Nioh 3

About

Nioh 3 is a single player and multiplayer hack and slash game. It was developed by KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. and was released on February 5, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

In the latest game in the dark samurai action RPG series "Nioh," you will need to use both Samurai and Ninja combat styles in your battles against formidable yokai as you explore a thrilling open world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Skip User Reviews

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,612 reviews

story133 positive mentions

optimization285 negative mentions

Excellent combat system with a huge variety of weapons and deep customization options allowing different playstyles and builds.
The open world design balances exploration and mission structure well, rewarding thorough scouting with gear, skills, and collectibles.
Improved quality of life features like free respecs, build saving, and auto-equip enhance the gameplay experience.
Co-op and multiplayer are well-implemented, allowing for enjoyable cooperative play through much of the game.
The ninja and samurai styles offer distinct combat experiences and the ability to switch between them fluidly adds tactical depth.
Many returning bosses and enemies with good visual and design updates, alongside new challenging encounters.
Generally well-optimized on mid to high-end PCs and current-gen consoles, with smooth 60fps gameplay possible with appropriate settings.

Performance on PC is inconsistent, with frequent stuttering, texture pop-ins, long loading times, erratic frame pacing, and crashes especially on lower VRAM or specific hardware.
The difficulty is lower than previous Nioh games, making many standard enemies and bosses easy to defeat, reducing challenge and satisfaction.
Enemy and boss variety is limited, with heavy reuse of assets, leading to repetitive encounters especially in later areas.
The story is forgettable, poorly developed, sometimes incoherent, and the English voice acting is often criticized as poor or robotic.
The open world is criticized as uninspired, sometimes empty, with repetitive side quests and a checklist feel rather than meaningful exploration.
Certain gameplay changes are divisive, such as locking weapons to either samurai or ninja styles restricting player freedom, and the ninja style simplifying core mechanics like stamina management.
The UI and inventory management are cluttered and overwhelming, with numerous systems and keybinds that require adjustment and effort to master.
Graphics are considered dated by some, with harsh lighting, dark scenes, and unimpressive visual fidelity relative to requirements.
The game suffers from frequent fatal errors or save corruption bugs causing loss of progress for some players.

