Team Ninja managed to carve its own niche out of the soulslike genre when it released Nioh back in 2016. It successfully combined the fast-paced, brutal combat the studio is known for with the intricate level design and world-building of the soulslike genre. Nioh 3 is the most ambitious title in the franchise to date. Team Ninja takes what it has learned from previous entries in the series, ditching the mission-based structure in favor of open zones to progress through. The combat system has also been revamped, allowing players to swap between Samurai and Ninja styles with the press of a button.

Do these changes to combat and shift to open zone exploration shake things up enough to make a difference? Or does Nioh 3 bite off more than it can chew? The answer is somewhere in between.

Nioh 3 is A Tale Through Time

Nioh 3’s story is not so different from its predecessors in that it relies on interconnecting real figures from Japan’s history but throws in a huge dose of supernatural intrigue and influence. You take on the role of Tokugawa Takechiyo, the soon to be annointed Shogun of Japan. You and your brother, Kunimatsu, are training when your palace is suddenly attacked by a horde of yokai. After it is revealed that your brother Kunimatsu is behind the attack, you are suddenly sent back in time to the Sengoku period. From here, you will meet many historical figures from Japan’s history and battle your way through thousands of yokai trying to find out the history of your lineage and why your brother has turned on you and your people while jumping between multiple time periods. 

The story is serviceable and does enough to get you from point A to point B while sprinkling in some gorgeous cinematics to keep you intrigued. However, I can’t say that the story is particularly good. This is mainly due to the overwhelming cast of characters you will meet throughout your journey. The story segments of Nioh 3 move at such a breakneck pace that it is hard to get to know any of these characters, many of whom will pop up for very brief moments, not to return till hours later, leaving me scrambling my brain trying to remember who they are and what their motivations were. This is a common issue throughout the series, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to those familiar with Nioh. I just would have preferred if Team Ninja had given a little bit more time to these characters and the story in between the huge setpieces and boss fights to let me grow attached to them and their role in the overall story.

Discovering Japan

As I mentioned earlier, Nioh 3 is Team Ninja’s most ambitious game yet. The decision to drop the mission-based structure in favor of open explorable areas is one Team Ninja doesn’t take lightly, and you can tell that a lot of care went into designing each area. And with the addition of a dedicated jump button (a double jump even!), there are so many more ways to explore your surroundings. Each zone is split up into different regions, each of which has its own exploration level. There are a ton of side quests to discover, crucibles to cleanse, as well as lost Kodama, Scampuss, Chijiko, and Jizo statues to find hidden throughout each region. As you complete side quests, cleanse crucibles, and discover these hidden collectibles, you will raise the level of the region, granting you small bonus stat boosts or marking important locations, like hidden chests or Kodamas you may have missed in the region. 

Each open zone feels like a connected space with multiple paths, shortcuts, and points of interest that reward curiosity. You are rarely left disappointed when you decide to explore, as there is almost always something meaningful just off the main route, whether it be a hidden encounter, a shortcut back to a shrine, or a hidden chest full of loot.  The region leveling system is a smart design choice that reinforces this sense of discovery, making it genuinely worthwhile to check every corner of each map. That doesn’t mean Nioh 3 avoids the pitfalls other open-world or open-zone games often fall into. As you unlock new maps, the initial excitement of exploration gradually gives way to fatigue. There is simply so much to do in each area that the constant pull of optional activities starts to feel overwhelming. Hearing the bells of a Chijiko or the soft purr of a Scampuss becomes less charming over time, as it signals yet another interruption to the main story and another reason to comb the area before moving on.

Nioh 3 feels slightly bloated in a way the previous two games didn’t. This is somewhat surprising, as I managed to finish Nioh 3 in just under 50 hours, nearly half the time it took me to complete Nioh 2. The difference comes down to structure. The mission-based progression of the earlier games helped maintain momentum, presenting optional content as something to tackle at your leisure. In Nioh 3, that same content is always present and impossible to ignore, hovering over every region and ultimately dragging down the pacing in a way that can feel oppressive.

