Nioh goes character action
Nioh as a series defies its soulslike label by blending bits of character action and ARPG into a unique formula that, while difficult to grasp at first, ends up becoming extremely addictive once everything clicks into place. The first game in the franchise set a surprisingly high standard for a new IP, and Team Ninja has continuously iterated upon its legacy with titles like Wo Long, Rise of the Ronin, and one of my personal favorites, Stranger of Paradise, giving way to experiences that are equal parts tough as nails and charming.
Nioh 3 serves as the bold next step in the samurai action franchise, putting us in the shoes of Takechiyo, a soon-to-be shogun betrayed by his own brother out of jealousy. What follows is a struggle throughout history between the Tokugawa siblings and many larger-than-life depictions of historical Japanese figures, all while hellish yokai roam the lands as unstoppable forces of nature.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: PC (reviewed), PlayStation
One of Nioh 3’s biggest new features is the style switch system, which allows you to freely alternate between being a ninja or a samurai. While the samurai has access to weapon stances, ki pulses, and a universal parry for all weapons, serving as a more default experience, the ninja has access to a perfect dodge, backstabs, aerial combat, and ninjutsu tools, feeling much closer to a character action protagonist (maybe even a certain Hayabusa we know). Both sides of the coin are on relatively equal terms, with personal preference dictating which style you’ll spend most of your time in.
While I personally decided to invest into the samurai style because I value my defensive options too much in a game as hard as Nioh, I can definitely see how the ninja’s constant flow of ninjutsu can create an addictive gameplay loop as you overwhelm enemies with all sorts of status effects, then replenish your consumables by pulling off fast-hitting combos that deal massive ki damage.
An unfortunate downside of the style system, however, is that the game’s weapon types are split between the ninja and samurai, meaning they cannot dip into each other’s arsenals. As mentioned previously, only the samurai has access to weapon stances, so all of the ninja’s weapons only have one moveset, which really hurts preexisting fan favorites like the kusarigama. There’s a lot of customization for both styles when it comes to martial arts and unlockable skills, but it unfortunately doesn’t make up for this loss in versatility.
Another new aspect of Nioh 3 is the switch to an open-world format, which was initially worrying since the series is known for its tight mission-based structure with not much filler between playable sections. Team Ninja’s previous attempt at an open world with Rise of the Ronin didn’t quite do it for most people, but the studio has done a great job with the feedback they received, as Nioh’s map forsakes size in favor of density and is thankfully not cluttered with useless collectibles. The game still manages to apply the checkpoint-to-checkpoint soulslike formula really well on a surprisingly large scale, and it never feels like its level design is disrupted because of its openness.
Most of the game’s open-world activities involve the crucibles, cursed areas that fall from the sky and create zones infested with yokai. The game’s major crucibles are intimidating in an almost eldritch way, with massive limbs attempting to break through reality by ripping the sky open. These areas nail the hell-on-earth aesthetic really well, each of them serving as a massive dungeon to cap off the game’s chapters. Minor crucibles, on the other hand, work as bite-sized challenges where you have to fight through waves of yokai, rewarding you with loot and empowering your guardian spirit. If the crucibles weren’t already dangerous enough on their own, taking damage inside of one also reduces your maximum health, which can make defeating their bosses quite tricky.
Some of the weapons that drop inside the crucibles feature higher stats and a unique skill but also have the tradeoff of bringing the health decay mechanic outside with them, encouraging risky play in exchange for a shiny new move. The crucible skills are a great way of making loot actually exciting to sift through, allowing for even more combat customization.
While this game’s protagonist isn’t a “shiftling” like Hide from Nioh 2, it’s nice to see that yokai abilities and soul cores still managed to make a comeback, although now as a separate mechanic rather than skills slotted into your guardian spirit. Purified soul cores can be turned into different onmyo magic items depending on their yin and yang placement, allowing you to either call in a yokai to perform one of its signature moves or turn into a talisman, which provides you with a beneficial effect like buffing your defenses or summoning elemental magic to imbue your weapon.
This combination of mechanics makes Nioh 3 one of the more active soulslikes out there, as you are constantly thinking about your consumables, ninjutsu, martial arts, onmyo magic, and guardian skills on top of the already deep and intensive combat. There’s a lot to keep track of and upgrade, as your character slowly becomes a well-oiled death-dealing machine once you find ways to synergize everything together.
One thing I do have to bring up is Team Ninja’s homogenization, as some of their titles borrow so much from each other that they end up becoming one big shared franchise. Nioh 1 served as the blueprint for Stranger of Paradise, Wo Long, and Rise of the Ronin, which now circle back into feeding Nioh 3 some of their mechanics as well. Maybe the game aims for a broader audience and I’m the one sitting in a weird position for being too familiar with Team Ninja’s catalogue, but it’s a little disappointing that so many of Nioh’s new mechanics actually just come from other games. Team Ninja’s progress as both a character action and soulslike developer is more than impressive, especially when they manage to mix both genres so well, but it’s difficult to shake off the feeling that Nioh 3 could have been so much more if it didn’t try to be so safe.
Despite the lack of innovation, Nioh’s blend of character action and soulslike still manages to entertain, with its combat being undeniably polished to near perfection. The dual styles allow for a lot of experimentation when it comes to combat, and the game does a genuinely great job balancing its more traditional level design to fit an open world. Team Ninja’s treks through history remain exciting regardless of the shape they take, but here’s hoping the DLCs will bring in fresher ideas.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.