'We've never considered adding difficulty settings to the Nioh series', says Nioh 3 game director, who gives players different ways to tackle challenges instead

Tokugawa Ieyasu, alongside a spirit beast in Nioh 3.

(Image credit: Koei Tecmo)

I'm of two minds about difficult games like Nioh 3—one mind thinks that difficulty's a matter of accessibility, that there's really no harm in adding a setting so that someone (for any reason) is able to see a game through. The other half of me thinks that difficulty's often kind of the point, and can be a part of a game itself. I'm also one of those pretentious gits that thinks videogames don't have to be fun to be worth making or playing, though.

Very much in the 'it's the point' camp is game director of Nioh 3 Masaki Fujita, who spoke with Eurogamer on the subject this week. In case you're unfamiliar, Nioh 3 is a soulslike action game with an emphasis on skill expression and difficulty.

That point, "more variations on strategies", is the crux of the thing. Elden Ring is more accessible than the OG Dark Souls not because it's inherently easier, but because if you wanna go google a cheesy build that can melt through enemies and use the Mimic Tear summon, that's… basically a difficulty setting with more steps, right?

The idea that Nioh 3 offers a lot more variation on what weapons can be used to fell foes is something echoed by our own Fraser Brown, who wrote that the game's even more of an open-world romp than Elden Ring was: "If you want to get stronger right now, you can just look at the map and find opportunities. Along the way you'll almost certainly find some fancy new gear, or perhaps an entire set, with the extra bonuses that come with them."

Still, Fujita continues: "The enjoyment and sense of accomplishment of being able to figure out on your own how to overcome a situation is what we see as one of the best parts of this series." Well, hey—my own personal inner turmoil aside, based on my coworker's glowing words? It clearly worked for Nioh 3. We don't just give 90s to anybody.

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.

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