‘Nioh 3’, a fantastic journey to feudal Japan with Lovecraftian creatures

Although the fiction changed the names of the protagonists, the story belongs to the authentic western samurai William Adams, who was the protagonist of the primer Nioh (2017), which focuses on paper in an environment steeped in Shinto folklore.

Nioh 2 (2020) revolved around the character of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and covered a much wider period of his history. Now, with Nioh 3Team Ninja has abandoned any historical pretense with descar to take on the most imaginative aspect of the series and design journeys in time over two thousand years to present the epic rivalry between the nephews of the famous shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to succeed him to the throne.

The year is 1622 in the new capital of Edo. Tokugawa Takechiyo was chosen by the patriarch to ascend to the post of shogun. However, his hand, Kunimatsu, embargoed by envy and fear of ambition, plans an attack on the fortress with a legion of yokai that massacres both mentors.

Takechiyo is saved from death by his guardian spirit, Kusanagi, y It is sent simultaneouslyfive years ago, where he and his abuelo found themselves in full combat against the colors of Takeda Shingen, the tiger of Kai.

His mansion in Hamamatsu Castle was occupied by a huge Lovecraftian creaturea colossal evil eye that opens in the sky and moves in the darkness above the enclave, flooding the yokai area. Armed with a holy sword, Takechiyo is the only one able to penetrate the darkness and find that the story resists the mysterious misappropriations of his human Kunimatsu.

Team Ninja wasn’t completely dead. Six years after the previous title, they launched SStranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022), Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (2023) Rise of the Ronin (2024), titles with a very different sensibility and setting to those running free of embargo My battle patron is inspired by the school of souls.

Having stretched his creative muscles through these experiments, he returns to the series that launched his second youth with renewed energy and new ideas in a hugely ambitious endeavor.

The most significant changes are those related to the level structure and the dichotomy between samurai and ninja. Nioh 3 Completely abandon the old mission lines and embrace the open world formatwith the peculiarity that instead of a gigantic environment there are three zones set in very different periods of Japanese history.

These areas give Ubisoft an undeniable flavor (with level-defined icons, enemy bases, collections and sectors) at the expense of a more organic approach that established Elden Ring (2022) isn’t over the top though, moving the action along at a good pace and rewarding exploration of its surroundings.

The samurai/ninja dual is more complete than similar. By pressing the right trigger we can switch between classessamurai stronger for frontal impact and ninja much faster and quicker to ambush and use ninjutsu and magic.

‘Nioh’ has always had a reputation for being the hardest side of soul, but it sure feels the most relaxed here.

Each weapon is tied to a certain class, depending on its emphasis, and while it’s normal for veterans to feel more comfortable with a samurai, which is a class more similar to the gameplay of previous titles, what is certain is that the game puts us in various situations where a winning strategy involves alternating between the two. The classes have a very different way of managing ki, energy bars to perform attacks, and the concept work can be complete, but the rewards are obvious in line with the progression of the plot.

About general difficulty. Nioh there is always a Frenchman who is most put off by it hardcore souls, with a lot of mechanics and one boss that occasionally exceeds the limit of the order. But what is certain is that there is a more relaxed feeling here, precisely because of the open world format, which rewards more conscious exploration with substantial improvements and the amazing versatility of its combat system.

yes yes It’s not a newbie friendly game, no less. With each trick, Team Ninja introduced new mechanics that were combined because these uppercut heights are significant. However, the tutorials are accurate and well-intentioned the information overload is undeniable.

Nioh 3 It is the result of the last decade of Team Ninja, a game where everything worked in the past and they are reaping the rewards of its huge volume of production. Thanks to their technological sobriety, they are able to throw a puzzle when other studios come together in one and the same way.

There may be differences in the primer Nioh (a game that Lucía missed in 2017) despite the passage of time, but the brilliant art direction remains stunning, and that’s all about yokai design. It doesn’t do as much narratively as it does Rise of the Ronin (where they proved that if they design it, they can count the most ambitious and well-documented stories Assassin’s Creed), but the character motivations are strong and the time puzzle is put together in a satisfying way.

A fantastic story that explores pivotal moments in Japan’s thousand-year history with an epic twist. Surprising design, but only suitable for the most enthusiastic.