Nioh 3 brings open zones and ninjas in 2026
A third entry in the Nioh series was revealed at the PlayStation State of Play showcase. We got a good look at the gameplay ahead of its 2026 release, but there's a demo available now for you to test it out for yourself.
Nioh was Koei Tecmo's take on the popular Souls-like genre of games, but with a distinctly Japanese twist. The first two games are each set in historical Japanese eras, and Nioh 3 is no different, with the trailer closing on the introduction of a young Tokugawa. This would place the game in the unstable Sengoku period. The only other plot details shared were that our protagonist is on a quest to become the next Shogun and is fiercely dedicated to defeating the yokai for a mysterious reason.
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The announcement trailer was packed with high-speed and brutal action that set the original games apart from others in the genre. Monstrous and magical Yokai are heavily featured, but there are some new tricks up our sleeves to combat them. Chief among them is the new styles players will pick from: Samurai and Ninja. Samurai style will be familiar to past games, focusing on Arts, parries, and an aggressive playstyle.
The new Ninja style focuses on dodges, taking advantage of elevation, and Ninjitsu techniques like Mist, which leaves an afterimage clone after attacking. You won't have to choose just one style, though. In Nioh 3 you will be able to swap back and forth between both styles on the fly. We see this in action as the samurai class parries blows before slipping into the Ninja form to leap away and attack from above with a ranged weapon.
Where previous games were level-based, Nioh 3 now features wide open fields to explore, said to be filled with enemies, secrets, and challenges in something called 'The Crucible.'
Nioh 3 will launch sometime in early 2026 and is currently only announced for PS5, but you can play the demo right now. Act fast, because the demo will only be up until June 18.
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