I am a fan of high-octane action games, particularly soulslikes, but the Nioh series has always felt like a fortress with walls far too high to scale. It wasn't just the punishing difficulty; it was the suffocating complexity of skill trees, gear management, and that relentless Ki management. I ended up calling it quits on the first game before I’d even hit my stride.

Then, on the 6th of this month, the latest entry, 'Nioh 3', arrived. I was skeptical, given my past history, but figured, 'What have I got to lose?' I dived back in. To my surprise, the barriers to entry have been significantly lowered, making the game far more approachable. Once I found my footing, the series' unique charm finally clicked. Before I knew it, I had spent dozens of hours tearing through to the final chapter without looking back.

What struck me most was the simplified Ki management. In previous titles, you’d be gasping for breath after three or four swings, and mastering 'Ki Pulse' felt more like a chore than a mechanic. Nioh 3 eases this burden considerably. While the Ki Pulse remains, the ability to parry is now available at all times, and the new 'Technique Mastery'—fueled by a charging gauge—lets you unleash skills without draining your Ki. Consequently, I found myself in far fewer life-or-death situations caused by resource depletion compared to the older games.

The newly added 'Ninja' style is another massive accessibility win. It’s a combat archetype built on high mobility and ranged 'Ninjutsu' skills, which you can switch to on the fly. Ninjutsu moves can be executed while moving and cost zero Ki, allowing you to chip away at enemies safely. Of course, you still need to weave in melee strikes since your ninjutsu usage is limited, but having a safe, non-Ki-draining offensive option makes the combat feel much more forgiving.

The level design also shows signs of thoughtful tempering. Sure, the first boss, Yamagata, is a brutal wake-up call—you have neither parries nor skills yet—but the difficulty curve smoothens out rapidly as you build your kit. I managed to clear every boss in Chapter 1, excluding Yamagata, without dying more than three times.

Don't let the lower barrier to entry fool you; the endgame is still teeth-grindingly tough. Enter the 'Blood Path Shura'—an endgame boss that randomly spawns where many players have met their demise. Defeating one provides not just loot, but a status report on how many players it has claimed, offering a genuine sense of triumph when you finally take down such a formidable foe.

Once you adapt, you start to see that Nioh is a different beast entirely from your standard soulslike. The combat rhythm is the biggest differentiator. Where other soulslikes feel like a turn-based dance of hit-and-run, Nioh 3 is about breaking the enemy’s guard, draining their Ki, and then unloading a flurry of combos once they’re left helpless.

To be more specific, enemies have 'super armour', but it vanishes entirely when their Ki is broken. Unleash your attacks at that precise moment, and you can effectively stun-lock them, preventing them from using any patterns at all. Watching an enemy get pummelled into submission is a spectacle unique to this series.

The aforementioned 'Technique Mastery' is the linchpin for this combo-heavy gameplay. Once activated, the effect persists as long as you keep your skills flowing, letting you dump your most powerful moves with minimal Ki cost. If you play it right, you can slice off 15-20% of an enemy’s health in one go, cranking the already fast-paced combat up to eleven.

The joy of farming gear with diverse stats and set bonuses, then crafting a build around them, remains as addictive as ever. This time, you can tailor separate builds for 'Samurai' and 'Ninja' styles, which doubles the fun of theory-crafting. If the management gets too tedious, I highly recommend using the auto-equip feature.

Instead of just repeating missions, the game now centers on an open world where you discover secrets and side quests to grow your character. With skill points, stat-boosting materials, and hidden bosses tucked away everywhere, the volume of content is, quite frankly, massive.

This exploration feeds directly into the build-crafting loop. As you wander, you unlock new skills and increase your passive skill capacity, widening the scope of what your character can do. There’s a genuine thrill in finding a hidden item that might just be the missing piece for a brand-new build.

However, the map visuals are a bit flat, which dulls the excitement of exploring new regions. Despite spanning the Edo period, the Heian era, and even ancient Japan in the 200s, the environments feel repetitive—often just a change in weather or trees on the same basic structural template. The enemy variety also suffers from quite a few re-used assets, which might disappoint those looking for a constant stream of new sights.

Overall, Nioh 3 doubles down on what makes the series special while successfully trimming the fat that kept newcomers away. The expanded combat styles and skill trees make build-crafting a joy, and the tactile satisfaction of a well-executed combo is second to none. If you’ve been hesitant to dive into the Nioh series, this is the perfect starting point. Best of luck!