Nioh 3 Demo: Totally Professional, Not at All Unhinged Impressions

Stunned. I am fucking stunned.

Pardon my language, but I’m still shocked by the Nioh 3 reveal from the recent PlayStation State of Play.

In case you don’t know, the reason why I’m so blown away by this announcement is because for almost 5 years now, I fully believed that the Nioh franchise was over.

Why wouldn’t I? In a 2020 interview with Famitsu following the release of Nioh 2, the developer behind the series stated that they were done working on the franchise and would be moving on to other IP. Which they did – Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Rise of the Ronin, even a collaboration with Square Enix for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

They said they were done, and I believed them. I accepted it. Two of my favorite games of all time would forever be a duology that spun off and inspired other games, but that’s it.

But then on June 4th, 2025, Team Ninja showed up to the State of Play and announced Nioh 3. It’s freaking real, and it’s coming “early 2026” (which dollars to donuts means March. Just look at Nioh 2, Stranger of Paradise, Wo Long, Rise of the Ronin – these devs have been releasing in March like clockwork).

And not only is Nioh 3 real and less than a year away, they also shadow dropped an Alpha Demo.

And here I am, having played Nioh 3’s demo for over 8 hours – and I have thoughts to share.

For background, Nioh was my first real entry point into the Soulslike genre. Yes, even before I played the actual Soulsborne games. My first time through, I sucked at the game. But then, for whatever reason, I went back to the game when I was starting a Twitch channel in 2018. I played it again, and again on NG+, and again on NG++++++++… you get the picture.

I found a community of extremely skilled players that welcomed me with open arms. They helped me learn how to get really good at the game. They even pulled me into the genre at large – up to the point that I was doing challenge runs and SL1 playthroughs of Dark Souls III.

I have hundreds of hours in Nioh and Nioh 2, as well as both platinums. Nioh changed my habits, tastes, and views as a gamer – leaving a truly tangible impact like few others.

So with that context in mind, here’s a rundown of some of the most notable changes I saw in the Nioh 3 Alpha Demo, along with my thoughts on these updates to the formula so far.

Major Changes in the Nioh 3 Alpha Demo

Let’s start with some of the big ones I noticed right off the rip, including some sound bites that should give you a good idea of my reactions:

(Warning: this list will be super professional and not at all wonderfully unhinged…)

• THERE’S A JUMP IN NIOH? WAIT. THERE’S A DOUBLE JUMP IN NIOH?

• Hold on. THERE’S A CROUCH TOO? AND STEALTH GRASS?

• I am so lost. THIS PLACE IS HUGE. And now I need to remember to travel UP and not just FORWARD? The verticality changes EVERYTHING

• Where am I? Holy crap. THERE’S A MAP. AND I CAN DROP WAYPOINTS ON MY COMPASS. SINCE WHEN ARE WE DOING SO MUCH QUALITY OF LIFE

• Found a few shrines now but I have no idea how to backtrack to where I started… oh. OH MY GOD. I CAN FAST TRAVEL AT ANY TIME TO SHRINES I’VE UNLOCKED. I DON’T EVEN NEED TO BE AT ONE TO DO IT

• Hold up. Just noticed – sprinting while out of combat no longer drains your Ki (aka stamina). GOD BLESS

Let’s pause here to summarize the above, which we’ll call “Running around and not even talking about the actual combat and gameplay stuff yet.”

The changes to the game’s map, level design, and even just basic movement mechanics greatly alter how it feels to play Nioh 3 vs. the previous two titles. Instead of the traditional mission-based level design, the world is “open zone” (I won’t say fully open world, at least for now, because I don’t know that all these areas crafted around main mission objectives will be seamlessly connected).

On top of that, even just the simple additions of jump, double jump, crouch, actual stealth, freely available fast travel, custom waypoints and all the rest means that the level design is wider, more wending, and more complex than ever. It also means how you explore and approach combat encounters is different too – you can more easily stealth to pick off small targets, take the high ground by accessing roofs or high ledges, back track to previous areas to look for things you might’ve missed or new objectives and so much more.

The changes are seemingly so simple. Like we’re talking about a freaking double jump and fast travel here. But the results are a totally new experience. I don’t want to mention the Elden Ring elephant in the room since those open world Souls comparisons can get out of hand so quickly, but I think this non-mention alone gets the point across.

