Preview: Attack on Titan 3 Offers a New Perspective on the Anime

Koei Tecmo made good use of the Attack on Titan license over the last few years, handing the keys over to Dynasty Warriors studio Omega Force for a series of hack-and-slash games. Now it’s gearing up to release Attack on Titan 3, which once again covers the plot of the manga/anime alongside an original character. While the first entry was a straightforward retelling of the show that allowed you to take control of the original cast, AOT2 was a retelling through the eyes of an original player-created character. AOT3 repeats this, only now you’re a veteran commander whose exploits happen parallel to the main plot, intersecting when needed.

You play as a member of the Survey Corps taken off active duty after a failed mission gave them a PTSD-induced fear of Titans. In the meantime, you’re temporarily assigned as an instructor for the 104th Cadet Corps. This is mainly a way to force your OC to interact with Eren, Mikasa and the gang while offering a reason for a veteran to go through a tutorial for a player’s benefit. After graduation, you’re promoted to commander of a small recon team, and it’s this role that the game focuses on.

Images via Koei Tecmo

Primarily, this is a hack-and-slash in the grand tradition of almost everything Omega Force has ever made. You and your squad rush around outside the walls fighting off any Titan you come across. This is done through a unique aerial combat system where you swing around, slashing at their limbs to open up opportunities to slice at their weak spots at the nape of their neck. If you’ve played the previous games, you already know how this works.

It’s also incredibly fun. Swinging around feels good, especially with a bunch of boost, jump and slide options built into the controls. It’s a fantastic translation of the cool acrobatics seen in the show. And fighting Titans is intuitive, although sometimes I felt it was a little unreliable about letting me target weak spots.

But this time around there is also resource gathering. In between battles, you need to find resources, gathering this loot for better equipment back at HQ. As well as crafting and restocking, you’re also responsible for recruiting and training up your squad. I didn’t get to see a lot of this in the time I spent with the preview build, but it was a little simplistic. I hope this opens up later for more strategic options, as there is some potential here.

Screenshot by Siliconera

The decision to play as an unrelated commander is an interesting one too, allowing Omega Force to deviate from the original story where appropriate. We get to see more of the command structure of this world, and you can lead your squad on side stories that expand the lore and worldbuilding. The commander’s own story is where this falls flat, as their initial trauma has to be immediately written out of the story in order for the game to function. It was an interesting setup, but the speed at which it was tossed out gave me whiplash.

What I played of this build Attack on Titan 3 felt like a fantastic time. Fighting Titans is undeniably cool, and the new perspective through a commander’s eyes adds a lot to the lore. I just hope the crafting and squad building builds into something more interesting as the game progresses.

Attack on Titan 3 is set to release on December 10, 2026 for PC, PS5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S.