Review Kilroy09 3/5 · Jun 24, 2026
For me, the "foreigner in Japan" trope has never been done better than it was with William in the original Nioh. Thus I have a deep, fond attachment to this series. While Nioh 2 delivered a solid story and vastly improved the gameplay, the self-contained nature of these games meant I honestly wasn't expecting a Nioh 3. Going into this …
For me, the "foreigner in Japan" trope has never been done better than it was with William in the original Nioh. Thus I have a deep, fond attachment to this series. While Nioh 2 delivered a solid story and vastly improved the gameplay, the self-contained nature of these games meant I honestly wasn't expecting a Nioh 3. Going into this unexpected sequel, my expectations were a bit of a blank slate.
The biggest selling point of Nioh 3 is, without a doubt, its combat. The controls are incredibly tight, feeling like a definitive upgrade even from Nioh 2. You feel like you have absolute, precise control over your weapons.
However, the combat balance has a glaring issue: the game is clearly designed in favor of the Ninja style. Playing as a Ninja makes the game significantly easier, leaving the Samurai style feeling under-tuned by comparison. Outside of combat, the exploration suffers. The return of random, randomized loot makes scouring the environments feel less than fun, and at times, entirely meaningless. Especially if you focus solely on just one weapon throughout the entire game.
The core of Nioh is slaying yokai, but Nioh 3 takes it to a ridiculous extreme. There are simply too many of them, leaving the game feeling heavily bloated.
Compounding this is the game's over-reliance on the past. Virtually every mini boss from the previous two games is reused here. When the game does introduce original bosses, they are actually quite good, though the final boss ends up feeling a bit lackluster after everything you go through to reach them.
The narrative revolves around two siblings fighting for the title of Shogun. The concept of walking through different time periods is excellent, but the core sibling rivalry could have been explored much deeper.
Unfortunately, the cast largely falls flat. None of the characters are particularly memorable, except for a few introduced in the final era. The main villains across the three primary eras are incredibly dull, with the overarching main villain being the dullest of the bunch. Though I did liked his sister, maybe a romance option-
Visually, the game is a step backward. Both previous games looked better, but Nioh 1 in particular had a distinct feel and art direction that this third entry sorely lacks. I know the sequels sold well with their expanded scope, but personally, this series felt better when it was tightly linear like the first game.
The audio is perfectly fine, but nothing special. The main theme is the only memorable track in the game; I genuinely can't recall a single other piece of music from my playthrough.
I actually do want to replay this game just to try out every single weapon type, but the length genuinely scares me. Because you have to grind a massive amount of EXP just to be on equal footing with the bosses, experimenting feels like a chore. I just don't know if trying a new weapon is worth another 30 hours of what eventually becomes mundane gameplay.
Nioh 3 is a game of extreme highs and frustrating lows. Its biggest strength is its excellent, upgraded combat system, but its weakest points are the bloated enemy encounters, the recycled bosses, and the tedious grind.
Score: 3 / 5
