'You come to witness both the light and dark sides of your own reign': we chat to Team Ninja about Nioh 3: Hell Rising and all the changes it brings to 2026's best soulslike game

Nioh 3 is one of the best soulslike games I've played in quite some time, and now that I've completed and reviewed the new Hell Rising expansion, it's only gone up in my estimations.

Hell Rising is an excellent start to Nioh 3's two-part downloadable content series, and I can't wait for its follow-up.

Before playing Hell Rising for myself, though, I had the chance to interview key development staff at Team Ninja about the expansion — namely, game directors Masaki Fujita and Atsushi Takahashi as well as producer Kohei Shibata.

The three discussed various aspects of Nioh 3: Hell Rising, including its plot following on from the base game, its new weapon types, and some collectible additions making their debut in the expansion.

Read on if you want to learn more from the developers themselves before you dive into the hellish Edo-Keian period for yourself.

Bloody succession (Image credit: Koei Tecmo) In terms of story, Hell Rising picks up right after the events of Nioh 3.

"The DLC takes place after the main story," said game director Masaki Fujita, "and much of its content assumes that players have already cleared the base game." As such, you do need to have beaten Nioh 3's base game to access the DLC in the first place.

"At the end of the main game, the protagonist became shogun," Fujita continued, "and the events and incidents that unfold during the shogun's reign involve key figures and instigators, as well as people on the shogunate side who worked to resolve them—in other words, the shogun's retainers.

Many of the characters appearing in the DLC fill one of those roles." One character Fujita is referring to here is Yagyu Jubei, a popular historical figure who has been portrayed in countless media.

You might know the name from Capcom's Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, in which the main protagonist is named as such.

He makes an appearance in Nioh 3: Hell Rising, donning the iconic eyepatch he's often portrayed with.

Curiously, Hell Rising takes place in 1651 — a year after the real Yagyu Jubei's death. (Image credit: Koei Tecmo) On Hell Rising's premise and setting of the Keian period, Fujita added: "The Keian era comes right after Takechiyo’s [ Nioh 3's player character] reign as the third shogun.

The events that unfold in that period are heavily shaped by the influence of his rule.

In this title, by leaping through time into the future, you come to witness both the light and dark sides of your own reign.