Attack on Titan 3’s Smooth Traversal Mechanics Rival Insomniac’s Spider-Man, but Its Open-World Expeditions Outside the Walls Remain the Big Unknown

The Attack on Titan series may not have the same massive number of video game adaptations as series like Dragon Ball, Naruto or One Piece, but some of them are true standouts. Chief among them are the two games developed by Omega Force, the developer behind the Dynasty Warriors series and the Musou subgenre of hack-and-slash games. The first one was so unique that, back in the day, it sparked my interest in the franchise as a whole, an interest that remains strong years after both the anime and manga series ended, while the second one pushed the boundaries further to deliver what's commonly regarded as a great experience.

As such, I was really excited at the prospect of testing Attack on Titan 3 ahead of its release on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on December 10. Having never had the chance to play the second entry in the series but having heard only good things about it, I was really looking forward to seeing how the formula evolved to push the experience beyond a simple retelling of the excellent original story.

A Story Within The Story

As I only had the chance to play through the first four chapters of the game for a total of roughly 10 hours, which covers a part of the early story arcs such as the defense of Trost, it's definitely too early to say if the ambitious retelling of the entire story will be a quality one.

However, I could definitely appreciate how this retelling is set up with a custom character created at the start of the game with a comprehensive creator with tons of different options, who will eventually get to lead a special operation squad within the Survey Corps not too dissimilar from Levi's squad, only focused on venturing into the world outside the Walls to establish bases of operation to reclaim what the Titans stole from humanity, gather resources, and so on.

Although created by the player, this new character does have their own backstory. Belonging to the same generation as the aforementioned Levi, this unnamed soldier faced the slaughter of their newly created squad on their very first mission, an event that continued to have a lasting impact even years later. Reassigned as an instructor for the 104th Training Corps, the protagonist gets acquainted with familiar characters like Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, eventually overcoming their trauma during the attack on Trost, leading to their return to actual combat duty and the formation of the new squad.

What is truly remarkable is how the new protagonist's story is seamlessly woven into the one everyone knows and loves. Taking advantage of side events where Eren and his friends aren't necessarily directly involved, Omega Force has created enough new content to keep fans engaged while maintaining the game's faithfulness as an adaptation (though obviously abridged in places). Thanks to a relationship system that lets the protagonist deepen their bonds with all the central players in the Attack on Titan story, the developer is also adding more character-focused side events that fans of the series will surely enjoy.

Defeating Titans Is Only A Part of The Equation

Where Attack on Titan 3 really surprises, however, is the gameplay. For starters, the game's core mechanics are incredibly solid. In terms of movement, Omega Force really captured the feel of zipping in the air with the ODM gear, with so many traversal techniques that they could rival what Insomniac Games introduced in their Spider-Man series. Similarly, combat also captures the same feel as the show, forcing players to fight smartly against multiple Titan types, ranging from the smallest Titans that require only a single attack on the nape of the neck to be defeated, to bigger, more powerful Titans that need to be stunned and broken first with attacks to the limbs before exposing their critical weakness. With defense anchored on satisfying movement abilities and evading and parrying for quick retaliation, Attack on Titan 3's combat feels well-rounded, featuring everything needed to make the fights against the Nine Titans as epic as they should be.

However, it's not the solid combat that sets Attack on Titan 3 apart from other hack-and-slash games on the market. Two elements, in particular, stand out in the game's first chapters: the open-world setting and the light social simulation elements.

Following Koei Tecmo's current approach of turning most of its franchises into open-world or open-field experiences, as seen with Nioh 3 and the upcoming Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember, the third entry in the series is also going open-world. With the main character's new squad tasked with establishing bases beyond the Walls, there's a lot of exploration to be done across a large map filled with treasures to collect, towers to conquer to show more of the map, Titans to defeat, and comrades to rescue, who can then be recruited for the squad, subquests to complete and more.

As the player ventures into mostly unknown territory, the game underscores this by introducing limitations and a real sense of danger. For example, there's a limit to the number of resources that can be brought back per expedition, while team members can lose their lives against Titans (including some powered-up variants that serve as the centerpiece of optional hunting quests), a loss that is often impactful as it decreases the squad's effectiveness. In addition, blades and gas are limited, and once the supply carried by your horse is depleted, you will be forced to return to the nearest base or risk facing Titans at a massive disadvantage.

With a squad to manage, alongside personal gear where different parts unlock different abilities belonging to three different playstyles based on Offense, Defense, and Maneuverability, the light social sim mechanics are the element that ties them together. Between main story missions and expeditions, it is possible to explore the main headquarters and its vicinity to interact with other characters, give them gifts to improve the relationship, which unlocks the aforementioned character-focused quests as well as new skills and combat team-ups called Buddy Arts, which make for an important part of the player's arsenal together with Combat Arts, and accept even more subquests. In some ways, these elements feel inspired by Fire Emblem: Three Houses (which Koei Tecmo co-developed with Intelligent Systems), and while not as deep, they add a surprising layer to the experience, effectively turning it into an action RPG.

Closing Comments

After these first 10 hours with Attack on Titan 3, I am more than convinced that Omega Force is about to release one of its best games to date. While I do have some reservations about the open world's by-the-books design, which could dilute the experience with slower pacing, and not being able to play as a Titan for obvious story reasons, the combat mechanics leveraging the series' core elements and the light life simulation elements feel like they naturally belong in a game based on the franchise, and will likely be appreciated by all those who have been captivated by the story of this complex world and can't leave it behind even years after the show and manga ended.

Preview based on a PC preview build provided by the publisher.

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