Before Sekiro, Ghost of Tsushima or Dark Souls, there was Onimusha. Originally a fan-favorite on PS2, the supernatural samurai game earned huge popularity for its excellent swordplay and clever mix of action and puzzles. After spawning a handful of sequels and spin-offs, the series got its last original entry back in 2006. Now, 20 years later, the series returns with Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
Set during the tumultuous Sengoku period, the game puts players in the sandals of Miyamoto Musashi, who finds himself battling an army of demonic Genma. But this isn’t simply another sword-swinging trip through ancient Japan. Capcom is borrowing a bit from Assassin’s Creed and mixing historical characters and locations with the series’ trademark supernatural horror, creating a world where samurai warfare and demon slaying collide in spectacularly bloody fashion.
At the center of Way of the Sword is, of course, the swordplay. Capcom has delivered a combat system built around precision, timing and aggressive counterattacks rather than button mashing hack and slash. Musashi can absorb the souls of defeated enemies and use them to unleash devastating abilities, while carefully timed strikes can produce the kind of brutal, cinematic executions that made the original Onimusha games so memorable. The result is a decidedly old-school take on samurai combat, updated with stunning modern visuals and considerably more visceral action.
Visually, Way of the Sword is one of Capcom’s most impressive visual journeys ever, forgoing their typical animation style – one that has served Street Fighter and Monster Hunter well—for realism in the best way possible. Ancient streets, castles and temples are rendered with an awesome atmospheric mix of beauty and menace, while the supernatural elements bring a decidedly nightmarish feeling to the action.
Our hero’s journey brings with it a sweeping cast of historical and fictional characters, grounding the plot in Japanese history and mixing it with the supernatural mythology that has always been central to Onimusha. It’s the sort of setting that feels tailor-made for a game where a samurai can walk through a beautiful temple one minute and start hacking demons apart the next.
For longtime fans, Onimusha: Way of the Sword represents something more than another Capcom revival. Instead, it’s a chance to revisit the virtual world that planted the seed of the genre to be presented in all its glory, now that the samurai have found more thorough purchase in modern gaming.
With a legendary swordsman, demonic enemies, spectacular executions and a whole lot of steel-on-steel action, Way of the Sword is positioning itself as one of the most addicting action games of the year, one that’s challenge will put it on par with games like Sekiro and Dark Souls.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is out this week on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC and pre-orders are open now. Check out the launch trailer below.