PlayStation drops limited-time free download out of the blue, no PS Plus needed

Sony held their State of Play event last night, and while there were some big announcements and reveals, there were no shadow drops of full games.

We did, however, get a demo that can be downloaded right now, and you don’t need PlayStation Plus to get your grubby little hands on it.

Out of nowhere, Nioh 3 was announced by Sony and Koei Tecmo, surprising fans of action games and soulslikes around the world.

What’s even more surprising is that you can play it today, if you’ve got a hunger for swinging big swords in Feudal Japan, and facing off against human and demon.

Developed by the brilliant Team Ninja, Nioh 3 will put players in the shoes of “a young warrior poised to become the next Shogun.”

While it doesn’t seem as if this new story carries on from the other instalments in the franchise, the action looks to continue where the last game left off.

Team Ninja note, on the PlayStation blog, “New actions such as Arts Proficiency, which enhances the power of martial arts, and Deflect, which allows players to block enemy attacks at the last moment have been added, helping create a series of intense and deadly face-to-face confrontations.”

It appears this sequel will feature a more open world than previous instalments, which were much more linear, and this will pose new problems for even the most hardened of players.

This demo is only available for a limited time, and will be removed from the PSN store on 18 June, so if you want to try out the next samurai adventure, you’d better get to your PlayStation quickly.

Then, you don’t have long to wait until you can play the full game, which will be released in 2026, though the actual month hasn’t been narrowed down yet.