So, now let’s get into the meaty stuff – the impact on combat and gameplay:

(*Totally professional mode re-engages*)

• Okay so… let’s figure out this Samurai and Ninja style business. Wait, NO MORE DUAL WEAPON SLOTS? I guess the style shifts replace that…

• Oh god, TWO sets of gear to manage… people are gonna LOVE that…

• So Samurai is the more “traditional” Nioh experience… EXCEPT I HAVE TO UNLOCK MY HIGH AND LOW STANCES? Nahhhh man why

• Ninja DOESN’T HAVE A KI PULSE TO RECOVER STAMINA? THAT’S SO NERFED WHY WOULD YOU EVER

• I guess Ninja is really just good for stealth and exploration since it gets a backstab bonus then…

• But wait. THEY MESSED WITH BURST COUNTERS? NOW IT’S TIED TO SHIFTING BETWEEN THE TWO STYLES? But Ninja can’t Ki pulse!!

• Oh. Oh wait. NINJA IS BROKE. I’M WRECKING THIS YOKAI. ITS STAMINA CONSUMPTION IS NOTHING

• Oh hey, Living Weapon is back. Well, Living Artifact now I guess. And soul cores are… different? It’s your Onmyo magic now? I guess I can learn this – but the onboarding for series newcomers is gonna be… even more I guess

• Skill trees look smaller for each weapon now – maybe that’s just the demo build…?

• OHHHH I get it – a lot of your passive skills are unlocked from texts you find from completing map objectives. That’s actually REALLY smart, exploration is super rewarding then

• Is this gonna be an Ubisoft problem though…? No, no towers. PHEW

• But there are… enemy bases to clear out? And NPC side quest givers? AND KODAMA. ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD. THE KODAMA AND THE SCAMPUSS ARE TOTALLY BACK-

• What. What is that. WHAT IS THAT GOOD BOI? WHAT IS A CHIJIKO AND WHY AM I PETTING IT? THIS IS ADORABLE 10/10

• Uhhh. What’s a Crucible? And a Lesser Crucible? WHAT DO YOU MEAN TAKING DAMAGE REDUCES MY MAX HEALTH? GIVE IT BACK

• Never mind. These new Yokai are SICK. These new challenges are SICK. NIOH 3 IS SICK

If the above recreation of my internal monologue while playing the Alpha Demo is anything to go by, you may be able to tell that at first, I was somewhat resistant to the shake ups in the Nioh combat formula (shocker – me, resistant to change? I never…)

Initially, the feeling of not having the ability to equip and freely swap between two weapons like in the original games threw me a bit – especially since that was a point of comparison I noted when critiquing The First Berserker: Khazan earlier this year.

But then I realized that the Samurai and Ninja styles really are your two weapons, and the devs want you switching between them on the fly.

So far in the demo, Samurai has access to katanas, odachi, and spears with strong attack arts proficiency, while Ninja has access to dual swords, kusarigama, and dual claws along with Ninjutsu. There’s a clear divide between your heavy damage vs. DPS style weapons – so I wouldn’t be surprised if in the full game Samurai got axes and Ninja got tonfa or something along those lines too.

But then there’s the issue of being absolutely thrown for a loop upon learning that the Ninja style doesn’t have access to a Ki pulse. In Nioh, the Ki pulse is your lifeline. Unlike in other Soulslikes, you are constantly hitting a Ki pulse after attacking or dodging in order to regain some of your stamina and sustain the extremely fast-paced, high-action combat style that makes these games what they are.

So the lack of a Ki pulse for the entire Ninja style made it feel completely unsuited to combat at first. Instead, it has a “Mist” ability that’s kind of like a stamina-less dodge or side-step. But after my stupid stubborn gamer brain stopped being, well… stubborn and I actually tried using the Ninja in combat and not just for stealthing around the world, I realized how kind of broken it is.

In the absence of a Ki pulse, the Ninja style consumes far less stamina than the Samurai. This means that you can chain together near constant attacks without having to worry too much about running out of Ki. An exception would be under the effects of Yokai realms which are puddles of oozy darkness Yokai summon to nerf your stamina recovery.

Normally, you can dispel these with a Ki pulse. See the problem? But towards the end of the demo, I actually unlocked a way to dispel Yokai realms with the Ninja’s Mist ability. And outside of scenarios where I was deflecting and parrying (an ability reserved for Samurai style), I was leaning increasingly on the Ninja style both in and out of combat.

On top of the two styles having different combat mechanics, weapons, and specialties like the aforementioned deflection or your Ninjutsu, each style also gets its own Guardian Spirit forms. GS is back and closer to the Living Weapons that were in Nioh vs. the Yokai forms in Nioh 2.

Additionally, instead of always entering Living Weapon (now called Living Artifact) form, you can use Guardian Spirit abilities that have their own separate charge and are basically special attacks that help knock down a Yokai’s Ki.

But as I alluded to before, with each style having their own weapons and specialties, they also each have their own gear sets to manage. Traditionally, one of the biggest criticisms of the Nioh games is the loot system. There’s loot, and then some more loot, and then some more loot on top of that. Inventory caps get hit fast and a lot of small incremental stats make gear upgrades seem kind of meaningless until a couple NG+’s in.

