Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review – It’s Good to Be Back

The Onimusha series has always had a special place in the lineage of action games, directly influencing contemporary games with its focus on swordplay, spacing, and a unique mix of historical Japanese and fantasy settings. It’s also a series that almost reinvented itself with each entry, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword carries the same torch. Ask anyone what the core of Onimusha is, and you’ll get different answers, but I think the one consistent thing most people would agree on is that high-quality, short-form action is at the heart of Onimusha.

A Surprisingly Strong Story

For Way of the Sword, Capcom has decided to use Miyamoto Musashi as the lead character. A famous figure from Japanese history known for his incredible sword-fighting skills, dedication to the blade, and record number of wins against formidable opponents across Japan, Capcom has preserved much of that historical legacy in its version of Musashi. He’s a champion of honorable duels who relies on his own strength and knowledge to win them. Right off the bat, he’s charismatic, funny, proud, and walks and talks with a confidence that’s easily earned thanks to his skill with the blade. Above all, though, it’s shown early on that he’s a good and kind person, even if he sometimes acts reluctantly when it comes to doing the right thing.

Fighting humans is a cakewalk for him, but when he’s jumped by the Genma, Musashi’s skills can’t save him, and he’s killed. Without revealing too much, he’s pulled from his afterlife journey back to the land of the living thanks to the famed Gauntlet that’s synonymous with Onimusha. That’s where the main dilemma comes into play for Musashi, as he doesn’t want to rely on a magical tool to aid him after working so hard to become the warrior he is today. To him, using the Gauntlet, which gives him this newfound strength, is cheating, and that urgent desire to be rid of it becomes his initial motivation to pursue the Genma. His visible frustration with using the Gauntlet really adds to his character, and it’s genuinely fun seeing him evolve throughout the campaign.

Musashi isn’t alone in this, as he eventually meets up with Takamura, another Gauntlet user, Okuni, and Shikuza, an Oni inside the Gauntlet. Each character has personal stakes tied to the imminent Genma invasion, and those stakes make them feel like more than side characters. I played the game with the Japanese dub because I found the English version a bit cheesy. The Japanese dub feels more serious, and the performances are way more memorable. That’s not to say the English dub is bad, but it’s a bit exaggerated in its delivery and doesn’t always feel that natural.

Honestly, I didn’t have many expectations for the story. Previous Onimusha titles had stories, but they were a bit basic. While the world of the Genma and Oni was always interesting, the characters were a bit flat. That’s why I’m surprised by how invested I became this time around, with the characters and story pulling at my heartstrings and surprising me in many ways. The bosses, especially, are a highlight. They’re not just random, overpowered Genma roaming Kyoto; they often have a narrative build-up and a visible influence on the populace. Their malicious schemes, where they use people and even animals as playthings for their own amusement and hunger, come across as properly sadistic. It’s something I’ve always wanted to see explored more in the series, with greater emphasis on highlighting the wrath of these demonic beings beyond their scary designs.

A Combat System Built to Show Off

Combat in Way of the Sword places a heavy emphasis on defensive play. Yes, you can wail on enemies with your light and heavy attacks, but the real fun and control over the flow of an encounter comes from understanding and utilizing Issen, deflection, and parries. Way of the Sword has a pretty big focus on parrying, and it’s arguably a bit overpowered, especially against bosses, but it’s not the only thing you can do. Skilled and attentive players will figure out that Issen is far deadlier when it comes to damage, and its high skill requirement makes it incredibly satisfying to pull off.

That said, I can’t deny that Onimusha is another modern action title where parrying is pretty essential, even if enemies and bosses mix things up with grabs, projectiles, kicks, and other attacks. More importantly, this game is about showing off. It’s a Capcom-style game, and the amount of dynamic and contextual animation packed into each move is staggering. Simply parrying every attack isn’t particularly interesting when there’s so much else at your disposal. Deflects can deal stamina damage and reflect projectiles, while switching up your Issen attacks is ridiculously satisfying. The Oni weapons also have their place, especially in situations where you need crowd control or want to deal heavy stamina damage or any other specific utility. Individually, each mechanic serves a purpose, but it’s when you start combining them and responding to enemies in different ways that the combat really comes alive.

Most of the later bosses throw moves at you where parrying isn’t the obvious or only solution, and those are the encounters I had the most fun with. This isn’t me excusing how powerful parrying can be, but rather encouraging you to experiment with everything the combat system has to offer. You can play Devil May Cry in the most boring way possible by spamming the same three-hit combo over and over because it’s effective, but that doesn’t mean you’ve experienced everything the combat has to offer.

Bosses are a highlight. These overpowered Genma have so much personality in their demeanor, witty dialogue, and design that you can’t help but be impressed by how meticulously detailed they are. The first few fights are pretty easy, but they keep ramping up in difficulty, with increasingly chaotic movement and additional combo attacks forcing you to use every part of your kit to take them down. There are also unique ways available to you to approach and damage them, like breaking armor, skipping their entire phase, parrying their incoming aerial attack trajectory, countering their grab for huge damage, cutting off certain parts of them to negate certain attacks, deflecting projectiles, and so much more.

The bosses are a blast to fight and probably my favorite part of the game. What’s even better is that you can rematch any boss you’ve beaten as many times as you want in the training mode. Seeing how many ways there are to counter their moves is a joy, and I can’t wait to watch people perfect their Issen techniques against them on YouTube while I hide my face in shame because I can only pull it off a few times.

What About the Difficulty?

