Post main crucible now exploring the other areas. They are notably a little less obviously open world than the first three, but actually quite good and the better for it. They become more distinctively themed, with a better flow and direction to them. Crucially they have all felt properly hand crafted so far - which is great.
I’ve always enjoyed Nioh titles before, but this one improves a couple of key areas for me. The level design - being more open and less convoluted - is much better. I always felt like the Nioh level designers had heard about what makes Souls level design so good, but had never experienced it. So it had all the elements - shortcuts, aha moments etc, but it didn’t work as a whole. Nioh 3 is much better.
The other element is partly the ninja, partly all the options at your disposal, partly the more open areas and I suspect a little difficulty downgrade, but I’m much more confident in taking on mobs in this Nioh. I think the Ninja style suits me a lot better - more movement and dodging than parry. Plus all the magic, spirit, ninja, soul core mechanics give you loads of ways to approach trickier mobs.
Special mention for how easy it is to respec your character too. From levels to skills, they just let you redo anything and try things out.
