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The year isn’t over yet, and we’re already seeing some of the bangers launching in 2026. Among them, one of our most anticipated is Nioh 3. Today, many outlets and content creators have finally revealed their previews, confirming what we already knew: Nioh 3 is going to be a must-play. However, we also got some new information, such as the game including time-traveling, a punishing yet engaging mode called Crucible, and large areas to explore.
Nioh 3 Brings What Worked With Nioh 2 and Rise of the Ronin Into a Completely New Experience
Many of us got the chance to try a vertical slice of Nioh 3 during the limited-time demo. We saw a bit of exploration and the changes to combat. However, it seems we only scratched the surface, as today’s previews have clearly shown a lot more of what this game has in store.
According to those who got to play this preview build, Nioh 3 still feels like Nioh at its core due to the Samurai Mode, but also feels a lot like Ninja Gaiden 4 with the addition of Ninja Mode. Both styles seem to complement each other, but most importantly, they offer players a variety of build options and also new gameplay approaches. For instance, those who prefer the classic Nioh gameplay might want to stick to Samurai mode. However, those eager to try something more fast-paced and channel their inner Ryu might want to try Ninja mode. Still, the game encourages you to do some swapping between the two as each mode charges the other’s gauge, so it will be fun to try alternating between the two styles during a fight.
On top of that, it seems that there’s a new place called the Crucible, which might be the most challenging type of content we’ve ever experienced in a Nioh game. According to the previews, each open-field area will have its own Crucible. Here, enemies will get buffed, and the player will lose HP until they damage yokai around the area. It is a more linear experience, but quite challenging for those who want to try their build in a more difficult setting.
Bigger Areas, Different Times
Another key aspect of Nioh 3 is its time-travel element, which seems extremely important to the game’s narrative. You take the role of Tokugawa Takechiyo, and after a calamity occurs in the Edo Castle, you travel back in time to fix a few things and slice many yokai. Of course, the whole story is still a mystery, but adding time travel that will take us to the Bakumatsu period and other places sounds interesting.
Speaking of places, we all know that Nioh 3 is going for open-field areas. However, we now have more information about them. One of the biggest complaints Nioh 2 players had was regarding a level’s linearity. Some felt way too restrictive, and one challenging boss could stall you for hours. In Nioh 3, players are free to go wherever they want. If they find a difficult boss to tackle, they can go somewhere else to get better gear and then return to fight off that pesky yokai that is standing on their way.
This sounds fantastic, as Nioh has always focused on player choice in its builds and character creation. Now, we will also see this level of player choice when it comes to choosing our paths, and that’s a huge win for many of us who enjoy a more non-linear approach to our playthroughs.
From what we can gather, Nioh 3 feels like the culmination of everything that the studio behind this series has created in the past years. It improves many things that felt a bit limited in Nioh 2. It focuses on more impactful and engaging open-field areas, which is something Rise of the Ronin lacked at times, and it even throws some Ninja action similar to Ninja Gaiden 4.
We were extremely excited as soon as we saw the trailer and played the demo, and now we are literally counting the days until the game’s release. Fortunately, this title will launch during the first months of next year, so we won’t have to wait long to do some yokai-hunting in one of the best action RPGs out there.
