collectively in a torrent of blades and blasts of magic.
Deflect blows to achieve a bonus
My favourite new addition to Nioh 3’s fight is Deflect, a parry mechanic that expenses your Ki and Arts meters once you completely time a block by hitting the guard button, L1, as an assault lands. The parry means that you can use fast reflexes to take care of your aggression even towards big bosses and difficult foes. With all the opposite choices you may have out there in fight, it’s a pure addition that rewards you for skillful play.
Useful haptics
Crew Ninja provides to the texture of fight with the DualSense controller’s haptic suggestions, emphasizing quite a lot of its components. You’ll really feel strikes and assault as you deflect or land them, whereas the adaptive triggers channel components like drawing again a bow string. Nevertheless, the builders mentioned they have been cautious to not overdo it and make haptics distracting, for the reason that sport focuses on fast reactions and speedy inputs.
Taking down Takasugi Shinsaku
The tutorial part of the preview culminated in a boss battle towards samurai Takasugi Shinsaku. A fast, agile fighter, he steadily switched between highly effective, quick sword blows and shortly firing bullets from a revolver. These photographs have been matched by projectile assaults from his Guardian Spirit, who fought alongside him all through the battle.
Agility was the secret towards Takasugi, whose pace and relentless seize assaults may make it powerful to Deflect his strikes. However as soon as I lastly overwhelmed him, we turned allies, working collectively to clear the corruption from Kyoto.
Battling via the Crucible
The second half of the extent I performed emphasised the “open” a part of the open subject. Extra paths led me to powerful battles towards highly effective Formidable Foes, enemy bases I may seize if I cleared out all of the enemies inside, and hidden areas with further loot.
My goal was to succeed in a big central space known as a Crucible. These are difficult areas full of powerful yokai, however with a twist: once you take harm whereas preventing them, you’ll be with Life Corrosion, which reduces your whole well being. Defeating enemies can cut back the corrosion, however as I fought via the world to the ultimate boss of the situation, I needed to battle fastidiously and handle my well being to verify I wasn’t overwhelmed.
Battling Noribotoke, an infinite yokai boss
The Crucible’s climax was a battle towards Noribotoke, a towering statue delivered to life by twisting black tendrils. Like in previous entries within the sequence, as I dealt harm to the boss, it will periodically remodel and tackle new assault patterns and skills. In Noribotoke’s case, meaning splitting the stone statue items in order that the tendrils can stretch out, increasing the boss’s vary and making it a lot sooner and extra harmful.
This battle actually highlighted how all of the weapons in your arsenal can come collectively. I spent quite a lot of time in Samurai type, deflecting assaults and getting in hits to decrease Noribotoke’s Ki. Each time I may deplete it or land a Burst Break counter, I laid into the boss with the Ninja type to deal as a lot harm as doable earlier than getting clear to keep away from the boss’s sweeping assaults. That strategy, mixed with highly effective Guardian Spirit skills and Soul Core summons I discovered alongside the best way, ultimately introduced Noribotoke down and dispelled the Crucible as soon as and for all.
Nioh 3 presents you with a complete lot of fight choices to maintain observe of, and at first, it may be quite a bit to handle. However by the top of my three-hour preview, all these skills had come collectively to make fight in Nioh 3 really feel quick, fluid, and highly effective, at the same time as I took on some very difficult enemies. Having all these skills provides you the chance to create a preventing type that works for you from a bunch of choices, and consistently rewards you for increase your expertise and exploring its bigger open world to search out methods to reinforce them much more.
You possibly can see how Nioh 3’s preventing types, fight skills, and open subject ranges come collectively for your self when the sport launches on February 6, 2026 for PS5.