optimization
1,278 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
63%
22%
The game suffers from widespread and severe optimization issues, with many users reporting frequent stuttering, frame drops, high CPU usage, and crashes even on high-end hardware. Despite generally solid gameplay and combat, the performance problems—particularly in open-world sections—greatly hamper the experience, making it playable mainly on top-tier PCs or requiring extensive graphical downscaling. Although some players with powerful rigs experience smooth performance, a significant portion of the community finds the current state unacceptable, hoping for urgent patches to improve stability and optimization.
- “Smooth performance and stable framerate, no technical distractions. The combat remains deep, rewarding, and exceptionally well-designed, and the technical performance continues to be excellent throughout.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs great, 150+ fps at 4k with DLSS (preset M) and frame generation x2 enabled.”
- “Rock solid performance, zero stutter, zero drama, and best of all, no forced framegen garbage muddying the image or adding latency. Just clean, native performance exactly how it should be. It’s one of those rare PC experiences where you can tell optimization was a priority, not an afterthought.”
- “The game is so poorly optimized that by default two entirely separate dynamic resolution systems are enabled at the same time--DLSS and in-engine--which is an objectively unhinged thing to do.”
- “This game runs like ♥♥♥♥, the amount of workarounds you have to do to make it stable is an outright insult; you have to set your refresh rate to 60Hz to keep the frametimes stable, the FPS has to stay at 60 constantly or you will get stuttering. I'm using a 5070 Ti and had to use dynamic resolution scaling with the minimum set all the way down to 50% just to make the game playable. God forbid you don't research the game's graphical issues before purchase or you'll feel like you're trapped in a matrix movie with all the slow motion issues you have to endure.”
- “Quite honestly, I don't know how they could fix the performance issues, as it's intrinsically linked to how the engine handles the workload and CPU; it maxes out your CPU while your GPU sits at about 30% utilization. Once the CPU is maxed, you'll start stuttering, lagging, and have a nearly unplayable experience, which only worsens the further you progress and as the open world expands.”
story
849 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
76%
8%
The story in this game is widely regarded as weak, forgettable, and less engaging compared to its predecessors, often serving merely as an excuse to drive gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Critics note poor character development, inconsistent pacing, and a disjointed time-travel plot that fails to create emotional investment. While some appreciate minor historical and thematic elements, most agree the story is secondary to the game's strong combat and exploration mechanics.
- “The story is fantastic (I plan on back stepping and playing previous titles after this to get the full story). Combat is fun especially with the different combos you can do with each weapon style.”
- “Smooths out the progression and pacing issues with previous Nioh games whilst retaining the fun gameplay and itemization and entirely incomprehensible story.”
- “The crucible system, rewarding exploration, engaging story, and addictive, fast-paced combat make it incredibly satisfying to play.”
- “The story isn't the strong point in any nioh game, and neither in this one.”
- “Story is bland as anything I've ever seen, combat is weak sauce, maps small as all get out, bosses are corny and just repeated elements on each one. Nothing really memorable about anything in this game whatsoever, just felt bland all the way through in every aspect. Literally only kept playing because I don't like letting things go unfinished, but this game is caca.”
- “No surprises, no risks taken - just a dull, predictable trudge through a story that I felt like I could retell in its entirety before even hearing it.”
gameplay
820 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
63%
2%
The gameplay of this action RPG is widely praised for its addictive, deep, and highly satisfying combat mechanics featuring the innovative and fluid samurai/ninja style-switching system. It offers extensive build variety, fast-paced, skill-based encounters, and a rewarding mastery curve appealing to both newcomers and veterans, although some find the numerous mechanics overwhelming. While the open world and new additions enrich the experience, critiques include occasional balance issues, reduced difficulty, performance problems, and a few mechanics that feel underutilized or divisive. Overall, the gameplay loop is regarded as the series' strongest aspect, providing substantial depth and fun despite narrative and technical drawbacks.
- “The combat mechanics are expanded upon and highly engaging.”
- “The build systems are arguably bigger and better than they've ever been, the handful of bosses I didn't just steamroll were a pleasure to fight, and despite feeling a little familiar, the core combat mechanics are still a stroke of genius.”
- “The combat system of switching between samurai and ninja anytime at the press of a button is totally original and super innovative, probably one of the most fresh and forward thinking game mechanics of this entire generation.”
- “The gameplay is mediocre at best, the world looks absolutely awful and makes nioh 2 look like a masterpiece painting, and it's causing a widespread issue of eating up over 80% CPU usage (even with multithreading enabled) and unstable framerates and jitters, causing the PC fans to run wild.”
- “With the newest iteration in the Nioh series, Team Ninja really overcooked the meal by unnecessarily shoehorning the 'samurai' and 'shinobi' stances into the combat formula, resulting in a convoluted amalgamation of half of already existing weapon move lists and combat mechanics from previous titles now being split across two forms to accommodate for two separate 'playstyles', while adding nothing new to either.”
- “Combat is very fast, demands full attention and a certain level of mechanical skill, but Nioh 3 improves on the new player experience in a similar way that Elden Ring did compared to the Souls games.”
graphics
