Team Ninja doesn’t want the difficulty curve of its next game, Nioh 3, to be “spiky,” as this can be distracting.

Nioh 3 will be the first game in Team Ninja’s fantasy action RPG series to be published by its parent company, Koei Tecmo. The first two games in the series were published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and were initially released on PlayStation consoles before becoming available on PC. However, the new game will be released simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC. This is far from the only change in the third installment. Another significant change is that it features an open-world environment instead of the relatively linear maps of the previous two games.

As producer Fumihiko Yasuda explained in an interview with Multiplayer.it, this makes the game more accessible than the first two Nioh games. The team has also avoided sudden difficulty spikes that can make the game unenjoyable for newcomers. However, the overall challenge level remains as high as is customary for Team Ninja action games. The studio is best known for the Ninja Gaiden IP; the excellent Ninja Gaiden 4 was recently released.

“There are players out there who have probably invested thousands of hours in the Nioh series, but there are many more who may be interested in Nioh 3 as newcomers, and I’d like everyone to be able to enjoy the game. For newcomers, we have added a thorough tutorial that is not excessive. The most important thing, though, was ensuring that the game wouldn’t have sudden difficulty spikes. Everything must happen gradually. Exploration offers much more freedom, but players will also encounter very tough foes on the open field. We focused on offering players many more ways to defeat bosses, whether through equipment or exploration. However, the typical challenge level of our games was not reduced.

I’ve always thought that the focal point of this game is how you face defeat. In a demo like the one we showed at the Tokyo Game Show, for example, you might be defeated, which can be frustrating. But what really matters is how the player feels after being defeated. What do I need to get? How do I prepare to win? We chose to offer many options so players could find their own way to victory and defeat those powerful bosses. Ultimately, succeeding and experiencing the exhilarating sensation that comes with it—discovering that you can beat that boss—is very important. It was essential that we maintained that in Nioh 3,” Yasuda said.

Nioh 3 will be released on February 6 for the PlayStation 5 and PC.

Source: WCCFTech, Multiplayer.it