Nioh 3

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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 third 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 field.

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83%

Audience ScoreBased on 5,435 reviews

story188 positive mentions

optimization344 negative mentions

Engaging and deep combat system with variety and fluidity, including enjoyable samurai and ninja styles with seamless switching.
Open world map design adds rewarding exploration with collectibles and hidden secrets, enhancing gameplay variety.
Quality of life improvements like free respecs, improved inventory management, and character customization make gameplay more accessible and enjoyable.

Performance and optimization issues on PC are common, causing stuttering, frame drops, crashes, and long load times, particularly in later areas.
Enemy variety and content reuse are significant drawbacks, with many monsters and bosses recycled from previous titles, leading to less challenge and repetition.
The story is generally weak and confusing, with poor narrative cohesion and forgettable characters, making it the least compelling in the series.

optimization
1,493 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
61%
23%
The game suffers from widespread and severe optimization issues, especially on mid to lower-end PCs, leading to frequent stutters, frame drops, high CPU usage, and crashes, which significantly hinder the otherwise solid gameplay experience. While some high-end setups achieve stable performance, many users report that even recommended specs don't guarantee smooth play, with open-world areas and certain game sections exacerbating performance problems. Overall, the game's poor optimization is a major drawback that overshadows its strengths, and players are advised to wait for performance patches before purchasing.
- “Performance is great, if you have a newer PC like me. FPS is no problem, stable 120 fps with 45% GPU load and 10-20% processor load on native resolution all maxed.”
- “Performance was fine for me; it wasn't spectacular especially given the graphics but I maintained 100+ fps throughout the whole game (and most was at the 120fps cap) at 1080p.”
- “Performance was also great for me, never had any dips in framerate.”
- “Performance is beyond bad even on upper mid spec PCs, and unplayable on low - mid spec.”
- “Quite honestly, I don't know how they could fix the performance issues, as it's intrinsically linked to how the engine handles the work and CPU. It maxes out your CPU, while your GPU sits at probably 30% utilization, and once the CPU is maxed, you'll start stuttering, lagging, and just having a nearly unplayable time, and it will only get worse the further you get into the game, and the more the open world expands.”
- “The game is extremely demanding on your system, and it definitely feels like Team Ninja still has some engine optimization issues to work out.”
story
1,185 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
75%
9%
The story in this installment is widely regarded as the weakest in the series, described as bland, disjointed, and less engaging than its predecessors, with many finding the time travel plot confusing and the characters unmemorable. While the narrative provides a basic framework to justify gameplay progression, it lacks the emotional depth and cohesion seen in earlier titles, making it largely forgettable. However, this shortcoming is generally overshadowed by the game's strong combat, exploration, and mission design, which remain the primary draw for players.
- “The story was very interesting, and the pacing felt like it was handled well.”
- “The main missions are still instanced levels for the most part. The main story bosses, however, are spectacular—epic, challenging, and beautifully designed encounters that rank among the series' finest.”
- “The shift to an open world formula works surprisingly well and feels like a massive upgrade over the mission select screens of the first two games.”
- “The story, what can I even say about the story, easily the worst one of the trilogy by a large margin. I have fond memories and emotions attached to the previous games, but Nioh 3 just.... I don't know.. what the hell was this even?”
- “The story is the most nonsensical garbage I've ever seen. It feels like a rehashed version of Nioh 2's story but done a lot quicker. The time travel structure makes the plot feel very disjointed with little connection to the cast.”
- “If you want a narrative focused game avoid this as the story is bad and confusing to keep up with. The open world feels unnecessary as most of the main missions are still based on clearly defined areas like the first two games. The story lacks coherence and memorable moments.”
gameplay
1,049 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
63%
2%
Nioh 3's gameplay is widely praised for its deep, fast-paced, and highly satisfying combat system that effectively builds on the series' core mechanics while introducing the innovative samurai/ninja style-switching mechanic. The combat offers a rich variety of weapons, stances, and skill customization, providing an addictive gameplay loop that rewards mastery and experimentation. While some criticism targets the overwhelming number of mechanics and certain design choices, the gameplay overall stands out as the game's strongest aspect, delivering a fresh yet familiar action RPG experience despite technical and performance issues.
- “Nioh 3 delivers exhilarating combat, refined mechanics, and stunning Japanese mythological visuals.”
- “The ability to switch between samurai and ninja modes isn’t just a flashy mechanic—it changes the entire rhythm of combat.”
- “Gameplay is addictive and the build options are endless.”
- “The bloated inventory management and crafting mechanics are back with a vengeance, and while the new auto-equip function is nice, it's more of a band-aid than a proper solution.”
- “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.”
- “Gameplay is tedious and honestly a bit dull. It’s overengineered with millions of irrelevant mechanics, yet somehow manages to have zero depth.”
graphics
