Just as the original Nioh owes some of its vision to Dark Souls, Nioh 3 took cues from Elden Ring as it charted a transition to open-world exploration. However, Nioh 3 producer Kohei Shibata says the series has developed its own "Nioh series-like" appeal and direction, and on the list of priorities this comfortably ranks above influences from FromSoftware or other developers or games.
Speaking with GamesRadar+, Shibata reflects on how the Soulslike label has been applied to Nioh. The samurai action RPG series was one of the earliest good examples of the FromSoftware formula being integrated elsewhere, and with Nioh 3 – to some fans, with Nioh 2 – the series has well and truly joined the ranks of Lies of P as one of the best in the Soulslike genre.
