At one point in time, decades ago, Capcom debuted Onimusha as a sort of samurai-themed Resident Evil. While utilizing figures prominent in Japanese history, it mixed characters with the supernatural to create a compelling new series that saw strong, early success. Despite that success, however, the series laid dormant for much of the past two decades. Given Capcom’s recent tear of continual, fantastic releases, it’s no surprise that Onimusha is ripe for a full-fledged return.
Onimusha Way of the Sword represents the first mainline entry in the series in twenty years. Releasing in September, Capcom invited me to go hands-on with a new section of the game at Summer Game Fest (different from the public demo). As someone who still owns his original launch copies for the PlayStation 2, it was one of my most anticipated appointments of the week. And thankfully, it did not disappoint.
Swing of the Sword
Early gameplay presentations of Way of the Sword have shown a broad-range of melee combat featuring deflects, parries, counters, and more. My first point of focus was to learn what was possible as I was curious as to the level of depth we could expect in that vein. I’m happy to report, the systems are far deeper than I initially anticipated.
Not only do you have a range of attacks and your typical counters like parries and deflects along with standard dodging, each of these can be varied based on timing. Should you wait until the last second to dodge, you can shadow slide behind enemies, providing the perfect opportunity for a counter attack. Parrying at the last second, meanwhile, powers up a meter you can use to unleash flashy, devastating attacks when the moment is right. Most importantly, these actions feel amazing in execution and made me want to continue to improve my skills and approach.
Want to show off your skills even more? Instead of dodging or parrying, you can go on the offensive and attack during a very small window prior to enemies hitting you which is a fantastic way to further offer risk vs. reward to players. I love this option personally as I’m a fan of large skill gaps in games of this nature. But just to be clear, for those looking to experience Onimusha without feeling like the challenge may ruin it for them, there are multiple difficulty options. So if you prefer a more narrative-focused approach without having to sweat, that is available to you.
Just as you may recall, killing enemies releases their souls which you then acquire using your Oni Gauntlet. These are represented by yellow souls which restore your health, blue souls which power up the Oni abilities in combat, and red souls which essentially act as currency to improve your skills. The thrill and fluidity of the combat combined with the dynamic nature of your Oni abilities is a joy, and this was no more present than when I faced the final boss of the demo.
The boss of the mission was a two-stage monstrosity named Rasho-gan that truly put your skills to the test. As someone seasoned in these types of games, I chose to play on the standard difficulty and not the story mode, so a couple of the Capcom and PR representatives had a running bet with me that I couldn’t beat him on the first try…
I always enjoy a challenge, and I liked seeing how Rasho-gan was essentially a skill check for everything I had learned throughout the demo Capcom had curated for us. Timed dodges, parries, counters, utilizing ranged attacks with your bow, and maximizing your Oni meter for peak damage all came into play. And several minutes later, sometimes surviving by no more than a sliver, I came away victorious. Afterwards, the team and I had a good laugh and chat about it, but more importantly, was the fact that I didn’t want to stop playing. I was already having a blast in the game, but fighting a boss battle that was unique and challenging was the icing on the cake. While the formula is by no means new, the execution here is excellent.
Culture is Calling
One of the aspects I love to see Capcom leaning into heavily with Onimusha Way of the Sword is Japanese history and culture. As I prefaced, the series has always been about placing a supernatural focus on Japanese myths and legends. Way of the Sword takes place in Edo-era Kyoto and in the slice of the game I played, I explored a local town while searching for missing statues that had been moved from their resting place.
Throughout the search, and as I returned each one after slaying Genma along the way, the back and forth between Musashi and the spirits continually made me laugh. This, of course, is further emphasized by the almost goofy nature of Musashi at times and his adhoc quips throughout. As I was playing with some of the Capcom and PR teams present, we even began laughing about some of the interactions together. There’s a certain charm to it that makes Way of the Sword particularly engaging. And when combined with the aforementioned combat prowess, it’s shaping up to be one hell of a package.
Obviously I’m excited to go on the full journey with Musashi and his Oni Gauntlet to see where it takes me throughout Kyoto. But one thing is for certain: Capcom continues to be in their element. Onimusha Way of the Sword is shaping up to be yet another incredible release from the company and it’s absolutely one you should have marked on you calendar when it releases on September 25th.