Let’s get to the bit you’ve probably been waiting for, dear readers, and that’s the difficulty. I have to be honest, I didn’t enjoy how easy the demo was, even if the core combat mechanics were polished and interesting. Enemies felt too passive, and Musashi tore through everything, confidently declaring “No challenge” as if barely aware that anything stood in his way.

For the full release, that’s actually true for the first few hours. I was hesitant and a little let down to find that there was still so little in the way of an actual challenge. I’m not saying every game has to be Ninja Gaiden, but it felt far too easy, especially when the combat system seemed to have so much depth waiting to be explored. Thankfully, that changes a few hours into Way of the Sword, when you’re introduced to new enemy types that can hold their own, have a wider variety of attacks and defensive capabilities, and actually demand your attention. It finally felt like an Onimusha game, in more ways than one.

That’s not to say the game suddenly turns into a gauntlet of pain, but there is a reasonable level of challenge that finally allows the core combat mechanics to shine and rewards players for experimenting. I just wish it didn’t take as long as it does to reach that point. Maybe I’m not giving enough credit to the sense of progression created by those easier early encounters, and perhaps Musashi’s overwhelming combat prowess is deliberately meant to make him feel impossible to overwhelm at first. Either way, the game eventually remedies its lack of challenge with some really fun combat encounters further into the campaign, both against regular enemies and bosses

I feel like this could have been easily alleviated by introducing a higher overall difficulty option from the start, but the only two modes available are Story and Action. I can’t even imagine how easy the “Story” mode must be.

A Cursed, Explorable Kyoto

Structurally, Onimusha is a largely linear action game, just like the originals. However, it features a fairly wide, explorable Kyoto, with opportunities for exploration through side stories, collectibles, and villager requests. Most of these feel unobtrusive because they tend to show up naturally while you’re on your way to another main objective. Unlocking Musashi’s faster sprint option also comes in handy, allowing you to run around like a maniac and tackle these side activities with ease. Kyoto has this eerie, cursed quality to it, and many of the side stories feel like they could have been pulled straight from a Junji Ito story in the way they’re introduced. I’m not saying they’re all outright scary, but there’s an unsettling curiosity to them that makes you want to see where each strange little story leads.

I do like how the variety of Genma in Kyoto increases as you progress through the campaign and reduce malice’s influence across the region. Seeing them dance around and terrorize civilians goes a long way toward making them memorable, and I always enjoy cutting through them. Their varied formations can also give me a tough time, particularly when several types are thrown at me at once. Exploring Kyoto also rewards you with materials required to enhance your weapons, armor, and charms, and it’s a worthwhile diversion thanks to how quickly you can traverse the region. There’s enough to do, but it’s never overbearing. This also ties into the game’s light RPG mechanics, as the souls you absorb can be used to unlock new combat and Oni abilities, upgrade your gear, and purchase items when needed.

I was hoping to see some of that Resident Evil-style elaborate exploration return from the first title, but this is still a mostly linear affair, with some unnecessary padding in the form of those trademark otherworldly rift sections. You know the ones I’m talking about: floating rocks, reappearing structures, the works. Thankfully, they’re not common enough to bring the pacing to a halt, but they’re annoying and boring either way.

Beautiful, Grotesque, and Exceptionally Animated

Visually, Way of the Sword is another superb RE Engine title, with beautifully rendered interiors and exteriors. It’s not the most graphically impressive game when it comes to its perpetually cloudy Kyoto, and its environments are a noticeable step down from something like Resident Evil Requiem, but the character models, enemy and boss designs, and intricately designed arenas are all top-notch. Capcom has also touched up the color calibration since the demo, mostly eliminating the washed-out look that plagued certain sections.

The real highlight, though, is the animation quality. If I could give an award for the most expressively idle-animated character, I’d give it to Musashi. His face is constantly shifting through different expressions, mostly annoyed and untrusting, while the way he grips his sword and casually leans his arm against its sheath gives him an incredible amount of personality. His reactions to incoming attacks from practically every direction, along with the way his entire physical demeanor changes depending on the state he’s in, are seriously impressive.

The game also leans heavily into horror during certain sections, with a particular emphasis on body horror and some seriously messed-up imagery that I wasn’t expecting. Its atmosphere can be moody or vibrant when it needs to be, while its grounded historical setting makes the grotesque Genma invasion stand out all the more. That contrast between the familiar and the fantastical is one of the game’s most effective visual tricks.

Lastly, I want to touch on PC performance. This is a superbly optimized game that runs like a dream, with practically no stutters regardless of where you are, whether you’re exploring the outdoors, fighting a tense boss battle, or walking through its highly detailed interiors. On my 4070 Super paired with a 5700X3D, I comfortably hit 120+ FPS at 1440p on the highest settings. I disabled ray tracing because it doesn’t really add much to the presentation, much like Resident Evil 4 Remake, but I cranked everything else to the highest settings.

For an action title like this, having a consistently smooth experience is downright essential, and Capcom has delivered exactly that.

Verdict

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a fantastic revival the series has needed for a while. Its satisfying combat is the obvious highlight, with Issen, parries, deflects, and Oni abilities giving you plenty of ways to approach enemies and show off, while the excellent latter bosses constantly push you to master the core kit. Musashi is also a surprisingly likable protagonist, and I was genuinely impressed by how invested I became in the story and its side characters. The game does take a bit too long to properly challenge you, and its exploration is a bit unambitious, but these are relatively minor complaints. With fantastic animation work, a rewarding combat system, memorable bosses, and a surprisingly engaging story, Way of the Sword feels like exactly the kind of comeback Onimusha deserved.