After five long years, Team Ninja has finally given us what you’ve been waiting for: Nioh 3 is finally happening! The dark samurai action RPG is coming back with some huge surprises. Team Ninja has been working on features that will completely change how you experience these brutal yokai battles. This guide covers all the important stuff you need to know about Nioh 3, including the release date, combat styles, demo access, and more!
Table of Contents
New Combat Styles in Nioh 3
The awesome and stunning 2-minute trailer for Nioh 3 was revealed at the latest PlayStation State of Play 2025. In the game, you will play as a young warrior who wants to become the next Shogun. While Team Ninja hasn’t revealed much about why your characters fight yokai (demons), they said that the story will unfold as you progress.
The trailer shows one of the biggest changes in Nioh 3, which is the dual combat system. You are no longer stuck with just one fighting style throughout the game now. Instead, you can switch between two completely different playstyles: Samurai and Ninja.
Dual Combat System in Nioh 3 Explained
To understand more about the dual combat system, you can watch the trailer below:
Samurai Style
The Samurai style will feel familiar if you have played previous Nioh games. You get up close with your enemies, use heavy weapons, and face them head-to-head in awesome melee combat. There are two new features in Samurai style:
- Arts Proficiency: Makes your martial arts attacks much stronger.
- Deflect: Lets you block enemy attacks at the very last second for maximum effect.
Ninja Style
The Ninja style is completely different. You will have to focus on speed, agility, and outsmarting your enemies. You can dodge attacks more easily and perform aerial moves too. The new key Ninja techniques are:
- Mist: Creates a clone of yourself after attacking.
- Evade: Incredibly precise dodging to avoid attacks.
Imagining the gameplay in Nioh 3, here are a few tips you can learn:
| Combat Situation | Best Style Choice | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Large, slow enemies | Samurai | Use heavy attacks while they’re recovering to maximize damage. |
| Fast, agile enemies | Ninja | Stay quick and dodge their attacks, then strike when you see an opening. |
| Multiple enemies | Both | Use Ninja to split them up, then Samurai to take them down one by one. |
| Boss fights | Both | Switch between Ninja to dodge and Samurai to hit hard during different phases. |
Open Field Exploration
Previous Nioh games used a mission-based structure where you selected levels from a map. In Nioh 3, you have open field exploration where you can freely roam around and discover things on your own. This means you’ll encounter yokai randomly while exploring, stumble upon villages with dark secrets, and find challenging areas on your own. The game world feels much more alive and dangerous because you never know what’s around the corner, which is amazing.
Nioh 3 Release Information, Platforms, and Free Demo to Try
Nioh 3 launches in early 2026 for PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam). Unfortunately, PC players will likely have to wait a bit longer than PS5 players. However, you don’t have to wait until next year to play Nioh 3. Team Ninja released a free demo that’s available right now on PlayStation 5. The demo runs until June 18th, 2025.
The demo will include both combat styles so you can try them out, a character creation system, a sample of the open field gameplay, and a feedback survey to help the developer improve the final game. If you are interested in trying the game out, download the free demo and experience the new combat system!
