| Nioh 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLC Release Date | Hell Rising Review | ||||
Nioh 3: Hell Rising is the first DLC for the action RPG where players explore Edo during the Keian Era in an effort to bring peace once again. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Overview
What is Nioh 3: Hell Rising?
Nioh 3: Hell Rising is the game’s first DLC expansion, following the protagonist, Takechiyo, as he is transported to an unfamiliar future Edo by a mysterious yokai. With the Crucible once again consuming the land, players must team up with the legendary one-eyed swordsman Yagyu Jubei and a Spanish envoy named Rodrigo to confront a new threat targeting the Shogunate.
Set in 1651 during the Keian era, this expansion introduces a brand-new region of Edo ravaged by the forces of the Crucible. It adds new weapon types: the Hoko & Shield and Ninja Hoko & Shield, alongside a high-tier difficulty mode, The Enlightened One's Journey,
giving players access to greater rewards and higher level caps.
Nioh 3: Hell Rising features:
⚫︎ Keian Era Edo
⚫︎ Story Continuation of the Franchise
⚫︎ New Weapons, Ninjutsu, Martial Arts, and More
⚫︎ New Enemies and Bosses
⚫︎ New Post-Game Difficulty
⚫︎ New Post-Game Accessory Progression
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Nioh 3: Hell Rising’s gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
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 Steam |
 PS |
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| Season Pass (DLC 1 and 2) | |||||
| $39.99 | |||||
Nioh 3: Hell Rising Review: For Better and Worse, It’s a Little Bit More of Nioh 3
A Noticeable Step Back in Quality
Earlier in the year, I touted Nioh 3 as 2026’s best action RPG. And while it was still incredibly early to say so at the time, something about the gameplay loop manages to be special, especially in how it takes time to master or familiarize yourself with all the different weapons as well as the sheer number of builds that you can create. Even after six months, it still stands as a strong contender for action game of the year, to me, at least.
Which is why I’m largely disappointed by its newest DLC—Hell Rising.
Many fans, like myself, were worried about how quick the announcement was, as it all seemed too hasty and lackluster even after more info came out. Unfortunately, these worries have become true, as Hell Rising isn’t as great a DLC as it could’ve been. Though it delivers what it promises in its promotional material, it provides only the bare minimum in terms of content and fails to live up to its own base game.
To put it simply, Nioh 3: Hell Rising is definitely a step back in both quality and quantity, mostly because it doesn’t offer as much as it should for how much it costs. It’s clear that it’s meant to be a setup or transition piece for something bigger, but they definitely could’ve added more to make the six-month wait for part two a bit more bearable.
Back to the Future: Nioh 3 Edition
Let’s first start with the narrative. The entirety of Hell Rising is pretty much as expected to the base game’s story: travel through time, cleanse the Crucible, then go look for the actual source. Led by a disturbing dream of a three-headed yokai, Takechiyo once again travels through time to search for answers. Except this time, they’re taken into another dark future in 1651 Edo, almost three decades after they assume the role of Shogun.
In this alternate future, Edo has once again been turned into a nightmarish hellscape by the Crucible. To make matters worse, the Takechiyo of this timeline has recently perished, leaving the shogunate leaderless against the many rebels invading the town. And if that wasn’t enough, the combination of foreign alchemists trying to take advantage of the chaos and the growing number of yokai has severely crippled any effort to retake the town.
The premise succeeds in painting a future long after Takechiyo’s reign as shogun, and the complications that may arise given the franchise’s penchant for meddling in various timelines. While it doesn’t paint a particularly great picture, it at least serves to push the game’s story into an even bigger story. Or in other words, the DLC has left the base game’s independent story arc and is attempting to merge with the franchise’s overarching story.
This is what I mean when the DLC is mostly just a setup: the unceremonious return and passing of a recurring character, as well as the existence of the alchemists and the foreign forces entering Edo, are signs of things to come. And if it wasn’t obvious enough, the ending of the DLC will have Takechiyo chasing the big bad to a different time once again. It follows its own formula to the letter, similar to how it is for almost every major chapter in the base game.
Unfortunately, this is also the reason why it’s a problem. For context, the base game had smaller plot threads for each time period, but these mostly served as filler to the overarching story of Takechiyo chasing after his brother. This is pretty much the same with Hell Rising. The whole story of this dark future stops being interesting right after it shows the title drop.
And if you thought it was because of its open-world design, then you’re wrong. The plot is simply forgettable. Unfortunately, the DLC's runtime is another issue that compounds the problem, as its brevity leaves little story to tell. It felt as if Takechiyo came in and saw a future where they died and didn’t really care much other than to find the source of the Crucible—again.
Best Level Designs in the Franchise So Far
In contrast to the game’s lackluster story, the level designs in Hell Rising are by far the best in the franchise. One of the main things I found great about the base game was its well-executed open-world approach. There was no point in the game when it felt boring to explore the large maps.
In Hell Rising, it’s more of the same, but vastly improved in how every area stands out from each other. From the ruins of Edo Castle to the caverns of Koishikawa all the way to the flooded streets of Ueno, every area is distinct in how they look and how it’s laid out. Beyond its visuals, areas are designed to feel like individual missions, as in the game’s previous iterations. This pertains to areas that feel much tighter due to fewer available checkpoints.
It kind of feels like the best of Nioh 2’s stage layouts crossing over to Nioh 3’s open world, which is, honestly, the best of both worlds.
