• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Nioh 3 | Review Thread

Nioh is a fantastic series, I've loved the first two games so I'm happy this sequel is another great entry and the transition to a more open world formula is a success.
I'll definetly pick it up this year, maybe not at launch since I want to give priority to other games already preordered.
 
Have to say it, this game proves a fundamental bias in scoring where at the highest end, graphics and story are over-valued versus pure gameplay.

Great presentation plus good gameplay is 90+, Great gameplay but merely good presentation <90.
 
Clear said:
Have to say it, this game proves a fundamental bias in scoring where at the highest end, graphics and story are over-valued versus pure gameplay.

Great presentation plus good gameplay is 90+, Great gameplay but merely good presentation <90.
Click to expand...
I do agree that for many, especially multiplayer gamers but also I'm in this pool too, the story and especially graphics are(I feel) over-rated when it comes to overall review score.

I say on here all the time how graphics aren't really that important and Dark Souls basically ran like shit forever and was still the goat.

That said, I don't resent them for valuing these things. In fact, if they did give a game a perfect score just for the gameplay then they would catch a lot of flack from people who bought it expecting the total package.

So I get it. To me, Nioh 2 is a goat my man, I see you and actually totally agree with you but I also recognize we are in the minority of gamers so I get why the scores are like they are. This is pure gameplay and systems and it's going to be great. I think Team Ninja sees Nioh as their flagship.
 
Vlodril said:
Weird for this mediocre series.
Click to expand...

Stfu

QmEtLyuGFMD1XNS4.gif
 
Zacfoldor said:
I do agree that for many, especially multiplayer gamers but also I'm in this pool too, the story and especially graphics are(I feel) over-rated when it comes to overall review score.

I say on here all the time how graphics aren't really that important and Dark Souls basically ran like shit forever and was still the goat.

That said, I don't resent them for valuing these things. In fact, if they did give a game a perfect score just for the gameplay then they would catch a lot of flack from people who bought it expecting the total package.

So I get it. To me, Nioh 2 is a goat my man, I see you and actually totally agree with you but I also recognize we are in the minority of gamers so I get why the scores are like they are. This is pure gameplay and systems and it's going to be great. I think Team Ninja sees Nioh as their flagship.
Click to expand...

I feel like the core issue is that graphical progression does not curve upwards infinitely. 20 years ago the difference between the high and low end was much more extreme than it is today, and I expect in the future that delta is going to continue to narrow.

This is purely because ultimately the bar is mainly about achieving equivalence with reality, so when we reach a point where visuals are at a point of photo-realism... the job is done. And the truth is, in the best cases we're really, really close to that in this generation.

My point is that if this is the high-end, then the low end is what ? Just looking like an attractive game from a few years previously ? Especially as we're not talking about really rough approximations of whatever's being depicted, all muddy textures and polygon edges like we had at the start of the 3d gen.

In my view there will inevitably come a time where it'll purely be about preference of style or aesthetic, things that are totally subjective based on the viewer's tastes.

Obviously any review, any opinion, is heavily subjective but I'd make the case that visual fidelity as a "difference maker" metric will need to become deprioritized to a level more on par with say audio-design - and as we know the best audio design in the world very rarely moves the needle when it comes to scoring!
 
Mephisto40 said:
Would people say to expect this to be more punishing than the likes of Elden Ring

Love DS and Elden Ring, but I cannot stand parry being the only block option, does it force you to use parries primarily rather than blocking?
Click to expand...
It can be more punishing but it's always fair. You have to look at the game from a fighting game perspective. It's never a case of lame hitboxes.

You are able to block, parry, dodge, use spacing, jump and double jump(new feature), weapon specific spot block and counter, burst counter/interrupt.

Lots of nuance in this game compared to the rigid gameplay of Souls/Elden Ring.
 
DaciaJC said:
If you're on PC, I can try gifting you a Steam copy.
Click to expand...
Hey, I really appreciate the offer, that's super generous of you! I'd love to accept, but I'll make sure to return the favor when I'm able to. Thanks again, it really means a lot.

