Having once called Lies of P the best Soulslike ever made outside FromSoftware's walls, I find myself nodding along to comments from Nioh 3 director Masaki Fujita, who says the bosses in Neowiz's Pinocchio-inspired game pushed him and Team Ninja to do more with the third game's yokai boss fights.
Speaking with PC Gamer, Fujita notes that Team Ninja's own output since Nioh 2 has, of course, had a big impact on its vision for Nioh 3. You can see muscles trained with the likes of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Rise of the Ronin flexed in Nioh 3's expanded ninja combat, polished buildcrafting, and ambitious open world. But outside influences also provided some guiding stars, or at least some encouragement and direction.
