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Ah, the highs and lows of a video game franchise fan. Barely a week ago I was singing Onimusha: Way of the Sword‘s praises, applauding Capcom‘s approach to the long-awaited new entry in the storied franchise. But then a new gameplay trailer dropped for Sony PlayStation’s State of Play presentation. And how I find myself with a whole host of unexpected reservations. Chief among them is the Onimusha: Way of the Sword trailer’s tone which, frankly, feels way off compared to where it should be.
‘Not Good!’
I’m a huge fan of the Onimusha franchise. The blend of sword-slashing action with puzzle-solving, all set in a supernatural version of the Feudal and Edo periods in Japan, is just extremely compelling. I mean, who wouldn’t love to play as a samurai carving through demon hordes?
Therefore, when Capcom dropped the surprise announcement of a new entry in the series, I was ridiculously excited, if concerned a sufficient audience existed. My concerns were largely allayed when Capcom showed off more of the game during the Capcom Spotlight 2025 presentation. I surmised that Capcom is aiming for a modern reboot of the series, rather than a reinvention. The developer still seemed to be laser focused on the sort of demon-killing, sword-slashing action that I adored two decades ago.
But then came the latest PlayStation State of Play. Onimusha: Way of the Sword‘s gameplay trailer wasn’t one of the presentation’s few highlights. In fact, I found myself cringing through some of the Onimusha trailer. The reason for my wasn’t the game’s combat, which in fairness looked fantastic. No, the issue I had was with the tone of the cutscenes, specifically the jarring silliness.
When I think of the Onimusha series’ tone, the first that comes to mind definitely isn’t goofy. And yet, with the trailer’s horrendous English language dub and bizarre localisation, that’s precisely what came across.
The trailer started off well enough. A washed-up samuria, presumably the protagonist, enters a bleak, atmospheric village. Grim, one-eyed demons—the Genma—rise to meet him. And then our hero speaks, and things rapidly go downhill. “Let’s see your best, then, eh?” he quips in a horrid London accent. This is followed by some gameplay footage which, in fairness, looked pretty good. It looks like you’ll be able to use the environment to thwart the Genma, before dismembering them with bloody, precision sword slashes.
But the narration that accompanied the action worried me. The tone feels quippy, almost like a Marvel movie, rather than gritty and grounded like I remember Onimusha being. At one point, enemies surround the samurai. Rather than facing them head-on, with grit and stoic resolve, he runs away, crying, “Not good!” Well, quite. Not good indeed.
Code of the Samurai
Don’t get me wrong—I understand that this is just a trailer. Perhaps Capcom didn’t know what to accompany the combat footage with, and just made a poor decision. But, if the quippy, silly tone is in any way indicative of what Capcom is aiming for with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, I strongly think it’s the wrong way to go.
Samurais are known for being stoical, ruthless, honorable and courageous. As far as I’m aware, they aren’t renowned for comically running away after a cringey quip. Granted, Onimusha is a franchise that is very much inspired by historical events and figures. It never claims to have any sense of historical realism, and that’s absolutely fine. But the protagonists of the first three games—Samanosuke Akechi and Jubei Yagyu—were both serious, grounded characters. They took their powers and responsibilities seriously.
To be clear, I’m not saying that Onimusha: Way of the Sword needs to be relentlessly serious and bleak. Moments of levity can elevate the storytelling and provide some much needed relief from oppressive tension. But, for the game to be a worthwhile entry in the series and tell a compelling story, I can’t fathom the comical, quippy tone working.
It’s particularly jarring in the trailer because, as I alluded to previously, the combat shown looks violent and visceral. The hero slices limbs off the Genma and even cuts them in two. Huge monsters appear to provide a stern test of your sword fighting skills. Nothing in the gameplay suggested the sort of goofiness that the plagued the cinematics.
But, in fairness, the Onimusha games have never been the paragon of seriousness. Like many games in those days, the early series releases had a B-movie “quality”, with hammy voice acting and some questionable writing. Further, a few of the macabre bosses could definitely clarify as camp. I suspect the writing quality, however, was a reflection of the times rather than a conscious decision. And the over-the-top theatrical nature of enemies didn’t extend to the protagonists themselves.
Of course, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a long way off yet; it isn’t releasing until 2026. There’s still plenty of time to get the game’s tone right. But please, Capcom, don’t fall for the trap of making it tonally silly and full of lame quips. It didn’t work for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and it won’t work for Onimusha.
