The Story: A New Era, A New Tokugawa

While Nioh 2 served as a prequel to the original game, Nioh 3 moves forward — past all the events of the first two games — into the early 17th century. You play as Tokugawa Takechiyo, grandchild of the legendary Tokugawa Ieyasu, ascending toward the role of Shogun while battling yokai and supernatural forces in a Japan on the edge of a new era.

The narrative introduces time-transcending elements — Takechiyo visits different historical periods including the Sengoku, Heian, and Bakumatsu eras through a mysterious dimension called the Crucible Realm. A rival named Kunimatsu and the spirit Himiko are central to the story's conflict, which builds toward a decisive confrontation with the supernatural entity Hiruko. The ending gives players a meaningful choice: execute or spare Kunimatsu — and regardless of the outcome, Takechiyo takes the name Iemitsu and becomes the third Shogun of the Edo shogunate.

Critics noted the story is the weakest element of the package — somewhat convoluted and not as emotionally resonant as the broader mythology suggests. But for Nioh players, that has always been the contract: you come for the combat, you stay for the combat, and the story gives you context for who you are slaughtering next.

The Combat Revolution: Samurai Meets Ninja

The defining innovation of Nioh 3 is its dual combat style system — the biggest mechanical departure in the franchise's history.

Samurai Style is the classic Nioh experience: three weapon stances (High, Mid, Low), hard-hitting martial arts with katana, odachi, spear, and other traditional weapons, Ki Pulse mechanics for stamina recovery after attacks, and the familiar emphasis on timing, positioning, and punishing enemy openings. Veterans of Nioh 1 and 2 will feel immediately at home — but the new techniques and counters added in this entry deepen the already layered system further.

Ninja Style is something entirely new for the series. Gone are the weapon stances — replaced by three ninja tools that fundamentally change how you approach every encounter. This style emphasizes speed, aerial attacks, evasive maneuvers, and trick-based offense. Instead of Ki Pulse, Ninja Style features "Mist" — a mechanic that creates a clone of Takechiyo to distract enemies, enabling a quick dash behind them for devastating backstab damage. The Kusarigama chain sickle and Knuckles — previously Samurai weapons — now belong exclusively to Ninja Style, where their mobility-focused design fits perfectly.

Players can switch between the two styles instantly at any point during combat — mid-combo, mid-evasion, mid-boss fight. The result is a combat system of extraordinary depth: pure Samurai builds for those who want the classic Nioh mastery challenge, pure Ninja for those who want speed and mobility above all, and hybrid playstyles that chain samurai strikes into evasive ninja strings in ways the game actively rewards.

The Open World: Nioh's Biggest Leap

Nioh 3 abandons the series' linear mission-based map structure for a genuine open-field design. General producer Fumihiko Yasuda was careful not to call it an open world — the game is built around large, distinct, and interconnected zones rather than one seamless map — but the freedom of exploration represents the franchise's most significant structural evolution.

Hidden side paths, optional mini-bosses, yokai ambush points, villages with suspicious inhabitants, and secret gear scattered throughout the environments give Nioh 3 a sense of world-discovery that the previous games — structured as discrete missions — could never achieve. The signature Nioh tension remains: every corner could conceal something deadly, every new area demands respect.

Gravity zones, The Crucible endgame framework, and deeper optional challenges provide Nioh veterans with the brutal late-game content the series is renowned for. The campaign runs approximately 50 hours, and New Game+ — where the loot system truly opens up — adds significant additional depth.

Multiplayer: Summon Visitor and Expeditions

Online multiplayer returns with two distinct modes. Summon Visitor allows players to call for help mid-session when hitting a wall — the classic Soulslike co-op assistance mechanic, now more seamlessly integrated. Expeditions is the new addition: a mode that lets multiple players explore open-field zones together, tackling optional challenges and boss encounters cooperatively. For a series historically known for its brutal solo experience, Expeditions represents a genuine expansion of how the game can be played.

The Reception

96/100 on Metacritic — Universal Acclaim. OpenCritic rated it as "Mighty" with 94% of critics recommending. Steam peaked at 88,045 concurrent players at launch — double Nioh 2's all-time record. Gaming Respawn gave it an 8/10, praising the deep RPG mechanics, superb artwork, and 50-hour campaign. GamesRadar called it "brutal clashes across wide maps — this is all demon killer, no filler."

The consensus from critics across the board: Nioh 3 is the best game in the trilogy, the best Soulslike since Elden Ring, and proof that Team Ninja has earned a permanent place alongside FromSoftware at the top of the genre.

A Season Pass with two story DLC expansions is already confirmed — the first arriving by September 2026, the second by February 2027.

Conclusion

Nine years after the original Nioh redefined what historical action RPGs could be, Team Ninja has delivered their magnum opus. The dual combat system gives Nioh 3 a mechanical ceiling higher than anything the studio has previously built. The open-field exploration finally gives the dark mythology and rich world-building the space it deserves. And the relentless, demanding, deeply satisfying challenge that defines the franchise remains as sharp as ever.

If you have even a passing interest in the Soulslike genre and haven't tried Nioh 3 yet, the time is now.

Takechiyo will become Iemitsu. But first, every yokai in Edo Japan must fall.