Nioh 3 hands-on preview: More Ninja Gaiden than Dark Souls

Nioh 3 promises to be a masterpiece in the making, if my recent preview is anything to go by. I recently took a trip to Koei Tecmo America, to meet up with the developers from Team Ninja, as well as spend several hours hands-on and hip-deep in Kyoto, Japan. While I’m the first to admit that I’m not exactly a Soulslike pro, like many of my colleagues are, I love the setting, I loved the first two Nioh titles, and I’m a sucker for an intense action RPG.

That’s exactly what I got here. Nioh 3 has some truly intense gameplay, challenging, but not crushing battles, and plenty of ways to explore, grow more powerful, and immerse yourself in this world. It’s brilliant, it’s fun, and perhaps best of all, you won’t have to play and master the previous games first to enjoy it. It will help, though.

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Nioh 3 is a wild, historical fiction slugfest that transcends time

I’m a sucker for historical fiction, that’s what we’re getting with Nioh 3. While it takes place in several eras (Sengoku Jidai, Bakumatsu), this new storyline is set around the role of the Shogunate. Tokugawa Takechiyo, grandson to Tokugawa Ieyasu is set to become the next Shogunate, but his brother, who did, historically speaking, feud with him to become Shogun, intercedes.

A horde of yokai have infested Japan, and we're going to clear them all out (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Instead of Tokugawa Kunimatsu using his own forces to battle for the role of leader, he unleashes a swarm of yokai, turning Japan into a grotesque landscape, a shell of what it once was. It promises to be an interesting story, and will take place across several of Japan’s most turbulent years. While we only got a slice of the game to play, it was a very large one, that’s for sure.

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Nioh 3 gives players the power to hotswap between Samurai and Ninja playstyles at will

There's nothing more satisfying than getting them before they get you (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of Nioh 3 comes from the evolution of the Samurai and Ninja gameplay. You can swap between two distinct styles whenever you want, and in fact, there’s a mechanic that rewards you for doing so. When powerful enemies surround themselves in a red aura, you can Burst Break, which cancels their attack, and swaps to your other style of combat.

Samurai is going to mostly feel very similar to how they were before. You still have stances, and you can still guard against powerful attacks. Stances will be unlocked though, and they also have a new Arts Gauge that builds as you attack and block.

Use Mist as a Ninja to baffle your foes and strike from behind (Image via Koei Tecmo)

You can use this to unleash Strong attacks and Martial Arts, that can reduce ki consumption, increase damage dealt, and allow you to consecutively use Martial Arts. Weapons have skill trees that allow you to unlock more Martial Arts as well.

Ninja is a lightning fast, agile playstyle, as you probably could expect. Ninja attacks use less Ki, and can evade, but eventually, they can even dodge while jumping, which allows them to be even more reckless and wild.

My favorite part of the Ninja playstyle is using Mist. Weave Mist into your attack chains to create a smoke bomb effect, and get behind your opponent, or distance yourself. It doesn’t regenerate Ki, though. You’ll want to use perfect evade to replenish your Ninjutsu and Arts Gauge instead.

When you see the blue pulse of energy, you've successfully Ki Pulsed (Image via Koei Tecmo)

That’s right, you even get a suite of awesome Ninjutsu to use in Nioh 3! It will depend on what weapon you’re using, because, like the Samurai, they have a skill tree that will help you unlock more powerful Ninjutsu.

It’s going to be important to master both styles, but I have a feeling there are going to be players that will prefer to just use one, and that’s certainly a way you can play Nioh 3. It might be harder in some sections, but I can say for certain that you can stick to just one if you want.

Combat isn’t just constant hack-and-slash, either. As we mentioned, attacks require Ki, but how do you get it back? By pressing a button at the right time, after an attack, you can Ki Pulse, which helps recover Ki. Learning to weave Ki Pulses into your combos is really going to separate the good from the great. Thankfully, enemies can’t recover Ki, and if you deplete their meter, you can use a Grapple to deal a devastating, likely fatal attack.

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The “open world” of Nioh 3 comes in the form of huge, explorable, replayable maps and missions

The world of Nioh 3 sounds like it’s going to be colossal. We only saw a small slice of the game, Kyoto 1864 CE, in the Bakumatsu era. Admittedly, our characters were incredibly high level, and kitted out with powerful gear, but we kept getting more and more of it was we explored, fought deadly enemies, and overcame bosses.

This area was absolutely chock-full of treasure chests to crack open, enemies to summon and fight, a few bosses, and lots of shrines for easy fast travel. We even had access to quite a few of the Guardian Spirits (Summons) to help out in combat. Some just deal tons of damage, while others instead do tricky things like paralyze foes.

There’s a decent amount of verticality too, making it more than just running through the streets. There are things to climb, jump over, mysterious creatures to collect for rewards, and of course, enemy packs that patrol around.

This is only a small section of the map we explored (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Anytime you want to tackle a previously completed mission, it’s as easy as going to a shrine, and interacting with it. Like many Soulslike titles, this is also where you do all of your leveling up, and various upgrade/power increasing functions. You can also play co-op online, if you want to have an ally help (or carry) you through dangerous situations.

Whether it was sneaking up on enemies to devastate them, or triggering traps, only to find I was in the wrong location, I had so much fun playing Nioh 3. It’s not all constant carnage, though. We also stumbled into a Hot Spring, where you can take a moment, relax, and unwind, before returning to battle. Part of the challenge in Nioh 3’s maps is the Crucible, though. There are sections of each map that are Crucible levels, where the yokai are stronger, and you’ll need to clear wave after wave until you defeat the boss, and purify the area.

When exploring, do watch out for traps (Image via Koei Tecmo)

It’s going to be so important to avoid taking damage in Crucible/Lesser Crucible areas, because you temporarily lose maximum HP, due to Life Corrosion. Defeating enemies, dealing damage, or returning to your grave (if you die), will help clear away Life Corrosion.

For the player that wants just a bit more challenge, you can equip Crucible Weapons that hit harder, but also make you take more Life Corrosion. It’s not required, but I imagine it will be worthwhile for the most skilled players to take advantage of this.

If you think you’re just going to be in one region over and over again, you can think again. Nioh 3 will be taking place in the Edo, Sengoku, Heian, and Bakumatsu eras, and they will take place in three major areas: Totomi, Kyoto, and Edo. There’s just so much to talk about, players will just have to see and believe how much there is to do.

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Final Thoughts: Nioh 3 is friendly to beginners and long-time pros alike

Nioh 3 is a beautiful, intense game, and while a great deal of the map we explored was grim, gross, and dark, it was also beautiful. The yokai designs are great, the boss encounters are suitably epic, and there are tons of weapon variations, so you can play in a way that suits you.

I could talk all day about the ways you can explore, tackling Cruicbles, the patrolling groups of enemies called Crucible Spikes, or the various spirits that are on your side. I do want to highlight the new Chijiko, which are a new type of helpful yokai.

They fly around on the map, and they love it when you shoot them with arrows and bullets. Finding and hitting them will secure you useful rewards. Kodama and Scampuss are still around, but I wanted to at least mention the cute, new Chijiko. If you’re looking for a challenging new action RPG, whether you’ve played Nioh 1 & 2, Nioh 3 is definitely going to be for you.

It’s a new story, with incredible action, and a compelling narrative. It’s absolutely going to put even the best players to the test, when it launches on February 6, 2026.