Nioh 3 Boss Fights took inspiration from a beloved 2023 Soulslike

Lies by P was one of the most important influences on Nioh 3s chief design, a senior Team Ninja official has said. The recognition reflects the studio's pragmatic development philosophy that influenced not only managers but every other aspect of Nioh 3 also.

Released on February 6, Nioh 3 debuted as one of the highest-rated games of 2026 so far. While its OpenCritic average score (85) and recommendation rating (93%) match those for 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 several large, disconnected regions, while overhauling the Ki economy and making significant changes to combat, including style balancing and parry mechanics. Its revised battle system emphasizes quick style switching, with many boss encounters designed to test players' skill with the mechanic.

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How Lies of P Bosses Influenced Nioh 3's Yokai Movesets

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, director Masaki Fujita said the most meaningful outside influence on Nioh 3 chief gallery was Lies by Pand lauds the 2023 title for its “solid action” that requires players to master both meandering and guarding. The industry veteran singled out boss encounters as a standout part of the Pinocchio-inspired soul-mate, saying he had “a lot of fun” overcoming its challenges and ultimately used that experience to inform his latest project. “The [Lies of P] the bosses' attack actions took full advantage of their distinct designs,” Fujita said, pointing to that approach as a major influence on Nioh 3's Yokai moves.

What Nioh 3 learned from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Besides Lies by PFujita cited several of Team Ninja's own titles such as Nioh 3 influences. They include Wo Long: Fallen Dynastywhich – as he explains it – showed the studio that there is such a thing as excessive loot complexity and that itemization systems require careful handling. As a result, Team Ninja tried to balance frequent rewards with a streamlined inventory system to reduce unnecessary menu navigation in Nioh 3. Fujita also said player feedback on Wo Longs story affected Nioh 3s narrative approach. Some players felt the relationship between Wo Longmain character and Blindfolded Boy was underdeveloped, causing the studio to place more emphasis on building and presenting central character relationships in Nioh 3.

The [Lies of P] bosses' attack actions took full advantage of their distinct designs, so it was great incentive to give me inspiration when thinking about the Yokai actions in Nioh.

Separately, Fujita said Rise of the Ronin helped Team Ninja calibrate Nioh 3s open world design after players asked for “more to enjoy in the exploration” and more side quests, effectively pushing the studio to improve the pacing of optional content across its maps instead of letting the exploration feel thin. He claimed that too Rise of the Ronin showed that there can be a creative upside to dialing back fantasy elements, which is a lesson Team Ninja took home Nioh 3 as it balanced its supernatural identity with a clearer, more grounded baseline.

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ChronoLogic

Flex your video game knowledge by placing these titles in order of release date.

Nioh 3 is currently only available on PlayStation 5 and PC. However, that is unlikely to be the end of it. Publisher Koei Tecmo recently confirmed Nioh 3 The exclusivity for PS5 consoles lasts for only six months, raising the possibility of an Xbox version of the game materializing as early as August 2026. For reference, Rise of the Ronin spent just under 12 months as a timed PS5 console, although the circumstances were special as Sony partially funded development.