Nioh 3 is finally out and brings the best experience in the series yet, offering a broad world to get lost in as you ram your head tirelessly to defeat a formidable boss. From creating your character to soaking in a hot spring to perfecting your Ninja or Samurai build, there’s a lot to do in Nioh 3 that makes it stand out from its competition, making it extremely challenging to find anything on par with its scope and unique systems and mechanics.
Still, while there is no perfect match, there are many titles out there that deliver on some of the key elements that make this series so special in the first place. If you love exploration, tight and fluid combat, or using unique powers and abilities to give yourself the upper hand, there are other Soulslikes for you to give a try that you will surely fall in love with if you loved your time with Nioh 3!
Elden Ring
Sure, while Nioh 3’s world may technically be ‘open fields’ compared to Elden Ring’s true massive open world experience, we still feel they offer very similar vibes in regards to their focus on exploration, allowing you to step away from an extremely tough opponent temporarily, level up by tackling side activities, and return powered up and more prepared than ever before. It was quite effective in Elden Ring, and that rings true for Nioh 3 as well.
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However, while they’re very similar in some aspects, Nioh 3 plays pretty differently from Elden Ring in terms of its moment-to-moment gameplay, as Elden Ring is much ‘slower’ by default. Still, if the large zones, tons of side content, and varied builds of this game are what locked you in for hours on end, you should find Elden Ring’s gigantic and densely packed world just as entrancing!
Ghost Of Yōtei
Speaking of vast open worlds that you love to get lost in, we have Ghost of Yōtei up next, which follows a Rōnin named Atsu on her quest for revenge. While this isn’t a Soulslike in the slightest, its ability to allow you to create both a Samurai or Ninja build for Atsu is pretty similar to what’s found in Nioh 3, as it directly impacts your overall playstyle and the things you can do during combat.
With that said, even if it’s not a Soulslike, Ghost of Yōtei can be downright brutal if you bump up the difficulty, making every encounter more tense than the last, having every single piece of equipment you find feel worth it, and rewarding. So, if the sick Samurai and Ninja dynamic of Nioh 3, as well as its superb exploration, are your cup of tea, you shouldn’t sleep on Sucker Punch’s latest!
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Now it’s time to dial things in and go back to the tried and true Soulslike formula, giving Wuchang: Fallen Feathers the spotlight, as its world design is some of the best in the genre, which goes hand-in-hand with its exploration, combat, and more. Despite being a more focused and traditional Soulslike game, Wuchang offers lots of replayability and build variety, making it worthy of your time if you loved Nioh 3.
What’s more is that each zone you reach will be sprawling and interconnected, making it exhilarating to poke around every nook and cranny, as you will often find tremendously rare and powerful loot that will make your life much easier in the long run. While it is somewhat easier compared to its competition, some encounters will still put up a solid fight, which is where your unique abilities and skills come into play!
Ninja Gaiden 4
Following that, we have another Koei Tecmo banger that only released this past year. Of course, we’re talking about Ninja Gaiden 4, an excellent character action game that may feel slightly out of place on this list, but let us explain. If you more or less exclusively play the Ninja class in Nioh 3, you must give this game its fair shake, even if you’re primarily a Soulslike player. It’s that good.
Ninja Gaiden 4’s combat is the definition of high octane chaos, and its boss encounters only embody that mentality further, as they often force you to utilize everything you have to your advantage to come out on top. Delivering devastating combos, evading incoming projectiles and attacks, all while managing your own utilities and tools, will never get old. Every moment of this game is exhilarating, making it a must-play if you loved being a Ninja in Nioh 3!
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
On the flipside, we have Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a game that is a strong contender for the best combat system ever conceived and is arguably one of FromSoftware’s best titles to date. If you were more aligned with the Samurai’s gameplay in Nioh 3, then this game will give you everything you want and then some, as you live out one of the best Samurai adventures of all time.
Be warned, however: this game is not for the faint of heart, as it is quite brutal in its difficulty. But if you love the challenge of Nioh 3, you will love what’s here even more, as each encounter forces you to learn the rhythms and patterns of the enemy, with one wrong move spelling your downfall. Everything from its combat to level design to exploration is done to absolute perfection, and should not be slept on!
Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Potentially the most perfect match on this list for something like Nioh 3 is Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, another release from Koei Tecmo that was surprisingly solid from start to finish, even if its narrative and characters were heavily memed. If you love the Soulslike influence and loot-based equipment of Nioh 3, then this will scratch all of those itches, but with a nice and snug Final Fantasy skin wrapped over it.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is an odd title in pretty much every way, and it has no business being as good as it is. But it is, and it’s worth playing if you haven’t yet experienced it. While its levels are more in the vein of a Nioh 1 or 2, they’re still quite sizeable and are fun to explore. But, its true strength lies in its loot-based rewards, build variety, and Job system, making it appeal to just about any playstyle. Once you get the hang of its weirdness, you will be in love with it, we assure you that!
The First Berserker: Khazan
Closing things out is the one and only The First Berserker: Khazan, which is one of the best, if not THE best Soulslike from last year, offering one of the best combat systems to date that feels oddly familiar if you’ve been playing all the Nioh titles. Even if its level design can leave much to be desired, it more than makes up for it with its thrilling boss encounters and rewarding exploration.
If the combo-structure of Nioh 3’s combat piqued your interest, you are already sold on The First Berserker: Khazan, as you will get to unlock unique abilities from a varied skill tree for your weapon of choice, and use them in combat to chain together potent attack strings to propel your damage output to new heights. While it’s not as complex as Nioh’s (it’s quite a bit focused), it’s still super cool and rewarding to execute a long combo while consciously evading or parrying incoming attacks.
The First Berserker: Khazan’s combat is surprisingly robust and skillful, which is very similar to what’s present in Nioh 3. However, be warned that the bosses encountered in Khazan are some of the hardest in the genre, but they’re just so dang good that they still feel fun even several hours into you fighting them over and over again. This game’s combat and enemy design are on point, and should be played if you loved those aspects of Nioh 3!
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