I'll send you a DM
 
Last edited:
Mephisto40 said:
Would people say to expect this to be more punishing than the likes of Elden Ring

Love DS and Elden Ring, but I cannot stand parry being the only block option, does it force you to use parries primarily rather than blocking?
Click to expand...
I haven't played this one but apparently it's easier than the other games people are saying. I thought ER was very easy and I doubt it's as easy as that.
 
Mephisto40 said:
Would people say to expect this to be more punishing than the likes of Elden Ring

Love DS and Elden Ring, but I cannot stand parry being the only block option, does it force you to use parries primarily rather than blocking?
Click to expand...
I don't think so...


Unless you really suck at action games, the two first Nioh games gives you a lot of tools to adapt the gameplay to your style.

Judging by the demo, Nioh 3 gives you even more mechanics to enjoy the gameplay loop.


Also, you can summon other players to help you, and if you don't like that, you can even summon ai controlled characters from other players.

Obviously there are some challenges that requires a lot the player skills and understanding of the game. It's not an easy game, but it is a quite fair game.

About parry: Nope. You can fully play all Nioh games without parrying. Parrying is even locked behind a skill upgrade. It's just a play style and there are many others.


On Nioh you can play the way you want, it has many different skills, weapons and armors that can suit your play style.

One of the most praised parts of the Nioh series is the build variety.
 
Gonzito said:
Another one: if you die and lose your souls in a boss, when you repeat the combat you get them automatically without having to pick them up. I loved that in the demo
Click to expand...
Agree! When your learning a complex, challenging boss fight how is scurrying around for your lost souls helping or exciting?!

While we're at it I hate souls healing. Running into the corner to chug a flask really breaks the combat flow.

At least in Nioh it's really quick.
 
mayham2199 said:
I haven't played this one but apparently it's easier than the other games people are saying. I thought ER was very easy and I doubt it's as easy as that.
Click to expand...
It is a different kind of challenging than Elden Ring and Dark Souls. In Nioh, you need to learn the games somewhat complex combat mechanics or you are going to have a tough time. Elden Ring has more simplistic combat. Once you learn Nioh's combat, it is easier than Elden Ring, imo. Mostly because you have many more tools at your disposal

Nioh 3 is by all accounts the easiest of all the Nioh games, especially early game. It makes a genuine attempt to on board new players
 
Last edited:
iHaunter said:
I played first one, hated it. Mission style souls' game. Count me out. Unless that changed,
Click to expand...

Based on the demo (just beat it), looks like it has changed. The open world is done very well and the main story is seamless and not done in a mission select screen (I personally hate that too). There are some "side missions" still where you select.
 
Dynasty8 said:
Based on the demo (just beat it), looks like it has changed. The open world is done very well and the main story is seamless and not done in a mission select screen (I personally hate that too). There are some "side missions" still where you select.
Click to expand...
Oh that's good to know. I'll check it out then!
 
I haven't received my key yet. Game is available now

Edit: I thought this was the OT my bad
 
Last edited:
I'm old school, so I just ordered the disc version from an online shop. Still on Nioh 1 DLC and a bit of Nioh 2, but Nioh 3 is difficult to resist.
 
Having never played a Nioh game, but have poured many hours into Dark Souls / Elden / Lords of the Fallen ... I can just jump into this right? No need to play the other games? I will at some point.
 
Performance is just unplayable for me, and I am not upgrading my CPU yet for one game ( this is the ONLY game I've ever had issues with because of my CPU ).
There really is no excuse for the game being as demanding as it is it doesn't look bad but it also doesn't look that good I've played far better looking ones that are open world just fine.

Game is great I am sure but it seems like more people are talking about the performance issues now at least.
Optimization is just not good honestly, the frame pacing issue too is very frustrating if you can't run it at a stable 60 at all times it turns into a stuttery slowmo mess.

