Nioh 3 Review

I went into Nioh 3 with very low expectations, and that is probably the biggest compliment I can give it. I do not usually enjoy soulslike games. I am not particularly good at them, and more often than not they end up frustrating me rather than pulling me back in. Elden Ring is the perfect example. While I can appreciate why people love it, the lack of clear direction and constant feeling of being lost never really clicked with me. It felt like a game that demanded a level of time, patience and skill that I simply do not always have.

So when I was asked to review Nioh 3, I fully expected more of the same. Hard for the sake of being hard, vague progression, and a game I would bounce off after a few hours.

That could not be further from the truth.

I am genuinely, very pleasantly surprised by just how much I like Nioh 3. In fact, I absolutely love it so far. Do not get me wrong, it is still a challenging game with a steep learning curve, and there have been plenty of moments where I have hit a wall and spent far longer than I would like to admit stuck on certain bosses. The difference here is that I actually want to push through. I am interested enough, invested enough, and enjoying myself enough to persevere.

That alone says a lot.

One of the biggest wins for Nioh 3 is its open world. It feels alive, dense, and thoughtfully designed. At no point did I feel like I was wandering through empty space just for the sake of scale. There is always something to do, something to fight, or something to discover. Exploration feels meaningful, not like filler.

Enemy variety plays a huge role here. You will move between relatively mundane encounters that let you breathe, and then suddenly be confronted by enemies that are overwhelming in size, stature, and sheer power. Some of these encounters are genuinely intimidating, especially when you stumble into them unprepared. That sense of danger never really goes away, and I think that is part of what makes exploration so rewarding.

What Nioh 3 does exceptionally well, especially compared to Elden Ring, is direction. My biggest gripe with Elden Ring was always how aimless it felt at times, particularly for a more casual player who might only get short bursts of playtime. Nioh 3 strikes a fantastic balance. It gives you a clear sense of purpose and progression without ever holding your hand or limiting exploration. You generally know what you are working towards, but how you get there is still largely up to you.

For someone like me, that balance makes all the difference.

As someone who rarely plays soulslike games, I was not expecting to enjoy the combat as much as I do. It is deep, demanding, and highly technical, but it also feels fair. When I die, more often than not I know exactly why. That might sound obvious, but it is not something every game in this genre manages to pull off.

There is a genuine sense of satisfaction when you finally take down a difficult enemy or boss. The difficulty feels tuned in a way that rewards learning and patience rather than pure reflexes or endurance. Yes, there are moments of frustration, and yes, some bosses took me a very long time to clear. But every victory felt earned, not lucky.

For me, Nioh 3 finds the right balance between difficulty and enjoyability. It is hard enough to be rewarding, but not so punishing that it pushes me away. That is something I never quite felt with Elden Ring, and it is the main reason I keep coming back to Nioh 3 instead of putting the controller down in defeat.

Visually, Nioh 3 looks great. The environments are detailed, atmospheric, and do an excellent job of reinforcing the tone of the world. Enemy designs are varied and often striking, especially the larger, more monstrous foes that genuinely feel threatening. That said, performance has not been flawless. I have experienced some dropped frames from time to time, particularly when there is a lot happening on screen at once. It is not constant, and it has not ruined the experience for me, but it is noticeable enough to be worth mentioning.

On the plus side, the world consistently rewards players for exploration. Hidden paths, optional encounters, and unexpected loot make taking risks feel worthwhile. The game actively encourages you to step off the beaten path, even when doing so might get you killed. More often than not, the reward justifies the danger.

The story is where Nioh 3 falls a little short for me.

To be fair, this could partly be my own fault. I skipped most of the cutscenes, and not because they were poorly made, but because I simply could not stand the English voice acting. Hearing fully English voices coming from characters that should clearly be Japanese completely broke immersion for me. I found it incredibly distracting, to the point where I struggled to take the story seriously.

I could not buy into it, and as a result, I disengaged from it entirely.

Because of this, the narrative never really grabbed me. It feels like there is an interesting story there, but it is presented in a way that did not work for me personally. Between the voice acting and my decision to skip scenes, the story ended up feeling like the weakest part of the overall package.

The menus and progression systems in Nioh 3 are extremely involved. There is a lot going on. Skills, stats, equipment, upgrades, and systems layered on top of systems. For players familiar with the Nioh franchise, this will probably feel normal or even welcome. For someone like me, who has never played a Nioh game before, it was overwhelming at first. There is definitely a learning curve here, and the game does not always do the best job of easing new players into its complexity.

Once things start to click, the depth becomes one of the game’s strengths, but that initial barrier may be intimidating for newcomers.

Overall, I think Nioh 3 is a fantastic game, slightly spoiled by off putting voice overs and occasional performance stutters that I am certain will be fixed with a day one patch. Despite that, it has completely won me over.

As someone who does not like the genre, I am having a genuinely great time. The combat is satisfying, the world is engaging, and the balance between challenge and enjoyment is spot on for me. I plan to keep playing this for a long time to come.

Honestly, the game itself, voices aside, is a solid 9/10. The voice acting ends up costing it points due to its impact on immersion and story engagement, which brings the final score down slightly.

Even so, I am very, very glad I agreed to review Nioh 3. It has surprised me in the best possible way and is already shaping up as an early contender in the game of the year conversation.