A Different Kind of Sword and Board
Next, let’s talk about the new weapons: Hoko and Shield for the Samurai, and Ninja Hoko and Shield for the Ninja. The weapon resembles a classic sword and board in most fantasy RPGs but with the trademark Nioh flavor. In contrast to the weapon having a shield, it’s actually one of the most aggressively designed weapons in the game because of how the weapon works. Attacks with the Shield, as well as certain abilities, feature built-in parry points that let you deflect attacks mid-combo. Think Monster Hunter guard points with weapons like the Charge Blade and Sword and Shield.
Of course, that’s on top of having access to all of the defensive tools of each Style at your disposal.
Now, I know what you’re going to say: "That’s just the same weapon for both Styles!" But because of the Samurai and Ninja Styles, they end up feeling quite different in how they play.
For context, Samurai wants to loop abilities to continue regaining and using their Arts Proficiency gauge for more damage. Combo routing with the Samurai version means that you’ll want to find a way to loop your abilities while adjusting to the enemy’s attack patterns and timing to stay on the offensive with optimal damage while keeping yourself outside of harm’s way.
On the other hand, the Ninja version is more straightforward in its approach, using its additional defensive layer of parry points to keep yourself safe with the added benefits of being able to use the style’s stronger dodge and Mist to cancel combos.
It’s a very interesting weapon to use, one that fully showcases the depth of Nioh 3’s weapon system and adds yet another layer of combat depth when used. While I didn’t play the weapon all the way through the DLC, I can definitely see the appeal of the weapon and how it manages to stand out versus the already loaded selection of weapons that exist in the game.
Reuse, Recycle, and Reintroduce
A couple of progression systems make their return from previous titles. Hell Rising adds the new New Game++ option in Journey to Enlightenment, where players can continue to grind for perfect builds and challenge even tougher foes if they feel like it.
Additionally, the DLC reintroduces the Hundred Demon Realms Picture Scrolls, which are unique accessories that players can earn by completing various encounters with random modifiers attached to them. In past titles, these are the creme de la creme when it comes to endgame accessories, and players will have to rely on RNG to get the scrolls that they really want to get, just like how it is before.
There’s also the new Grace Effects for the end-endgame grind, which are randomized set bonuses made for gear that don’t have existing set bonuses for the best spreadsheet level number optimization.
While it’s ultimately a bummer that the new NG++ mode doesn’t change up the enemy placement all too much, it’s still effective in propagating Nioh’s endless grind. It constantly gives you challenges to keep testing the limits of your build as well as your skills in fighting the game’s harder versions of bosses. The return of Hundred Demon Scrolls also adds a new layer of perfection to strive for, while giving players more unique encounters to at least alleviate the repetition of the grind and the aforementioned repetitive encounters.
But that’s the end of the good news.
Anyone who’s played countless hours of playing Nioh 3 would probably say that the game suffers from a lack of enemy variety. However, I believe the issue isn’t exactly a lack of enemy variety, but more so the lack of using its new yokai enough in many of its encounters in favor of older units.
Sadly, this problem persists in Hell Rising, as it doesn’t have enough new enemies to fill that void and doesn’t even add in some of the more iconic yokai back into the mix. For instance, yokai like the Onyudo and the Namahage are among the more iconic enemies from previous titles, and adding them might change how encounters feel rather than fighting the nth Jailer in the area.
I’m not against recycling enemies from previous titles, especially in a franchise like Nioh where there’s a massive amount of enemy variety already. In a game meant to be replayed over and over, this is a big problem that needs to be addressed, especially since it tends to grow repetitive faster due to predictable enemy placement.
Definitely Not Enough Content
Unfortunately, the DLC’s short runtime and lack of "new" content ultimately make it lackluster. For instance, the DLC advertises new obtainable Guardian Spirits,
but in reality it’s only one, specifically for the Ninja. To add salt onto the wound, it’s even a Counter-focused Guardian Spirit, which is not the Ninja Style expertise. This is one of many baffling things that make it less desirable, since there’s really not much else to like after you’ve played through the DLC once.
And speaking of playing through it, the DLC runs about 7-8 hours, including most of the side content it offers. For an open-world game, this is criminally short, and there’s not much else to it than hoping that you could get more out of it other than repeating Hundred Demon Picture Scroll encounters.
Another big problem of them all is that much of the supposedly new content is just repackaged content the game already offers. An example of this is the new abilities for the existing weapons, as some of them are just enhanced versions of abilities that you already have. Another example is the addition of new armor sets, some of which are recolors of existing armor sets in the game.
And if that wasn’t enough, the DLC ends on a cliffhanger, and not even a good one at that. It all went by so fast that I audibly said, "That was it?" after playing through it.
Is Nioh 3: Hell Rising Worth It?
Best If You Wait For a Sale or For the 2nd DLC
Nioh 3: Hell Rising is definitely not the greatest DLC for a game of its caliber. As of writing, I would not recommend playing through the DLC unless it’s on sale or until February 2027 when the next DLC arrives. Hell Rising doesn’t offer enough to really hook people in, even to fans of the genre and the franchise. I’ll give credit where credit is due: stage design, returning progression systems, and the new weapons are definitely strong points and welcome additions to the game.
But even with all this, the DLC feels incomplete, making it seem more like an update than an actual expansion. It’s like Team Ninja pushed out the bare minimum instead of going all out for a franchise that just had a huge shift in game direction. Personally, I’m also worried about the next DLC as it’ll have to be a massive showstopper to really swing this around.
FAQ
How Do I Start Nioh 3: Hell Rising DLC?
Players must complete the base game first before being able to play the Hell Rising DLC.
Are New Weapons and Armor Obtainable From the Base Game If I Have the Nioh 3: Hell Rising DLC?
Yes. The new Hoko & Shield weapons and new armors are obtainable in the base game if you have the DLC.
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