518 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally described as functional but dated, with many noting only modest improvements over its predecessor and a style reminiscent of late PS3 or early PS4 era titles. While the art direction and Japanese aesthetic receive praise for their consistency and atmosphere, technical issues like poor optimization, high CPU usage, inconsistent visual quality, and frequent frame drops detract significantly from the experience, especially on PCs with non-top-tier hardware. Overall, the graphics are appreciated primarily for their style rather than fidelity, but performance and optimization challenges undermine their appeal.
- “The visuals are striking, blending dark historical Japan with supernatural elements.”
- “Beautiful graphics and sound design.”
- “The next-gen graphics look fantastic, with improved lighting, effects, and overall detail that really bring the environments and enemies to life.”
- “Dated graphics (especially compared to other AAA titles) and seemingly abysmal performance on some setups.”
- “Some of the game runs well, but most of it ranges from 'passable' to 'why can't I walk forward I don't understa-oh it's because half the map didn't render in yet, got it.' Frame rate spikes, half the map not rendering properly, and Omnyo summons sometimes taking 10-15 seconds to actually appear; even on the absolute lowest graphical settings with all other applications closed, it still struggles.”
- “Unless you have a brand new laptop you'll need to turn your settings down to even play, so the graphics and any effort they put into it are worthless.”
music
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
54%
10%
The music in Nioh 3 receives mixed reviews, with many praising its traditional Japanese instrumentation and intense, fitting soundtrack, but also criticizing it for heavy reuse of tracks from previous games, repetitive battle themes, and lack of memorable new compositions. While some find the soundtrack phenomenal and complementary to the combat, others feel it lacks variety and freshness, making it less distinctive compared to earlier entries. Technical issues like music cutting out and looping contribute to a less immersive audio experience for some players.
- “The music is phenomenal, the combat is the best in the series, the bosses are even better somehow, ninja combat is fast and satisfying 20/10 video game I wish I could cut out my kidneys and donate them out of sheer respect.”
- “What they did change or refine simply makes for a superior game and one of the best soulslikes since lies of p: more guardian spirit moves; a better yokai shift system; onmyo that still evaporates bosses; music that makes your heart soar; combos that make all others in the genre look like child's play; the list goes on and on.”
- “The music is fantastic, perfectly complementing the game’s tone, and performance on PC is excellent—smooth, stable, and visually impressive.”
- “A big point I hate about this game is the laziness of the OST; many songs have been straight ripped from previous games and placed here.”
- “The music constantly cutting in and out is giving me a headache and messing up my timing.”
- “The music and soundtrack feel mostly reused, with limited new musical variety and many tracks feeling generic and repetitive.”
grinding
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
2%
95%
Grinding in the game is often described as tedious and repetitive, with loot drops heavily reliant on RNG, making farming for specific items frustrating and time-consuming. However, quality-of-life improvements like easier respecs, streamlined inventory, and versatile build crafting help alleviate some grind-related frustrations. While the combat system remains engaging and rewarding for players who enjoy optimizing gear and builds, the open-world exploration and endgame farming can feel overly drawn-out and monotonous to many.
- “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 I can find along my way which may, even though I'm not farming levels, cause me to be 'overleveled' in some sense for certain encounters.”
- “The problem is the same as Nioh games always had: though loot drops often, finding what you want is random, and even boosting drop rates rarely helps unless you plan on farming for them.”
- “Literally want to play more but I can't because I am burnt out farming for the last 4 days and gotten not a single Yasakani.”
- “This made farming for specific gear much more tedious than it needed to be.”
stability
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's stability is inconsistent, with many users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches, especially in certain areas or on less powerful hardware. However, players with high-end systems often experience smooth performance and stable frame rates, though some minor bugs and optimization issues persist. Overall, while the game runs well on many setups, it currently requires further patches to address its numerous stability problems.
- “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) 100-110 fps running around the world and combat.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs great, 120 fps at 4k with DLSS (preset M) and frame generation x2 enabled.”
- “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.”
- “Unplayable, game keeps freezing my PC, I have been playing 90 minutes and got 4 freezes.”
- “Constant crashes and stuttering, feels like I've spent more time troubleshooting than playing the game.”
replayability
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
66%
7%
Nioh 3 offers extensive replayability mainly due to its deep build variety, diverse combat styles, and numerous weapons, making it a highly engaging experience for both new and returning players. However, the shift to an open-world design and a reduced quantity of replayable missions compared to previous entries somewhat diminish its long-term replay value. The impact of future DLC and expanded endgame content remains crucial to fully realizing its replayability potential.
- “Up there with Elden Ring as some of the most replayable content in gaming.”
- “This is one of those games you can easily sink hundreds to thousands of hours with in replay value, challenge options, build variety, and the ridiculous amount of moves and abilities you can stack together.”
- “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 many options to 'main' your way of fighting through the story.”
- “The biggest problem is that it's impossible to say how the game will be after DLC release, because traditionally DLC in Nioh adds a tremendous amount of value for replayability, and the only subsequent playthrough available now is a mediocre NG+ that can be completed in 1-2 sessions with no reason to do anything other than mainline quests.”
