Nioh 3 Metacritic score sees it beat Nioh 2 with its open-world pivot, but you may be surprised to hear it's still losing to the original samurai Soulslike

Nioh 3's Metacritic score places it above the second entry in the Soulslike trilogy, while it still sits below the original game.

At the time of writing, Nioh 3's PS5 version sits at an 86 while the PC version comes in slightly lower at 85. So at least on PS5, its beating Nioh 2 which received 85 for its original PS4 release (however, the PS5 and PC re-release Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition did slightly better at 86, once again tying things). However, despite fans generally being warmer on the second game, the original Nioh still holds the series highest score at 88… and ironically also the lowest score in the series with Nioh: Complete Edition sitting at a score of 84.

In the GamesRadar+ Nioh 3 review, Luke Kemp awards the third entry 4.5/5 stars and calls it "a triumphant evolution of the series for existing fans, and the best possible jumping-on point (though far from an easy one) for new ones." He adds, "Nioh 3 demands care, planning, and patience – and gives immense satisfaction in the form of a brutal but engrossing adventure in return."

On the positive side of things, Rock, Paper, Shotgun's review cites "wonky performance" for the PC version but awards it its "Bestest Bests label" while The Daily Star gives it full marks and calls it as good as Elden Ring. Meanwhile, the lowest review scores come from five outlets, each of which still award the game a solid 7/10. But as of right now, Nioh 3 is the highest-rated game of 2026 alongside Cairn, although The Cult of the Lamb's new Woolhaven DLC is ahead of both.

Nioh 3 might come to Xbox for the first time in the nearly 10-year-old franchise's history