The original Onimusha is one of the first games that I played back on the PlayStation 2 that genuinely felt next-gen. Characters like Samonosuke looked like actual people, not just clumps of polygons. Monsters were terrifying and emotive, and the backgrounds (at the time) I thought were photographs of real places. I loved each new entry of the series Capcom released, including the GBA’s tactical RPG, so when the franchise went dormant after the fourth mainline title, Dawn of Dreams, Onimusha was always one of the series I desperately wanted to see come back. Now, almost two decades later, the Oni Gauntlet returns with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and I had a chance to see some brand new gameplay during Game Days at Summer Games Fest.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword follows a new protagonist and historical figure, Miyamoto Musashi (whose appearance is based on Japanese samurai movie legend Toshiro Mifune), before he became the well-known samurai he was destined to be. Taking place in the early Edo period (placing Way of the Sword chronologically after the Dawn of Dreams but obviously before the modern France portions of the third game), the evil Gemma demons are back. It is up to Musashi to uncover what the Gemma are after and how to stop them.
The demo we saw was hands-off, but it was being played live by one of the team’s developers and lasted about 15 minutes. Besides obviously being made with modern technology and sensibilities, from the bit we saw, it seems to check the Onimusha boxes I’ve been waiting for. Swordplay that is quick but rewards patience and waiting for your time to strike, finding time between attacks to absorb souls, the heavily damaging Issen counterattacks, and beautiful environments are all here.
Way of the Sword looks to have a couple of new tricks too, such as the brand new Break Issen. This new technique, which was shown off against the demo’s bosses, allows you to target specific parts of the boss’s body, damaging them and causing unique effects depending on where you target, once you have filled a gauge by deflecting attacks or dishing out damage on them. It reminded me of FromSoftware’s Sekiro, which features a similar mechanic that rewards parrying attacks. Still, Onimusha’s added element of breaking different parts does give it a bit more flair and depth.
The only resulting effects were that the attack would cause a large chunk of damage to be done, or cause a large number of souls to fly out from the boss, letting you heal a bit or replenish your various bars for special attacks. I do hope that different bosses will have more targets, and increase the number of potential impacts you can expect. I will be a happy samurai if these go so far as to dramatically change encounters, breaking a weapon to remove a specific attack from the boss’s repertoire, maybe. Regardless, I think the concept is neat, and we will just have to wait and see how well it is incorporated in the final release.
The area where all this carnage was taking place was Kiyomizu-dera Temple, a real-world location that you can visit. The team has taken great care in faithfully recreating this temple, working closely with staff at its real-life counterpart to capture all the architecture and details of the surrounding grounds. Just without the destruction or demon stuff, of course. It may not be pre-rendered backgrounds anymore, but these environments are just as beautiful as the ones I remember from my teenage years with early games. And, being so close to resembling the actual place, it just gives me another spot to visit.
I love that Capcom is beginning to revisit and revitalize these long-dormant franchises and am very excited to return to the world of Onimusha. Capcom is looking to have set itself up with a killer year ahead, releasing not only Onimusha but also Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata (two games we also got to check out during Game Days). While we may not have a set date yet for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, all appearances point to it shaping up to be a worthwhile return of this beloved franchise.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is set to release in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam. Remasters of the original Onimusha and its sequel, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, are out now for you to play with updated modern control options and up-res’d high-resolution textures.
