Nioh 3 invites you to explore a vastly more open-ended map compared with Nioh 2. It is not a true open world, though. The massive maps are composed of beefy, stage-like zones, all interconnected to form four sprawling worlds. Each area feels dense enough to recall maps from earlier games, but the layout and space give Nioh 3 an impressive sense of scale. Nothing feels wasted or empty: there is always something to loot, an oddity to investigate, or an enemy to engage.
Quests, side missions, and activities sprinkle the game world. NPCs are happy to give you missions, most of which involve fighting. Some are much more involved than others. An NPC may want you to clear a camp to retrieve stolen medicine for his sick wife, while another tasks you with hunting a monster within a vast underground cave system. Enemy camps are strewn around the map, which you can clear for rewards, much like you do in Rise of the Ronin. Of course, there are also boss enemies that roam the map, which you can challenge for character-improving gear and loot.
(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)
For a change of pace, you can search for Chijiko, cute weasel spirits disguised as floating balls that you shoot to earn new abilities. Lost Kodama spirits return, which you can find and send back to shrines for healing buffs. Scampuss, the rotund cat yokai, returns as well, guiding you to treasure caches. Nioh 3 also has martial arts masters scattered throughout the realms, which you can challenge to unlock new abilities for your various weapons and styles. There is a shocking amount of content to explore, and none of it feels like a slog. I was surprised to learn I had spent nearly 20 hours exploring the first map alone, and there were still secrets I couldn’t access by the time the second area opened up.
Progressing through the story unlocks new guardian spirits that provide exploration abilities. For example, Enko let me wall-run, and Kurama Tengu let me kick-flip up walls, Ninja Gaiden style, to reach elevated secrets. These abilities encouraged me to backtrack to uncover secrets, making exploration all the more satisfying.
Unfortunately, these traversal abilities are highly situational: I could only use these abilities at Spirit Veins, designated by a golden aura. Unlike Ninja Gaiden 4, which lets you wall run along almost any wall, Nioh 3’s movement abilities work more like keys, which is a bummer. I would love to see these added to my base traversal kit in future games.
(Credit: Koei Tecmo/PCMag)
