Nioh 3 Boss Fights was inspired by the beloved 2023 soulslike

Lies P was one of the key influences Nioh 3's design boss, a senior Team Ninja official said. Acknowledgments reflect the pragmatic philosophy of the development of the studio, which influenced not only the bosses, but all other aspects Nioh 3 also.

Released on February 6 Nioh 3 debuted as one of the highest-rated games of 2026 so far. While its average OpenCritic score (85) and recommendation rate (93%) match those Nioh 2the title deviates significantly from the series' established formula. Team Ninja abandoned the mission-based structure of the first two entries in favor of open-world gameplay across multiple large, disconnected regions, while overhauling the Ki economy and making substantial changes to combat, including balancing styles and parry mechanics. Its revamped combat system emphasizes quick style switching, with many boss encounters designed to test players' skill with the mechanics.

Best PC Settings for Nioh 3 (Optimization Guide)

Nioh 3 has performance issues that can cause game lag and framerate drops, so here are some of the best PC settings to help you optimize the game.

How P Boss Lies Affected Nioh 3's Yokai Movesets

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, director Masaki Fujita said that the most significant external influence on Nioh 3 she was the head of the gallery Lies Ppraises the 2023 title for its “solid action” that requires players to master both dodging and guarding. The industry veteran singled out boss encounters as a standout element of Pinocchio-inspired souls, saying he had “a lot of fun” overcoming its challenges and ultimately used the experience to create his latest project. “The [Lies of P] The bosses' offensive actions made full use of their signature patterns,” Fujita said, noting that this approach has a big impact on Nioh 3'with Yokai move sets.

What Nioh 3 learned from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

In addition Lies PFujita cited several of his own Team Ninja titles such as Nioh 3 influences. They include Wo Long: Fallen Dynastywhich—as he explains—showed the studio that there was such a thing as excessive loot complexity and that item distribution systems required careful management. As a result, Team Ninja tried to balance the frequent rewards with a simplified inventory system to reduce unnecessary menu navigation in Nioh 3. Fujita also said, Wo Longinfluenced the story Nioh 3narrative approach. Some players felt a relationship between Wo LongThe main character and the Blindfolded Boy were underdeveloped, leading the studio to put more emphasis on building and presenting the relationships of the central characters in Nioh 3.

The [Lies of P] The bosses' attack actions took full advantage of their signature design, so it was great stimulation when I thought about the Yokai actions in Nioh.

Separately, Fujita said Rise of the Ronin helped the Ninja team calibrate Nioh 3The open-world design, after players requested “more exploration fun” and more side quests, effectively pushes the studio to better pace the optional content on its maps instead of leaving exploration thin. He also claimed that Rise of the Ronin showed that turning away fantasy elements can have a creative payoff, a lesson that Team Ninja brought to bear Nioh 3 how she balanced her supernatural identity with a clearer, stronger baseline.

Game Rant Games - ChronoLogic - Website banner graphic

Chronological

Expand your video game knowledge by sorting these titles by release date.

Nioh 3 is currently only available on PlayStation 5 and PC. However, it probably won't end there. Publisher Koei Tecmo recently confirmed Nioh 3 PS5 console exclusivity only lasts for six months, raising the possibility that the Xbox version of the game will materialize as early as August 2026. FYI Rise of the Ronin it spent less than 12 months as a PS5 console exclusive, although the circumstances were peculiar in that Sony partially financed its development.