425 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The graphics in this game are generally viewed as serviceable but outdated, often compared to PS3 or early PS4-era quality, with art style appreciated though fidelity and texture quality frequently criticized. Many users report significant performance and optimization issues, including high CPU usage, unstable frame rates, and minimal impact from graphical setting changes, making smooth gameplay challenging even on high-end PCs. Despite these technical drawbacks, the visual design, atmosphere, and certain character models receive praise for their aesthetic appeal.
- “The game has so much content and the graphics are amazing; it is truly a AAA game and I highly recommend it if you like Souls-type games. The boss fights are challenging and, although sometimes annoying, can be overcome with grinding and persistence.”
- “In-game graphics and art style are surprisingly impressive, with meaningful and organic exploration. The level design feels unique and memorable most of the time.”
- “Nioh 3 boasts stunning visuals with a strong atmosphere of horror that creates an intense feeling of dread.”
- “The graphics are on a PS3 level.”
- “Before commenting on the game the devs need to know the CPU usage is unacceptable for the graphical fidelity/physics of this game; also the occasional crashes when running it with AMD GPUs and the broken graphical settings where some higher settings don't make any visual difference, or some lower settings look worse but have no effect or even a bad effect on performance.”
- “The performance is awful; graphics settings have barely any effect on performance or visuals, whether you turn them up or down. The engine seems to stream tons of effects and parts of the overworld unnecessarily, leading to sporadic bursts of unplayable mega slowdown and frequent engine crashes.”
music
107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
54%
11%
The game's music is generally praised for its quality, blending traditional Japanese instruments with intense battle themes, and delivering memorable, epic tracks that enhance combat and atmosphere. However, many users criticize the soundtrack for heavy reuse of music from previous Nioh titles, limited new content, and repetitive looping, which detracts from its freshness and variety. Overall, the music is good but often feels recycled and repetitive, leading to mixed impressions among players.
- “The music and sound design are among some of the best the developer has produced.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing.”
- “The music, lastly, is absolutely spectacular.”
- “A big point I hate about this game is the laziness of the OST, so many songs have just been straight ripped out of previous games and placed in here, like WTF?”
- “4) Some of the classic soundtracks are there and slightly changed, but at times there is just no music playing when exploring and the worst is the map "Final Battle of Edo" — it is the same loop of intense music (track is around 1:30 minutes long) playing nonstop even if you do battlescrolls that track will continue playing, I had to mute the game.”
- “I also found the heavy re-usage of Nioh 2 bosses and music to be annoying; I loved those fights in Nioh and don't get me wrong, all three games do a lot of re-using but it felt like near enough 80% of Nioh 3's music and bosses were just Nioh 2's.”
stability
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
2%
47%
Stability is mixed, with many players reporting the game runs well—often smoothly at high settings on powerful PCs—but others experience frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches, especially in later or open-world areas. Optimization issues and bugs like AI quirks, visual artifacts, and audio stuttering affect the experience for some, suggesting the game requires patches for improved stability. Overall, while the core gameplay and performance are solid on many setups, stability problems remain a significant concern for a noteworthy portion of users.
- “Firstly, it's nice to have a game that runs well, looks good, and is bug free at release.”
- “Game runs great at max settings (4k monitor/HDR) with 100-110 fps running around the world and in combat.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs great, 150+ fps at 4k with DLSS (preset m) and frame generation x2 enabled.”
- “Was ok for awhile now the game freezes up during a boss fight, all the graphics go corrupted and audio breaks.”
- “On a hopefully temporary note: the game does have optimization issues, I often ran into either full freezes or graphical freezes (graphical being identified by the audio still being accurate to what was happening in the gameplay), and I find my room becoming excessively hot due to the load put on my GPU (not using excessive DLSS options or frame-generation).”
- “Absolutely horrendous optimization, it freezes every hour at the bare minimum and I've lost well over 3 or 4 hours of progress between the demo and release due to this issue.”
grinding
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
3%
92%
Grinding in the game is a mixed experience: while some players appreciate the depth and rewarding buildcrafting, others find boss fights and gear farming tedious and frustrating due to inefficient drops and repetitive content. Improvements in inventory management and streamlined systems help reduce time sinks, but the open-world exploration and some farming tasks can feel repetitive and less engaging. Overall, grinding is essential but may feel tedious or enjoyable depending on player patience and style.
- “Switching a skill is as simple as opening the menu, selecting the slot, and confirming – no tedious respecs needed.”
- “There is no mastery system like 1 and 2, so there is no grinding really.”
- “The combat is smooth and more forgiving than Nioh 2, but I have been exploring every nook and cranny along my way which may, even though I'm not farming levels, cause me to be 'overleveled' in some sense for certain encounters.”
- “Really feels like a huge insult after grinding for hours learning the mechanics, getting better gear and weapons just to get to a boss fight that ignores all of that.”
- “This made farming for specific gear much more tedious than it needed to be.”
- “This is a tedious grind fest of sadness and disappointment.”
atmosphere
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
35%
9%
Reviews consistently praise the game's strong, immersive atmosphere characterized by distinct, detailed environments and a dark, mythological tone that enhances the overall experience. While some note occasional visual drawbacks and less intricate world-building compared to other soulslike titles, the atmospheric design remains a standout element that deeply engages players and complements the gameplay.
- “Snow-capped mountains, bustling towns, and haunted forests all feel distinct and atmospheric.”