Edit: It did make me consider upgrading tho so I'll get around to it eventually so there's that at least.
But I cba to do that right now I'll probably get around to playing this on my summer vacation maybe instead.

Macattk15 said:
Having never played a Nioh game, but have poured many hours into Dark Souls / Elden / Lords of the Fallen ... I can just jump into this right? No need to play the other games? I will at some point.
Click to expand...

Nioh is pretty different honestly it's far more like a straight up action game much more fast paced too ( and so are enemies they don't tend to do slow wind-ups they tend to attack pretty fast ).
The only thing they really have in common is the overall loop of the game with respawning at an '' altar '' and being difficult.
You might find it a bit frustrating at first if you approach it as a Fromsoft game.
 
Last edited:
Jesb said:
I was shocked that this game performs so horribly on steamdeck.
Click to expand...

It's their engine. Katana engine is extremely dated. The performance was already bad with more linear games so imagine how bad it is now with open areas lol
 
Clear said:
Have to say it, this game proves a fundamental bias in scoring where at the highest end, graphics and story are over-valued versus pure gameplay.

Great presentation plus good gameplay is 90+, Great gameplay but merely good presentation <90.
Click to expand...
Reviewers are retarded and don't know how to play games. So they have to resort to looking and graphics and story in order to rate a game.
 
Light_Crusader25 said:
Bought the first one but am yet to try it. I've heard the series is even more challenging than the Souls titles...Any truth to it?
Click to expand...

Nioh 2 is extremely challenging yes. Nioh 3 it's so far easier in my opinion, which is a negative but it is still a challenging game obviously. Its hard to tell because it depends on the player skills but if you are familiar with souls games I dont see how this games difficulty would be an issue for you
 
Gonzito said:
It's their engine. Katana engine is extremely dated. The performance was already bad with more linear games so imagine how bad it is now with open areas lol
Click to expand...

It just blows my mind how much this game got glazed for its performance, and any sort of criticism and talking about performance issue got screamed down especially on reddit and steam ( I know it's reddit and steam lol ).
I dunno about more super modern hardware can't speak for that but there's zero reason for the game to be as demanding as it is and run as poorly as it does on a bit older hardware especially CPU's.
Real shame honestly both Nioh 3 and Code Vein 2 right after one another too.
 
Last edited:
Fuck, $200 cad after taxes.lol Oh well lots of gaming goodness to be had with these 2. Loving Nioh 3 so far. Beat the demo, gonna put some hours into it today.
pxGnmg9sj5CTmi6l.jpeg
 
The artful mincer said:
A couple of things this game does that every soulslike should do else punishment by death.

1.Free respec.

So every tool, skill, weapon ability etc is easily accessible. No more defeating a super hard boss to be rewarded with a weapon not compatible with your build. Looking at you Elden Twat.

2.Rechargeable tools/spells in game or at shrines.

No more have to go farm tools after you've used them all up at a hard boss fight. Looking at you Cuntsong.
Click to expand...

I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter
 
I was mildly curious, so I looked up the game. It's partially based on real history, which is kind of cool. If I had more time, I'd like to check it out.
 
Macattk15 said:
Having never played a Nioh game, but have poured many hours into Dark Souls / Elden / Lords of the Fallen ... I can just jump into this right? No need to play the other games? I will at some point.
Click to expand...
I'm near the end of the first. And I hear 2 and this one are really good. I suggest do the whole series.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Crimson Desert | Review Thread
Analysis Review  2
87
88
Moondoggy replied
Digital Foundry: Nioh 3 DF Review - PS5/PS5 Pro - Immense Fun But The Katana Engine Needs An Upgrade
2
74
1K
xenosys replied
Nioh 3 gets 18 minutes gameplay overview
29
474
EerieArcade replied
Pokémon Pokopia - Review Thread
Analysis Review  2 3 4
151
1K
archangelmorph replied
Jurassic World Evolution 3 | Review Thread
Analysis Review 
22
626
Ashamam replied
Top Bottom