Team Ninja's latest entry in the Nioh series has arrived, bringing significant changes to the franchise's formula. Nioh 3 introduces semi-open world maps, allowing players to explore and grind between challenging boss battles. The game also features a streamlined combat system where players can switch between ninja and samurai styles with a single button press.

Built on Koei Tecmo's Katana Engine rather than Team Ninja's previous engine, Nioh 3 supports modern features like automatic LOD generation and physically based materials. While the game lacks ray tracing, it includes all three major upscalers and supports both FSR and DLSS frame generation, including multi-frame generation. However, the Katana Engine has a reputation for poor optimization and high CPU usage.

TechPowerUp has tested Nioh 3 on several popular handheld gaming devices including the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally X, and ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X. The performance review examines how well the game runs on these portable systems, considering the engine's notorious optimization issues. With its blend of challenging combat and new open-world elements, Nioh 3 represents a significant evolution for the franchise while maintaining the brutal difficulty that fans expect.

Quick Fact: Nioh 3 is built on Koei Tecmo's Katana Engine, which supports automatic LOD generation and fluid simulation.