- “The dark Japanese style mixed with mythology and demons creates an immersive and intense atmosphere from the first minute.”
- “Art direction and overall game design: strong identity, great atmosphere, and a satisfying “yokai hunter” vibe throughout.”
- “The story, the characters, the level design, and general atmosphere are all very much lacklustre.”
- “This feels more like Ninja Gaiden half the time than Nioh; the story is underwhelming (at least as far in as I've gone), and the open world and collectibles water down the gameplay and atmosphere.”
- “I hope in the future we are given back the previous freedoms we had in character creation, and possibly some shading filters to tone down the grainy feeling of the game and atmosphere, but until then this will unfortunately have to sit on the back burner for me.”
replayability
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
Replayability in the game is generally praised for its deep combat system, extensive build variety, and multiple viable playstyles, providing long-term engagement and co-op fun. However, some players find the open-world structure and fewer mission-based challenges reduce replay value compared to previous installments, particularly impacting NG+ motivation and enjoyment. The ability to respec freely also leads some to prefer experimenting on a single character rather than fully replaying, leaving the game's ultimate replayability potential dependent on future DLC and endgame content updates.
- “At the end of the day, the player has a lot of agency while playing the game and the replayability seems endless due to the build mechanics and the many options to 'main' your way of fighting through the story.”
- “This is one of those games you can easily sink hundreds to thousands of hours into with replay value, challenge options, build variety, and the ridiculous amount of moves and abilities you can stack together.”
- “Finally, the wonderful character creator and build variety gives a ton of replayability, as well as lots of co-op entertainment.”
- “The open world kills almost all replayability compared to the mission-based system before; the story is predictable with no memorable moments, and magic doesn't even get its own skill tree anymore.”
- “Replayability is also questionable since in new game plus you have to explore entire areas again while collecting all the collectibles instead of making missions in the battle scroll harder.”
- “Open field gameplay results in a more generic experience, and replayability takes a huge hit compared to mission-based linear levels. Although traditional linear levels exist as crucibles and submissions, replayable missions quantity is significantly lower than previous games, and it's not as satisfying to explore gear builds.”
emotional
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
6%
The emotional aspect of Nioh 3 is generally seen as weaker compared to its predecessors, with characters and storytelling lacking the warmth and depth that made earlier games more engaging. While the soundtrack delivers powerful climaxes, the narrative fails to fully support these moments, resulting in a less impactful emotional experience. Some players appreciate the overall story and feel of progression, but many find the emotional resonance diminished and the side content repetitive or uninspired.
- “Some nice funny scenes or heartfelt scenes.”
- “The game still has some really amazing climaxes, carried a lot by the OST which, when it hits, god it hits so good. There are some fantastic tracks here that could've delivered a great emotional punch if the story was actually good enough to support those moments.”
- “Nioh 3 has a really wholesome story that kept me interested from start to finish.”
humor
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely unintentional, stemming from awkward English voice acting and odd line deliveries that can feel cringe-worthy or even AI-generated. However, some scenes and character interactions provide genuinely funny or heartfelt moments, and the game's quirky alternate history and enemy designs add a layer of offbeat humor. Overall, the comedic elements are mixed, with humor often arising from imperfections rather than deliberate writing.
- “Some nice funny scenes or heartfelt scenes.”
- “The English dubbing is so bad that it's outright funny a lot of the time.”
- “Though it was funny that one of the last side quests in the game is to find and bring a tomato.”
character development
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
14%
Character development in the game is largely criticized for lacking depth and emotional engagement, with players finding the story and NPC motivations poorly explained and characters lifeless. However, the character designs and visual presentation receive high praise for their traditional Japanese aesthetics and detailed yokai creations. Overall, while the narrative and character growth fall short, the artistic character design stands out as a strong point.
- “Combat, exploration, character development, hubs to explore, bosses, and a multitude of side activities (kodama, chijiko, etc.) make it easy to get into, and a single playthrough took me about 110 hours.”
- “They really put some effort in making this story, the surroundings, the character designs and even the outfits to get a real traditional Japanese feeling.”
- “The character design is superb as always, and I am still very adamant on the yokai designs being top tier.”
- “After the highlight of Nioh 2's story, which was an absolutely amazing tale, I expected Nioh 3's story to be just as good or at the same point. I couldn't be more disappointed. I didn't care about any character or what was happening to them. The story initially tries to make it about a jealous brother who didn't get what he wanted and goes on a tantrum, but you barely even see this brother throughout the game, so the urgency and character development isn't there at all. Every NPC feels lifeless due to poor motive and extremely poor voice acting. I had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it, why I was going into the past and future; it's just so poorly explained and, in all honesty, I just couldn't care less what was going on.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game's monetization is praised for having no microtransactions, offering a feature-complete experience without intrusive ads, which enhances enjoyment. Players appreciate its focus on delivering value without cash grabs, making it ideal for fans of single-player action-packed samurai and ninja games.
- “Cash grab”
- “This game feels like a cash grab due to excessive monetization.”
- “The microtransactions heavily impact the gameplay experience, making it feel less enjoyable.”