- “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.”
- “Update: I finished NG+ and although it is too early to conclude since more content may come, the open world design harms replayability greatly as more than half the main game is just checklist collectibles that we're not doing again, the main replayable missions are fewer than in previous games, and being the easiest Nioh makes it less satisfying to explore gear builds.”
atmosphere
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
39%
8%
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its immersive, dark Japanese mythological tone, effectively blending traditional instrumentation and cinematic orchestration to enhance exploration and combat. While some note occasional visual or technical shortcomings and less intricate world-building compared to other soulslike titles, the overall atmospheric design, level environments, and art direction strongly contribute to an intense, engaging experience that captures the signature vibe of the series.
- “Traditional Japanese instrumentation mixed with cinematic orchestration creates a powerful atmosphere that elevates both exploration and boss encounters.”
- “The dark Japanese style mixed with mythology and demons creates an immersive and intense atmosphere from the first minute.”
- “The environments are atmospheric and packed with detail, and the dark mythological tone fits the series perfectly.”
- “Visually, it's ugly; it has some improved and more modern assets, but the locations and the atmosphere are absolutely generic and ugly-looking.”
- “The story, the characters, the level design, and general atmosphere are all very much lackluster.”
- “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.”
emotional
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The emotional experience in the game is mixed, with some praising its meaningful exploration and intense climaxes supported by a strong soundtrack, while others criticize the story as boring, lacking depth, and emotional engagement compared to previous entries. Technical issues and weak voice acting further diminish the emotional impact for some players. Overall, fans of the series may find enjoyment in the gameplay and moments of heartfelt scenes, but the narrative fails to deliver a consistently compelling emotional pull.
- “1 and 2 didn't have some super deep emotional story or anything, but they always have enough things to motivate you to keep going.”
- “Nioh 3 has a really wholesome story that kept me interested from start to finish.”
- “Finally, while Nioh's narrative can be a bit confusing for some, I feel the 2nd game had very strong emotional moments that set it apart from the 1st game, but that's only if you're willing to put your time into understanding the characters, reading the text logs and wanting to learn your history.”
- “Boring story, but super fun gameplay & meaningful exploration.”
- “Boring story.”
- “On top of that, the game is very repetitive, even more so than the other open-world 'Souls' game, Elden Ring; this is partly due to the terrible side quests and boring story.”
humor
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely unintentional, stemming from awkward voice acting, odd line deliveries, and some bizarre design choices that players find cringe-worthy yet amusing. While certain enemies and alternate history elements provide occasional genuinely funny moments, much of the comedic appeal arises from flaws like repetitive content and poor dubbing. Overall, humor emerges more from the game's quirks and shortcomings than from deliberate comedic writing.
- “The English dubbing is so bad that it's outright funny a lot of the time.”
- “They are creepy, grotesque, weird, and occasionally hilarious in the best way.”
- “Lots of bosses, build variety, exploration, and although people aren't giving much props to the plot - if you know any Japanese history, it's got some interesting/hilarious alternate history going on.”
character development
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Character development in the game receives mixed feedback; while the character designs and traditional Japanese aesthetic are praised for their quality, many users find the story lacking depth and emotional engagement, with poorly developed characters and unclear motivations. The timeline-switching narrative dilutes focus, resulting in lifeless NPCs and minimal player investment in their journeys.
- “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.”
- “Despite all this, the main character still lacks development because the story revolves around switching timelines and shifting focus to different characters, except for a few.”
- “After the highlight of Nioh 2's story, which was an amazing tale, I expected Nioh 3's story to be just as good or better, but I was extremely disappointed. I didn't care about any character or what was happening to them. The story tries to focus on a jealous brother who throws a tantrum after not getting what he wanted, but you barely see this brother throughout the game, so the urgency and character development are completely missing. Every NPC feels lifeless due to poor motivation and extremely poor voice acting. I had no idea what I was doing or why I was jumping between the past and future—it was so poorly explained that I simply couldn't care about what was going on.”
- “The urgency and character development aren't there at all because the brother character, supposedly central to the story, is barely seen, and all NPCs feel lifeless due to poor motives and voice acting.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game is praised for being feature complete and well optimized with no microtransactions, offering a refreshing experience free from monetization pressures. Users appreciate the ability to skip ads, contrasting it with typical cash grab practices.
- “You should be playing this if you love single player action packed samurai and ninja games with zero microtransactions, feature complete, and well optimized.”
- “Cash grab”
- “This game feels like a general improvement, but being able to skip ads a lot improves the experience alone.”
- “You should be playing this if you love single player action-packed samurai and ninja games with zero microtransactions, feature complete, and well optimized.”