Nioh 3 will be released early next year, marking the long-awaited return of Team Ninja's exciting and gritty action series. The developer briefly changed tracks in 2023 with excellent Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, who applied a similar demonic mythological premise to the Age of the Three Kingdoms in China. But for many, Nioh 3 will be the comeback that many fans have been waiting for since 2020 and the release Nioh 2.
I recently encountered Nioh 3 at the pre-event and my impressions so far have been mostly positive. In the meantime, I was able to speak with the game's producers Kohei Shibata and Fumihiko Yasuda to learn more about its development, the team's approach to difficulty, the balance of new fighting styles, and more.
Two (positions) required
I started the interview by asking about the most important changes and improvements the team wanted to make. Nioh 3. Two key aspects stood out here.
“There are actually two elements that we wanted to improve in this game,” Shibata said. “We really wanted to improve on the action elements from the first two games.
“In this game we wanted to look at different styles of action. We kept the Samurai style, which was and still is a feet-on-the-ground fighting style. But now we also have the Ninja style, where you have a lot more speed and an emphasis on being quick and spontaneity in your actions.”
“The second element,” he continued, “will be the design of the open field level. Nioh was based on individual missions. But the open field gives the player much more exploration and more strategic options.
“For example, before, if there was a boss you couldn't beat, you didn't have much choice but to replay that stage. Now with the open field format [in Nioh 3]you might decide, “Maybe I'll take a different route” or “Maybe I'll do the other mission first and then come back and defeat this boss.” This gives players a lot more options in terms of how they want to approach the game, and I think we've also been able to really expand the freedom of opportunity for players.”
To inform gameplay and system changes Nioh 3, I asked if in the six years since then, Nioh 2 For the release, the team took inspiration from other Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo projects.
“Yes, names like Ninja Gaiden 4 And Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty were developed in parallel with Nioh 3,– Yasuda replied. “And this element of the open world or open field Rise of the Ronin was also developed in parallel with Nioh 3.
“So we take inspiration from our own games. And some of the team [working on Nioh 3] we also worked on other games, so we definitely took inspiration from those games.”
New challenge
Nioh the games are difficult even by soul standards. Even the main enemies can be unpredictable, hit like a truck, or even work in tandem with other enemies to surround the player. Late-game challenges such as Twilight missions and New Game Plus playthroughs also often require absolute mastery of the series' systems.
WITH Nioh 3, players have something to work on. Whether it's switching styles between samurai and ninja, or even just the ability to jump and crouch, we're much more flexible and adaptable in this third game. In this regard, I asked Nioh 3 will still pose a major challenge to players, even if their characters are more capable than ever before.
“In terms of the difficulty and strength of the enemies,” Shibata said, “I think everything remains the same. [as the first two games]. But since there's a lot more freedom this time around, it gives players a lot more options to find the best way to defeat these enemies. For example, players may choose to only play as a samurai, or maybe they only want to play as a ninja, or they can switch between the two. But in terms of basic difficulty, the enemies remain the same. It maintains the same high level of complexity.”
Later, I wanted to know if the team had ever considered adding easier difficulty options, perhaps for players who want to enjoy the story or try out different builds with reduced stress.
“This is something we never considered for Nioh The series,” Shibata replied confidently, “one of the core elements of the series really gives you a sense of accomplishment.” That's what we really value about this game.”
Shibata confirmed that the open field format and the new strategies it offers players should help them better prepare for Nioh 3 the most difficult tasks in a freer form.
He then talked about how difficulty options are added depending on the context of each specific Team Ninja game: “As for Team Ninja as a whole, take Stranger from Paradise: final fantasy Source. We attract fans of this IP, so we want to make sure that these fans can get into this game.
“And with Ninja Gaiden series, we have always had different difficulty levels. So if it works for the show, we'll think about it. But for Nioh series, we settled on the same difficulty level.”
Professional Performance
I also wanted to ask the team about PS5 Pro-features, given that the pre-event build of the game was running on Sonypremium car.
“Since this is an enhanced PS5 Pro game, you can use PSSR,” Shibata explained. “And in terms of framerate, that's obviously the biggest difference between the PS5 Pro and the base version. PS5“
Shibata didn't elaborate on the performance difference between the PS5 Pro and the base PS5 here. I'm happy to report that I didn't experience any frame drops during my preview session. Although, during the Alpha demo on my base PS5 at home, I remember experiencing occasional drops in overall performance. Of course, this was an older version of the game, so things may have improved since then, but it's certainly something to keep in mind when starting the game.
He explained that the team generally preferred a lightweight approach when it came to DualSenseexclusive features.
“There is something,” he said. “When you use a bow and arrow, when you draw your bow [with the trigger]you can feel this reaction. But we also try not to overdo it with haptic feedback. Being an action game, it needs speed and responsiveness. If we rely too much on haptics, it can make the gameplay experience less responsive for players, so we make sure we get the balance right here too.”
An adventure for the ages?
Lastly, I'd like to touch on settings Nioh 3. While still set in Japan, in roughly the same time frame as the first two games, things are a little different. Nioh 3 Part of the plot will involve a time travel element, and we will be jumping back and forth between several different periods of Japanese history.
“For each time period, you will be able to do certain things. By going back in time, you do things that can change the future. Then you may find that you can go back in time and find things that you previously could not do in that period.”
Shibata explained that time travel will be used for both gameplay and Nioh 3 story that says, “Each era you visit will look different. One might be engulfed in flames, while another will be more like an ice world.
“As an example, the Heian period will be shrouded in snow storms, which never happened in real history (laughs), but for the purposes of this game, we decided to show it that way. And as for the changes in various areas, those who are well versed in Japanese history will probably be able to notice differences in the way buildings or structures appear in the world.
“But I think for most people around the world who are not familiar with Japanese history, the different settings and environments make it easier for players to understand that they are in different time periods.
“For example, in the Heian period, we'll have traps or elements unique to that ice-covered world. And so the way you need to progress in each era also changes because you'll need different strategies to face different environments.”
This all sounds impressively visually different from the first two. Nioh games. But we won't see everything that happens until Nioh 3 will be released on February 6, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
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