It's a confusing pain and a mess to manage. And now with two sets of gear, I don’t know that that’s going to get any better in Nioh 3. Especially when you still have a ton of other systems to manage for your build – like collecting Yokai soul cores to turn into magic items/abilities, Kodama and now Jizo statue blessings tied to regional map completion, skill trees for each weapon in the Samurai and Ninja styles, and additional skills unlocked by finding texts in chests or as mission rewards and spending points at shrines.

The inventory, gear, and stat management woes are nothing new for Nioh. But what I will say is that moving away from the mission-based level design and tying even more of your character progression to exploration makes the experience feel that much more rewarding (so long as you’re willing to engage with it all).

And speaking of rewarding – nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes me happier in Nioh games than finding Kodama. In a world full of things that want to kill you, these little guys are quite literally a refuge as the keepers of your shrines and safe spaces. Nioh 2 added the wonderfully rotund Scampuss, and now Nioh 3 is adding yet another friendly face in the form of Chijiko.

They are apparently shapeshifting little ferret Yokai who like to be used for target practice and then pet. And you know what. I have no notes. Thank you, Team Ninja.

But the main attractions for exploring the world are enemy bases, side missions, and Crucibles. Enemy bases are what they sound like – camps with a set number of enemies where if you clear them out, you get a reward, often involving skill texts and/or Kodama, both of which are well worth it.

You’ll also come across NPC quest givers who’ll ask you to complete various tasks, and the first couple in the demo were mostly simple but satisfying narratives. The best part for me though was that each objective in their quest line was clearly marked on the map – another wonderful QoL feature I would not have expected in anything Soulslike-adjacent.

And finally, the Crucibles are a challenging new addition to the world of things that want to kill you in Nioh. Lesser Crucibles are like small combat arenas that you’re locked into until either you die or everything else does. And as you take damage, your max health takes a hit and you won’t be able to recover it fully until you beat more enemies and/or eliminate the Lesser Crucible entirely. As if Dark Realms that nerf your stamina weren’t enough (and those are back too), this new spin on combat is quite literally coming for your life.

But the main Crucible was a much larger affair – and at least for the demo, it’s where the main boss for the area resides. Entering into a Crucible essentially puts you into a different realm separate from the normal world. Instead of typical Nioh shrines, you’ll be resting at Bodhisattva statues, and your fast travel will be restricted to this new realm.

With the threat to your maximum health bar, how you engage in combat takes on even higher stakes. It’s kind of what it would be like for an entire Nioh 2 mission to be set in a massive Dark Realm with teeth. Aesthetically it’s a total shake up for the game too – transporting you from the bloody but occasionally beautiful plains of feudal Japan to a demonic realm of rocks, lava, and giant glowing skulls.

I can see these Crucibles being incredibly tough to tackle come the full game – especially with how much of a truck the boss waiting at the end was, let alone all the dangers along the path to get there. But mastering this area forced me to really reconcile with all the new systems Nioh 3 is packing and by the end, I felt a very clear transition from my initial resistance to a complete settling in and vibing with the changes to the gameplay formula.

Closing Thoughts

Nioh is not and never will be a game for everyone. Nioh 3 will be no different in that regard. But for people like me who relish in the extreme depth of the combat systems and levels of player expression they enable, Nioh 3 feels like both a homecoming and a new adventure that I had never even dreamed of undertaking.

There are plenty of things I didn’t dive deep into here as features returning from the previous games (like spending Amrita at shrines to level up a la Souls style RPG, resource-based co-op, returning weapon skills, and even freaking Kappa) but I think I’ve hit on enough points to give you the big picture of my impressions after walking away from this Alpha Demo.

Do I think this will be a welcoming new experience with super friendly onboarding for new players? Nope. Nioh continues to be a complex set of systems with an overwhelming UI (which in this case has even gotten worse in spots, like how unclear it is just to compare new vs. equipped gear). These games have a super steep learning curve even when it comes to the base level of play – never mind the true meta of the end game.

But are the gameplay changes in the Nioh 3 demo even more impactful, exciting, and surprising than what we saw in the transition from Nioh to Nioh 2? Oh hell yes. And given how responsive these devs have been to player feedback in the past with every single Alpha/Beta/Demo test they’ve run, I cannot wait to see what this full product looks like when we get our hands on it early next year.

Needless to say, my impressions shifted from initial resistance and mild concern to overwhelming hope and excitement at the potential of this literal dream announcement for Nioh dorks like me. If I could sum my thoughts up in two words, I think they would be –

FUCK YEAH