Nioh 3 feels like an amalgamation of Team Ninja’s work over the past nine years. It’s still quintessentially Nioh, but also draws on elements from two of the Japanese studio’s most recent games, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Rise of the Ronin, applying and repurposing aspects of them to fit Nioh’s distinctive style. The end result is a studio hitting its stride with evident confidence: a team galvanized and inspired after taking time away from the series to explore new ideas before returning in triumphant fashion, lessons learned. Nioh 3 is Team Ninja firing on all cylinders, expanding and refining combat systems that were already sublime, while introducing more exploration and discovery through its shift to a rewarding “open field” design.
Nioh has always fallen under the souls-like umbrella; there are bonfire equivalents, “souls” you lose on death, stat-scaling, a punishing difficulty, and level design centered around shortcuts. However, with its fast-paced, stance-switching combat and historical Japanese setting, Nioh pulls more from fighting games and the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Tenchu, and Onimusha than From Software’s output, effectively differentiating the series with its own idiosyncratic flavor. Nioh 2 built upon the first game’s strong foundations, and now Nioh 3 takes things a step further. It’s bigger and better, broader and more complex, yet oddly more approachable than its predecessors–without losing any of its bite.
One of Nioh 3’s most significant new additions is the introduction of two distinct combat styles: Samurai and Ninja. Each one is essentially its own build, with unique weapons and armor attached, and you can instantly switch between them on the fly to chain combos, poise-break your opponent, and whittle down their health. Samurai is Nioh as you know it, emphasizing deflects; stance-switching; heavier weapons such as katanas, switchglaives, and spears; and the series’ signature Ki Pulse, where hitting R1 after attacking will instantly recover some lost stamina. There are new techniques at your disposal, too, such as an Arts Gauge that charges when attacking and guarding against enemy attacks, allowing you to unleash enhanced versions of both strong attacks and Martial Arts (customizable combat maneuvers you can unlock), dealing extra damage without consuming any Ki.
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