Nioh 3 is the new release of the successful Team Ninja saga and, far from being a simply continuous title, it was encouraged to evolve the franchise by adding an open world and a combat system that varies between samurai and ninja.As a result, we have a unique game that stands out for being as satisfying as it is excessive in its possibilities.
One of the greatest achievements of Nioh 3 is being a very ambitious game that included new mechanics without losing the essence and identity of its saga.Beyond everything that a Nioh game has to have, in this new exponent you can feel and see all the studio’s expertise in making challenging action games.
Without wanting to exaggerate, Nioh 3’s combat is one of the best and most unique systems ever developed, at least from my experience.The samurai mode is what all fans of the saga already know, a more systematic type of fighting where we can use different types of weapons, each of them with its own attack kit and skill tree.Likewise, this type of combat has three postures that also change its development to a more offensive, balanced or defensive style.
However, the great feature of samurai mode and Nioh is the delki pulse that forces the player to touch a button at a certain time after performing a series of attacks to recover stamina.This feature is one of the most differential in the saga and generates an interesting type of combat since its correct use allows you to make combos of all kinds without losing energy.
So far what is already known, but now, with just the press of a button and without waiting time, we can become a ninja, which completely changes our skillset and way of playing.In ninja mode, agility and ninjutsu become our main allies.As in samurai mode, here we also have new types of weapons, each of them with their own characteristics and skill tree.
In any case, the difference is that we no longer have the deki pulse but after each attack we have the ability to perform a dash without losing stamina.This allows us to perform a series of quick attacks while moving from one side to the other at great speed.In this same sense, the postures of the samurai mode are changed by ninjutsu, ninja arts of all kinds ranging from shuriken, kunai and traps to movement and elemental attacks.
What I thought was a great decision regarding ninjutsu is that they have a limited number of uses but they recharge when we deal damage, so it is not something we throw and then forget about its existence but rather we can use them consistently in the most challenging battles and they have a lot to contribute depending on how we customize it.
This is not all, we also have protective guardians that give us passives and elemental attacks, enemy cores that allow us to perform magic and summons during battle, particular attacks of weapons that we can learn using them, skills that we can find on the map and equip, a title system that allows us to raise bonuses of different aspects and, obviously, the classic soulslike leveling that we will have to pay attention to since our weapons scale according to some statistics.
The first few hours of Nioh 3 can be really overwhelming because they seem like an introduction to endless mechanics that keep adding up and all of them seem important.Added to this is its Diablo-style loot system where with just a few battles our inventory is filled with objects, weapons and equipment with a lot of colors and statistics that can overwhelm even the most fanatical of the genre.
I neither deny nor affirm that playing the title and, on more than one occasion, I thought that it was enough, that so much information and mechanics were not necessary.However, there is something that changes everything and that is that when we fight everything flows perfectly.So much so that the combat itself is what encourages us to want to try new things, change others and experiment with strategies.
At a more advanced point in the game and with the learning of its mechanics done, you realize that not everything is completely mandatory and that depending on the type of player you are, you can find the experience you want.For example, in my case, at a certain point I decided to keep a specific set of weapons and focus on customizing these weapons and their abilities, leaving aside the others.Likewise, the invocations seemed more fun to me than the magic, so I also chose to stay delving deeper into those sections.
The game offers a lot of possibilities and ways to fight and it is up to each person to choose which one suits them best.Of course, some elements are essential regardless of the strategy you use.Both ninja mode and samurai mode are combat styles that we are going to have to use and learn.Obviously, this is a challenging and difficult game but it also manages to offer many possibilities and ways of playing for players.
The ambition of Nioh 3 is not only found in the combat since to develop all these elements you also need a structure that surrounds it and this is where the open world comes in, which, from Team Ninja, they defined as open fields.The story of the game, which does not stand out much, leads us to resolve different political conflicts to which is added a yokai invasion that endangers the present and future of the country.
Because of this, we will have to travel in time to solve different points of conflict.This causes us to travel to different locations and regions over time that are presented as open worlds although they are not directly connected.These areas have regions with recommended levels, secondary missions and a lot of events to solve such as collecting collectibles, capturing enemy bases and challenging different samurai masters.
Even though the open world is not perfect and has some negative things such as the repetition of enemies and things to do, there is something that does work and that is that it makes the farming and leveling of the character feel organic.Also, as these challenges already become known and comfortable to solve, they also function as a way to experiment and try new ways of combat that, perhaps, against the main and more challenging bosses we are not allowed.
Beyond these open areas where we spend a large part of the game, the main story takes us to different purgatories, places corrupted by yokai, where everything becomes more linear and classic.At all times, Nioh 3 mixes mechanics and concepts that one would imagine should go their separate ways, but in the final product they end up working in a very correct and fun way.Always under the wing of his combat that makes everything count.
Finally I want to mention that although artistically I liked the game a lot, in its technical section there are some limitations that gave me the feeling that it could look a little better.Furthermore, in certain areas and moments I had some drops in frames per second and performance that did not complicate the experience but were noticeable.
I have no doubt that Nioh 3 is and will be the favorite game of the year for many players.Its impressive combat system and exaggerated possibilities make it a unique and challenging installment.Team Ninja did an excellent job of maintaining the essence of Nioh and adding elements from other installments such as Rise of the Rōnin, Wo Long Fallen Dynasty and even Ninja Gaiden.
