Onimusha: Way of the Sword is shaping my dream Samurai game

In recent years there have been many Samurai games, from “Soulslikes” such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the Nioh duology for action adventure experiences such as Spirit of Tsushima and the approaching continuation and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. But maybe the most exciting for me so far is capcoms Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

Although I don’t have a background with the older one Onimusha games, I was very impressed with my recent practical demo at Gamescom with Way of the sword. I would even go so far to say that it might be the typical Samurai game for me.

An important part of this amounts to a targeted vision. Unlike the other games I mentioned, Way of the sword Tries not to be another Souls-like or open-world adventure. Instead, it becomes a refreshingly sleek experience that cuts excess fat to deliver a very atmospheric linear linear adventure aimed at remarkably fluent and grounded sword game.

In the game you play as the real famous sword fighter Miyamoto Musashi in Kyoto in Edo era while he is vaccinated with the mysterious ONI Gauntlet and must be his skills to defeat dangerous genma and discover his goal. I have experienced many Kurosawa films lately (shout to Toronto’s beautiful Revue cinema), so the fact that Capcom has secured the similarity of the legendary Kurosawa star Toshiro Mifune for Musashi for Musashi brings a much-welcome level of gravitas to the story.

In general, however, I just appreciated how targeted Everything feels inside Way of the sword. While I worked through the mountains to achieve a sanctuary, there was an ubiquitous, ominous feeling, from the creepy black sky to the possessed NPCs that swing on a kind of pilgrimage like zombies. And because the game is largely linear, Capcom could at least accelerate this feeling of fear at the moment as I progressed, creating a feeling of dramatic structure about what I would ultimately find. It also enables the developer to sharpen the story better, and so far I am intrigued by the nature of the glove, which has a mysterious voice that communicates with the understandably frustrated Musashi. Hopefully that leads to a compelling dynamic in the last game.

That feeling of goal extends to Way of the swordFighting, which I love so far. Capcom said this Is not a ‘punitive die-and-rhetic’Which I appreciate as someone who doesn’t like that style of masochistic play. (I really don’t enjoy dying again and again.) Instead, Capcom says it strives for something that is approachable for everyone. The end result is a combat system that feels incredibly responsive, fascinating and targeted. In my demo I once fought against a few enemies at the same time, which means that you are challenged to really study the movements and placements of single enemies and respond accordingly.

An important part of this is the robust multi-layered parrying system. At the basic level you can hold L1 (on PS5) to block or timely your press to perform a glorious cinematic parry, interlock with your knife and sharpen with the enemy’s in an OH-ZO-Stylish collision that flushes sparks. But a well -timed press of both L1 and X can actually bend to bend, overwhelming opponents or, in the right context, even reflect projectiles such as arrows. And finally, there is OnimushaThe characteristic ‘Issen’ counter, which can be carried out by a well-timed attack to match one of an opponent.

This creates a dynamic “rock-paper scissors” type of parrying toolkit in which you have to choose the best way to respond. There is indeed a ballet -based rhythm to simply block the attack of one bandit before he bends an arrow at a distant archer, who runs away and then come across someone who is about to hit behind. Brutal Finisher animations only sell the deadliness of battles, with Musashi -splitting enemies in two from all types of corners in one smooth, clean slash. There are even contextual Takedowns, such as a growl in a tree before he shakes him with the knife.

All in all, it nails the rewarding force fantasy to be this badass sword fighter without a soul-like level of criminal problems. But of course things become more difficult, which I saw at the end of my demo during a boss fight with a stubborn sword fighter named Ganryu Sasaki (Musashi’s real rival). With its wide range of movements you will be constantly challenged to know when to use the correct Parry or Side-Step, the latter will be realized with a beautifully smooth fast silhouette effect. And when you break his attitude, a QTE-Lite series plays in which you can choose which part of his body you can focus on a devastating blow that weakens him.

In just 15 minutes, Capcom sold me on this new one Onimusha. I’m looking forward to watching the older games in the meantime, because man, waiting for Way of the sword Become difficult now.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword Launches somewhere in 2026 on PS5 and PC Resident Evil Requiem.

Image Credit: Capcom