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Reviving a dormant and beloved franchise comes with risks and expectations. In the case of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the new Genma-slaying romp feels like it fits perfectly alongside the other titles in the series. However, despite appearing 20 years after the last game, this new Onimusha still needs to find its footing.
At the start of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto is on a journey to become the strongest. That’s when he encounters the Genma, demonic creatures escaped from Hell intent on causing chaos and harm in the human world and strikes back. Musashi, his allies, and the various antagonists in the game are all fun to watch. This new Onimusha feels like an early 2000s action blockbuster, which fits the tone of the series at large, and is very similar to another recent Capcom release. Despite the darker tone of this entry, there are a lot of funny moments sprinkled. Watching Musashi find his purpose as a warrior and make connections left me genuinely excited for the future of the series.
Combat in Onimusha: Way of the Sword is built around reacting and defensive play. Parrying has an incredibly generous window and builds up the Blazing State (once unlocked) that enhances Musashi’s damage. Deflecting is performed by pressing A while defending. It’s a better version of parrying that depletes even more stamina and is buffed even further while in the Blazing State. Dodging has a similarly generous window. Its upgrade is the Reflex Combo, a full-range counterattack once the gauge fills. The last defensive option is Issen, an Onimusha’s signature counterattack that requires pressing the attack button just before an attack is about to hit Musashi. It has a tighter window, but is accordingly the most powerful option.
By comparison, offensive play is limited. There’s a basic combo for light and strong attacks and six different Oni Armaments that can only be used once the according gauge is full. This is a massive downgrade compared to how Oni weapons work in other Onimusha games and ties into my biggest issue with Onimusha: Way of the Sword. There is almost no offensive play. All regular mobs are weak enough that hitting them a few times and responding to their attacks will dispatch them efficiently. Sure, you have to hit bosses so that their stamina doesn’t fill up and to slowly chip at their health. But the biggest rewards come from parrying, deflecting, and dodging.
I have no issue with games that rely heavily on parrying and reactivity, but Onimusha: Way of the Sword takes it to the extreme. Character progression is another extension of this. Early upgrades unlock the aforementioned Blazing State and Reflex Dodge, but these are only buffs for tools I already had. Other upgrades increase Musashi’s damage or make tools I own stronger. The most baffling upgrades make the animation for opening a specific type of Genma door faster or make Musashi run faster only on Eastern Kyoto.
This isn’t a short game either, with my final playtime being 42 hours after completing all side-quests. The game goes on for too long for how barebones the fighting feels. The more linear and story-driven areas in Onimusha: Way of the Sword are the highlight of the game. They introduce some variety, even when it’s basic platforming. By comparison, East Kyoto is the main source of the aforementioned padding. It’s not a particularly big area, but there are plenty of times when the momentum will halt in order to clear a rift and fight some repeated bosses.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a fine action game, but as a fan of the series it’s lacking. The absence of weapon movesets and expanded combos make every encounter feel too similar. The fundamentals are fine for the first 10 to 15 hours, but it goes on for too long without expanding combat options. With Capcom seemingly intent on resurrecting this series, I hope that there’s a way forward for more Onimusha games. I just hope it isn’t the way of the sword.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword will come out on September 4, 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch 2, and PC via Steam. A demo is also available.