A Hell of a Legacy

For players disappointed by the shift away from tight, mission-based level design, Crucibles are the closest Nioh 3 comes to returning to that philosophy, functioning as legacy dungeons within its broader open-zone structure. These linear environments are filled with more aggressive enemies and focus on pushing you toward the center of the stage to clear the Crucible’s corruption. Along the way, you unlock shortcuts back to shrines, fight sub-bosses, and discover Crucible weapons with unique abilities to learn. These sections are expertly designed to funnel you from one intense encounter to the next, with light platforming challenges and a handful of hidden chests breaking up the action.

You can tell these segments are where the game is most confident. The open map beyond the Crucibles fades into the background, leaving a focused experience built around Nioh 3’s greatest strengths. The combat feels at its most refined here, the level design stands among the best in the series, and the boss fights are absolute adrenaline rushes. While the game doesn’t lose this identity in its open zones, that broader structure consistently pulls attention in too many directions, causing Nioh 3 to lose focus and struggle with pacing and momentum.

Dual Combat Roles

Combat has always been where Nioh has separated itself from other Soulslikes, and Nioh 3 brings forth the best combat of the series so far. The ability to instantly swap between Samurai and Ninja styles adds a layer of flexibility that allows you to be prepared for almost any situation. Samurai combat emphasizes strong attacks, ki management, and defensive play, while Ninja style favors speed, mobility, and aggressive combos. Both styles also have access to exclusive weapons that you will want to find synergies between in order to best take advantage of each style’s strengths and weaknesses. Being able to shift between the two on the fly creates the opportunity to come up with some crazy combos and adapt to whatever situation you could be thrown into.

That being said, Nioh 3 still finds ways to catch you off guard, especially in the incredible boss battles. These aren’t battles of attrition, they are tests of skill and reflexes.  Bosses will unleash devastating combo attacks and are relentless in their pursuit to crush you, making poke and run tactics near impossible. Instead, you will have to be just as aggressive and take advantage when they leave you openings. Many describe boss battles in soulslike games as dances, insinuating you follow each boss’s movements and just allow yourself to follow their lead. Nioh 3’s boss fights are not so much a dance but moshpits where you have to keep your head on a swivel at all times because you never know when an errant elbow might crack you over the side of the head, leaving you disoriented on the ground. 

For the most part, these boss fights are chaotic, adrenaline-pumping fun, but there are some absolutely devastating difficulty spikes at times, especially in the latter half of the game. These spikes wouldn’t feel so out of place if there were a smoother ramp-up preceding and following these encounters. There were a couple of times I would be stuck on a particular boss for literal hours, only to beat the next boss in one or two tries. There is an inconsistency with the difficulty in the second half of Nioh 3 that left me feeling more frustrated than anything after completing a particular challenge.

A Bold Move Forward

Nioh 3 is an ambitious evolution of the series. Its revamped combat system is the strongest the franchise has ever seen, offering an incredible amount of flexibility and depth with its dual class roles and loadouts. When the game narrows its focus, particularly within Crucibles and boss encounters, it delivers some of the most exhilarating combat and level design Team Ninja has ever produced.

However, the shift to open-zone exploration introduces a level of bloat and pacing issues that the series previously avoided. While exploration is consistently rewarding, the sheer volume of optional content and constant pressure to engage with it often undercuts the game’s momentum and stretches the experience thinner than necessary. Nioh 3 doesn’t lose sight of what makes the series great, but it does struggle to maintain focus across its sprawling structure. In the end, Nioh 3 is a great game that occasionally gets in its own way. It pushes the series forward in meaningful ways, even if some of its boldest ideas don’t fully stick the landing. For longtime fans, it remains a must-play, but it also serves as a reminder that bigger doesn’t always mean better.

Disclaimer: Koei Tecmo provided a PlayStation 5 copy of Nioh 3 for review purposes.