The hanging factor about Nioh 3, even in comparison to the primary two video games, is what number of choices you’ve got in any given struggle. An enormous choice of guns, stances, and talents to create an infinite array of fast moving assaults, and will let you continue to exist in opposition to devastating, robust combatants.
Writer Koei Tecmo lately gave me an opportunity to move hands-on and discover a brand new space of Nioh 3, entire with a couple of difficult bosses to struggle. Right here’s the whole thing I discovered, noticed, and fought alongside the best way.
Venturing thru a corrupted town and a brand new period of time
Nioh 3 places you within the function of a Tokugawa Takechiyo, who’s at the precipice of turning into the following shogun of the Sengoku generation, ahead of their brother, Tokugawa Kunimatsu, kicks off a civil struggle to take a look at to take over with a military of infantrymen and ordinary yokai spirits. However Nioh 3 received’t simply take you thru other bodily places — you’ll trip to other time sessions as you discover its expansive “open box” ranges, as neatly. My preview came about in an occupied, corrupted Kyoto within the Bakumatsu length.
Like a large number of issues in Nioh 3, the open box solution to its ranges appears like a herbal enlargement of the sequence’ previous concepts. You’ll nonetheless frequently struggle and discover your method down paths that loop again on themselves with shortcuts, however ranges are a lot higher, with aspect paths, hidden spaces, and further goals — a few of that are handiest available with the brand new bounce skill. All that exploration supplies avid gamers with choices; for those who run up in opposition to a struggle that’s too difficult, you’ll check out elsewhere, frequently finding alternatives to energy up your personality and earn further rewards.
Fluid preventing with two types
With every new Nioh sport, developer Workforce Ninja builds on a basis of fast moving action-RPG struggle, however Nioh 3 turns a solid construction of cool struggle talents right into a glittering tower of choices.
As we noticed in our Tokyo Video games Display hands-on document, on the middle of Nioh 3’s struggle is the returning Samurai taste and the brand new Ninja taste. The Samurai taste is extra stalwart and defensive, whilst the Ninja taste is speedy and extremely agile. You’ll transfer between types straight away by means of hitting R2, applying every one’s strengths relying at the scenario. The use of the switch mid-battle, you’ll briefly and fluidly chain in combination assaults and talents from each types. Finished on the proper second, you’ll really feel like a skillful wrecking ball as you pummel an opponent.
The 2 stances additional extend on Nioh’s Mother or father Spirit talents, Soul Cores, and heap of guns — the choice of struggle choices you’ve got in any given struggle is sort of overwhelming. If you get the grasp of all of it, even though, the liberty makes you’re feeling like a ridiculously speedy, fatal warrior, chaining all varieties of assaults in combination in a torrent of blades and blasts of magic.
Deflect blows to realize a bonus
My favourite new addition to Nioh 3’s struggle is Deflect, a parry mechanic that fees your Ki and Arts meters while you completely time a block by means of hitting the guard button, L1, as an assault lands. The parry lets you use fast reflexes to take care of your aggression even in opposition to massive bosses and hard foes. With all of the different choices you’ve got to be had in struggle, it’s a herbal addition that rewards you for skillful play.
Useful haptics
Workforce Ninja provides to the texture of struggle with the DualSense controller’s haptic comments, emphasizing a large number of its parts. You’ll really feel moves and assault as you deflect or land them, whilst the adaptive triggers channel parts like drawing again a bow string. Alternatively, the builders mentioned they have been cautious to not overdo it and make haptics distracting, for the reason that sport makes a speciality of fast reactions and rapid inputs.
Taking down Takasugi Shinsaku
The educational phase of the preview culminated in a chairman struggle in opposition to samurai Takasugi Shinsaku. A snappy, agile fighter, he regularly switched between robust, speedy sword blows and briefly firing bullets from a revolver. The ones pictures have been matched by means of projectile assaults from his Mother or father Spirit, who fought along him during the struggle.
Agility used to be the secret in opposition to Takasugi, whose velocity and incessant seize assaults may make it difficult to Deflect his moves. However when I after all beaten him, we turned into allies, running in combination to transparent the corruption from Kyoto.
Scuffling with throughout the Crucible
The second one part of the extent I performed emphasised the “open” a part of the open box. Extra paths led me to difficult battles in opposition to robust Ambitious Foes, enemy bases I may seize if I cleared out all of the enemies within, and hidden spaces with further loot.
My goal used to be to succeed in a big central space referred to as a Crucible. Those are difficult spaces full of difficult yokai, however with a twist: when you are taking injury whilst preventing them, you’ll be troubled with Existence Corrosion, which reduces your general well being. Defeating enemies can scale back the corrosion, however as I fought throughout the space to the general boss of the positioning, I needed to struggle sparsely and organize my well being to ensure I wasn’t beaten.
Scuffling with Noribotoke, a huge yokai boss
The Crucible’s climax used to be a struggle in opposition to Noribotoke, a towering statue dropped at lifestyles by means of twisting black tendrils. Like in previous entries within the sequence, as I dealt injury to the boss, it will periodically turn out to be and tackle new assault patterns and talents. In Noribotoke’s case, that suggests 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 unhealthy.
This struggle in reality highlighted how all of the guns to your arsenal can come in combination. I spent a large number of time in Samurai shape, deflecting assaults and getting into hits to decrease Noribotoke’s Ki. Every time I may fritter away it or land a Burst Spoil counter, I laid into the boss with the Ninja taste to deal as a lot injury as imaginable ahead of getting transparent to keep away from the boss’s sweeping assaults. That means, mixed with robust Mother or father Spirit talents 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 items you with numerous struggle choices to stay monitor of, and to start with, it may be so much to regulate. However by means of the top of my three-hour preview, all the ones talents had come in combination to make struggle in Nioh 3 really feel speedy, fluid, and robust, whilst I took on some very difficult enemies. Having all the ones talents will provide you with the chance to create a preventing taste that works for you from a bunch of choices, and repeatedly rewards you for build up your abilities and exploring its higher open international to seek out tactics to improve them much more.
You’ll see how Nioh 3’s preventing types, struggle talents, and open box ranges come in combination for your self when the sport launches on February 6, 2026 for PS5.
