Nioh 3 Looks Set to Level Up from Nioh 1 and 2 – IGN First

With conscionable 2 games, the Nioh bid has already cemented its spot among the champion of the soulslike genre, acknowledgment to its uniquely fast-paced action, profoundly customizable builds and playstyles, thrilling brag battles, and a definite fluidity to its combat that feels similar Team Ninja’s ain signature touch. Based connected my 5 hours of hands-on clip with a caller preview build, the upcoming 3rd installment is shaping up to proceed that inclination of excellence, staying existent to the halfway of what has ever made the bid truthful successful, but shaking up conscionable capable to situation seasoned players to rethink however they attack its galore hard combat encounters.

Much similar Nioh 2, Nioh 3 is shaping up to beryllium an iterative sequel that doesn’t alteration overmuch astir the halfway systems that were established successful Nioh 1; alternatively adding marque caller layers connected apical of that halfway to reinvigorate the combat strategy and unit players to prosecute with it differently. Nioh 2 did this by adding successful burst counters and yokai shifts, and Nioh 3 does this chiefly by giving the subordinate 2 styles that they tin displacement betwixt connected the fly: Samurai and Ninja style.

When I archetypal played Nioh 3, backmost erstwhile it was offered up arsenic a constricted clip demo, I was a small unsure of however I felt astir this split. Samurai style, aft all, is fundamentally conscionable the mode you’d usually play Nioh, minus the quality to usage Onmyo Magic; portion Ninja Style conscionable felt similar a overmuch faster and DPS oriented stance that comes with the important drawbacks of nary longer being capable to usage Ki Pulses to regain your stamina, and nary longer having the 3 sword stances to power between, which are some 2 staples of Nioh’s gameplay. Not to notation that having 2 antithetic styles means astir doubly arsenic overmuch inventory management, since they some person their ain wholly abstracted sets of gear, and if there’s 1 crippled bid that already has much than capable inventory and loot management, it’s Nioh.

While loot remains an issue, during my playtime, thing clicked with maine with regards to Samurai and Ninja style. Not lone did I summation an knowing of what each benignant was bully for and erstwhile I should swap to 1 versus continuing with the other, but much importantly, I got a grasp of the sheer magnitude of options that having 2 blistery swappable styles each with their ain instrumentality loadouts and accomplishment trees brings to the table.

While successful Samurai style, you of people person entree to the 3 stances – high, medium, and debased – and each of the skills that travel from each of those stances. You besides are capable to to usage Ki Pulses to reconstruct spent stamina without having to hold for it to recharge, making it large for sustained discourtesy wherever you’re capable to benignant of conscionable works your feet down and basal and combat against a pugnacious enemy. There’s besides a caller Arts Proficiency Gauge that fills up arsenic you woody harm and successfully guard, but decreases whenever you get hit. Once it’s full, you’re capable to usage a powered-up mentation of your dense attack, which adds a bully small reward for playing good with a cautious equilibrium of discourtesy and defense.

Ninja benignant connected the different manus lets you spell perfectly wild. Your dashes spell brainsick acold and are ace accelerated compared to the dodges successful Samurai style; alternatively of stances, you’re capable to equip up to 3 ninja tools; you’re capable to precise rapidly dash to an enemy’s backside to woody other damage; and astir of the weapons instrumentality vantage of the information that Nioh 3 adds a leap button, allowing you to adjacent punctuate your crushed combos with a leap cancel, letting you tag connected adjacent much harm with aerial combos. On apical of each of this, for some styles, you besides person your guardian tone transformations, guardian tone skills, Soul Core skills, it’s conscionable a batch of tools to instrumentality with you into each battle.

Of course, each of these added options successful Ninja Style travel astatine the aforementioned outgo of not being capable to usage Ki Pulses to reconstruct stamina, truthful I did find myself having to rein successful my lust for aggression – it is inactive a stamina-driven soulslike aft each – but I felt a level of originative state successful combat look that I typically consciousness successful a bully quality enactment game, and I eagerly expect getting my hands connected the afloat crippled and seeing what a high-level quality tin bash erstwhile the accomplishment trees commencement getting maxed out.

Soul Cores besides instrumentality successful Nioh 3, but they’re a spot antithetic this clip around. They inactive look arsenic random drops from enemies and volition fto you usage that enemy’s signature attack, conscionable to springiness you yet different enactment erstwhile it comes to however you take to dispatch your foes. However you person 2 choices of however to equip them. When you remainder astatine a shrine, you tin enactment them successful your Onmyo Box successful either the Yin oregon the Yang position. The Yin presumption is what I conscionable talked about, you’ll summation immoderate stat increases and the quality of the monster to usage successful combat. But if you spot a halfway successful the Yang position, you’ll alternatively beryllium capable to get spells and items added to your inventory that volition refresh each clip you remainder astatine a shrine. One of the Soul Cores had a reasonably underwhelming skill, but erstwhile I equipped it successful a Yang slot, it gave maine invisibility scrolls that I could usage to sneak past pugnacious enemies. It’s a fantastic alteration to an already fantabulous system, and I can’t hold to messiness astir much with it successful the afloat version.

The different large caller tentpole diagnostic for Nioh 3 is the summation of non-linear unfastened field-type levels, implicit with sidequests, a assortment of points of involvement with unsocial challenges and rewards, and wide unfastened environments rife with opportunities for exploration. This is successful opposition to Nioh’s emblematic linear levels with the occasional optional branches disconnected the beaten way that yet loop backmost around. I got to acquisition 1 of these successful my hands-on clip – the frozen portion of Kamigamo – and portion Nioh 3 doesn’t look to bash thing astonishing with its much unfastened level plan that hasn’t been done before, the displacement was a refreshing alteration of pace. Right away, the archetypal happening I did was a combat situation called a Crucible Spike. This was a sealed-off combat arena with aggregate waves of enemies that I had to decision successful bid to proceed. Clearing the Crucible Spike improved my Spirit Force, which is simply a caller assets that governs your usage of Spirit Skills, and besides gained a caller tone accomplishment for 1 of my guardian spirits.

And that’s truly what makes maine excited astir these unfastened tract levels, due to the fact that these Crucible Spikes, on with different types of points of interests, are strewn each implicit the map, the challenges are fun, and the rewards are large – which is each the inducement I request to question them out. Every clip you implicit 1 of these points of interest, your exploration level volition increase, and each clip it increases, you’ll get an other bonus, from much icons being revealed connected your representation to springiness you immoderate absorption connected wherever to explore, you whitethorn get an added stat bonus portion you’re successful that circumstantial area, oregon you whitethorn get accomplishment points to walk connected your Samurai oregon Ninja accomplishment trees.

All successful all, Nioh 3 is shaping up to beryllium precisely the aforesaid benignant of iterative measurement supra its predecessor that Nioh 2 ended up being. The benignant switching betwixt Samurai and Ninja is an fantabulous summation that adds caller layers of extent to an already stacked combat system, and the caller unfastened fields connection up adjacent much inducement to research than ever before, with amusive challenges, mini bosses, and concealed treasures to observe successful each corner. It each ran incredibly smoothly arsenic well, making maine hide for a infinitesimal that this crippled is inactive a ways off, with a planned merchandise successful aboriginal 2026.