The
Attack on Titan
series by Hajime Isayama is genuinely one of the most important works
for fans worldwide. The show has sparked a massive debate over its
controversial ending, but putting that aside, you can’t argue with its overall impact:
brilliant storytelling and action that fans will remember for ages.
And now, eight years after the last game in the franchise, Koei Tecmo’s
Omega Force is back with Attack on Titan 3. The full game launches next
month in December on the PS5, Xbox Series X and S, PC, and Nintendo
Switch 2. At DualShockers, we had the opportunity to check out a final
preview build, and I must say, as a veteran fan of both the series and
the games, they’re truly going out swinging on this one.
The Legend Retold from a Fresh Perspective
One of the biggest changes in Attack on Titan 3 is how it
approaches its storytelling. You see, back then there was this evident problem that Omega Force
could only adapt parts of the story since the anime was still airing,
which meant that you weren’t going to get the full package, or at least,
where the manga had reached in contrast to the show.
With AOT3, it still remains true to the storytelling presentation of the
prior entries. But rather than simply allowing you to relive the anime’s
biggest moments through the familiar cast, this game once again
introduces an original character for you to create and customize.
Our OC character suffers a devastating loss after their previous squad
is wiped out during a Titan encounter beyond the walls. So, after
developing a fear of Titans from the incident, they’re removed from
active duty and assigned to instruct the 104th Cadet Corps. This gives
you a chance to interact with familiar faces such as Eren, Armin, and
Mikasa before eventually graduating from the instructor role and taking
command of your own reconnaissance squad.
This approach is very promising because it gives Omega Force a chance to
explore parts of the Attack on Titan universe that don’t necessarily
receive the same attention in the anime. You’re not another member of
Eren’s generation experiencing everything alongside him. But instead,
you’re an experienced soldier watching these young cadets grow into the
people who will eventually shape humanity’s fate.
There are also original story events and character interactions designed
to expand on the relationships between your character and the existing
cast, which is a very nice gesture for us longtime fans if we want
something new from this whole experience, especially for characters that
didn’t get a ton of screen time in the main show or earlier seasons.
ODM Combat Has Been Completely Reworked
Of course, none of this hard work over the past 8 years would matter
nearly as much without the one thing that makes AOT such an exciting
property to adapt into a video game: its combat.
Fortunately, Omega Force hasn’t simply brought back the same
Omni-Directional Mobility (ODM) system from Attack on Titan 2 and called
it a day. The studio has made several adjustments to how you can move
around the battlefield, giving the familiar grappling mechanics far more
flexibility while also adding new layers of strategy to Titan
encounters.
Previously, much of the combat revolved around attaching your ODM
anchors to a Titan, reeling yourself towards it, and timing your attack
to strike its nape. While that foundation remains intact, AOT3 has
generally put more emphasis on identifying weaknesses before committing
to an attack. The gameplay rhythm now feels more like a hybrid between
a strategic action game.
You can now target individual body parts, allowing you to damage limbs,
interrupt attacks, and temporarily immobilize Titans before going for
the finishing blow. This is especially important because these guys are
much more aggressive, with new attack patterns that require you to watch
their movements rather than blindly rush toward their weak spots.
One of the biggest changes in Attack on Titan 3 is how it approaches its storytelling.
Other noticeably uplifting additions include the maneuverability
upgrades and defensive options. You can attach yourself to certain
surfaces to reposition, use boost jumps to gain additional height, and
even dive or slide along the ground to avoid incoming attacks, which is
very useful when dealing with larger Titans during their one-on-one boss
fight encounters where you have to stun them
for the one-hit kill
from their nape area.
As for defensive mechanics, you can use well-timed dodges and parries to
defend against incoming attacks. Combat Arts also add another layer of
progression, giving you access to powerful unlockable special attacks as
you increase your military rank. It’s an ambitious evolution of the
combat from the prior entries, one that I’m very excited to experience
to a greater extent with the full release.
March Forward and Hold Nothing Back
The overall game’s flow looks extremely ambitious, and what I mean is
that the game has three working gears in motion for the full package
here: interacting with your squadmates at the base, the main story
missions that progress the campaign, and your Exterior missions.
The latter is one of the highlights, as it lets you freely explore the
world with your squad in tow to hunt down more Titans and fulfil
different requests from NPCs you come across. It’s essentially a way to
give you more gameplay freedom instead of railroading you from start to
finish to showcase the anime’s main story, and doing Exterior missions
also lets you reap additional rewards and useful upgrade materials,
which you definitely need and can’t skip since they let you enhance your
equipment.
And speaking of gameplay freedom, you can put any doubts to rest about
whether you can jump into this game without prior experience with how
the first two games worked. There are a bunch of accessibility and
control scheme options that let any player easily enjoy the story, but
if you want total control, you can turn off any options that automate
the combat mechanics, which I honestly prefer since you’re way more
vulnerable to mistakes that way, and it makes the game more punishing.
Still, I can promise you that Attack on Titan 3 is genuinely worth
having on your radar for the December releases. With how much I got to
sample here, I can’t wait to see how more of the character interactions
play out, how the talent points fully work with everything in place,
along with how the noteworthy battles in the show play out here, and
that includes the whole sections of Marley from Season 4 and beyond. It
is a lot to look forward to on my side, but I’ll gladly march into
battle head-on with my goth Scout Corps Captain.
Attack on Titan 3
Initial Release Date
2026-12-10
ESRB
Mature 17+ / Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Language
Platform(s)
PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Developer(s)
Koei Tecmo
Publisher(s)
Koei Tecmo
Franchise
Attack on Titan
