Developers of Soulslike games should consider implementing Nioh 3’s convenient one-click level-up feature.

The massive Nioh 3 demo has truly impressed me in several ways, particularly with a fantastic new feature in the level-up menu: a simple button that lets you instantly use enough stored XP items to hit the next level threshold without any hassle.

While I can’t definitively say this is the first Soulslike to introduce this feature, as a dedicated fan of the genre, it’s the first time I’ve encountered it. And it’s a game-changer. It reminds me of how Lies of P made colored numbers a standard to show when you have enough XP to level up, or the convenience of reclaiming lost XP in boss fights without having to dance around the arena at the start.

Imagine this scenario: you’re 50 hours deep into Elden Ring, Lies of P, or whatever your current obsession is. You approach a checkpoint to level up, needing 52,000 Soul-thingies but only having 42,000. Normally, you’d have to exit the menu, dig into your inventory, find the consumables that grant Soul-thingies, and manually use enough to reach that extra 10,000. Finally, you could level up.

Nioh 3 eliminates all that tediousness. As someone who meticulously saves consumable Soul-thingies for those crucial moments, I find this feature absolutely delightful.

In Nioh 3, you level up by breaking Spirit Stones to gather enough Amrita. Within the level-up menu, there’s a “Use Spirit Stone” button. This sub-menu includes an option to “Use amount required for Level Up” alongside “Use all Spirit Stones in possession.” The former is clearly the better choice; in our earlier example, the game would automatically use the 10,000 Amrita worth of Soul Stones needed. Just like that, you level up without risking any excess Amrita on your next death.

This may seem like a small addition, but after countless hours spent in various Soulslikes and doing mental math while navigating inventory screens, I absolutely adore this change. This is the future, and I want to see it in every Soulslike. When we inevitably don’t see it in all of them, I know I’ll miss Nioh 3.

Nioh 3 might be making its debut on Xbox, marking a significant moment for the nearly decade-old franchise, as a flashy new trailer confirms six months of PS5 exclusivity.