Demo is awesome and very meaty. When I heard it was going open world, I had concerns it was going to be a re-run of Rise of the Ronin. If not for the signature Team Ninja combat system, Rise would've been one of the most forgettable games of the generation.
What Nioh 3 shows us is exactly why Rise did not really work. Its over-reliance on human enemies paled in comparison to what Team Ninja can do with the yokai. We kind of suspected this at the time, coming from Nioh 2, but now that Nioh 3 cherry-picks the best mechanics of Rise and pits them against a more comprehensive enemy roster, we can confirm it.
The other issue with Rise was that its more grounded historical setting didn't give Team Ninja much artistic freedom. My main memory of Rise is riding across rolling hills with a ton of grass pop-in. The nightmarish world of Nioh 3 is dramatically more appealing because Team Ninja are now free to bathe its hellscape with tons of atmospheric effects, twisted structures and whatever color palette they feel like.
This aids in the 'level' design too. Seeing that monstrosity in the sky as the title card drops is the best Breath of the Wild-style emergence from the cave moment in a long time. As mean as it is to say, since I know Rise of the Ronin was stuck in development hell for 9 years, it almost feels like it was the training run for this...
Also really glad Yugo Kanno is returning as composer. Hearing the the amazing Nioh theme again got me so hyped.