Consistency is a rare word to hear in the gaming industry these days. Only a handful of studios manage to deliver one impressive title after another, and Capcom is one of those. As someone who has reviewed every new Capcom game this year, I didn’t think the studio could top its previous releases, but it did. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is one of the most nuanced, visually impressive, engaging, and extremely addictive action-adventure games I’ve played in recent times, and one that brings back the Genma-slaying series in a stellar way.
The Demon Samurai
If we can all agree on one thing, and going back to Capcom’s development philosophy, the Onimusha series has been just as consistent. Every single entry has improved upon its predecessor, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword isn’t an exception.
The first thing, or rather, character, who immediately hooked me to the game is our newcomer, Miyamoto Musashi. This new installment doesn’t present Musashi as the usual suave, smooth-talking, and heroic-looking protagonist. He is someone who complains, grunts when annoyed, rolls his eyes at some tasks, yet feels extremely relatable as he wants to focus on one thing: mastering the way of the sword. How? By becoming stronger by his own means.
Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned. After an unexpected Genma invasion, Musashi ends up with the soul-absorbing Oni Gauntlet. This stirs an internal conflict in Musashi, as he believes true strength comes from his own skills rather than an all-powerful magical glove.
While I’ve always been a fan of the cool-looking, boulder-punching protagonist Capcom has given us, it was so refreshing to see someone like Musashi. Who, let me tell you, is one of the best protagonists the studio has ever written. You can feel his growth as a character throughout the story, as he goes from trying to get rid of the gauntlet to somewhat embracing it to help those in Kyoto. And even if he’s not the most conventional hero, he was superb in every scene where we had to help someone or face the big baddie. He reminded me of Ichiban Kasuga, one of my favorite lead characters in gaming.
As for the overarching story, I’d say here is where Capcom still struggles to deliver a compelling narrative from start to finish. Don’t get me wrong, this is easily the best Onimusha plot we’ve experienced. Still, the pacing often feels all over the place. It has a strong start, but some parts drag too long in the first act, and it picks up again in the later segments. Fortunately, that is my only complaint, narrative-wise.
Frankly, I was a bit skeptical about how the series’ comeback would deliver a new plot, but it quickly exceeded my expectations. The characters, especially Musashi and Ganryu, are extremely memorable, and the narrative, despite its few pacing issues, is easily the best story in the series so far.
Capcom’s Most Refined Combat System to Date
Undoubtedly, combat is where Onimusha: Way of the Sword truly shines. It perfectly captures that tension and epicness of a samurai duel with the brutality of a Genma slayer.
Those who played the demo or have seen the trailers might already know about Musashi’s basic kit. In true action-adventure fashion, you have your light and heavy attacks, both of which you can chain together for some quick combos, and several defensive skills, such as dodging and parrying.
At first glance, it may seem quite simple. But that’s because it is extremely approachable for newcomers. Where the combat system truly shines is when you start unlocking additional skills for Musashi that make him one of gaming’s deadliest swordsmen.
For instance, you have your Issen move, which is a counter you can perform at the moment an enemy attacks you. It has a challenging timing window, but if you pull it off, you can insta-kill most foes. This ability improves further as you unlock new nodes on the skill tree, allowing you to chain Issen attacks to several enemies, basically taking out a pack of Genma in seconds.
And then there’s my favorite: Deflect. Instead of parrying, you can, as the skill’s name implies, deflect the blow back to an enemy. It doesn’t do damage, but it reduces an enemy’s stamina bar by a huge chunk, meaning you can also defeat enemies more quickly by just sticking to deflecting. This technique applies to most boss fights, too, by the way.
What I loved most about Musashi’s skills as a samurai is how they embrace the “best offense is a good defense” motto. I rarely started a fight. Instead, I waited for all Genma to hit me first, and once they did, I was able to assail them with deflections to do a critical hit or parry all their blows to eventually set my blade on fire and do more damage to them. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is one of those rare action-adventure titles where patience is key to make the most out of combat, and I loved it.
On the other hand, which yes, is a pun aimed at Musashi’s Oni Gauntlet, you have your Oni skills. You obtain these by progressing through the story and are divided into the more exploration-focused ones and the Oni Weapons, which you can use in combat. Frankly, I rarely used the latter. I liked all of them, as they fit a particular combat niche.
For instance, there’s the Wind-Whipper, which is a naginata that creates a whirlwind that hits several enemies at once. If there’s fire around, you can even whip up a fire whirlwind to do more damage. While it was epic to pull off, I preferred to stick to the good old katana abilities, as I felt they fit Musashi’s character more. Yet, I have to admit that Oni Weapons are quite helpful and can get you out of tough spots, such as having two daggers heal you or summoning a pair of hammers to deplete an enemy’s stamina.
In the end, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is extremely flexible in terms of how each player approaches combat. If you want, you can build Musashi in a way that he spawns as many blue orbs as possible to use his Oni Weapons constantly. Or, you can go the defensive route, which is what I did, and focus on perfecting that Issen timing window—the choice is truly yours. And no need to be afraid of commitment; you can reset the skill tree at any time.
Lastly, the enemies and boss fights are hands down among the best and most cinematic I’ve experienced this year. The more cannon fodder-type foes are pretty simple at first, but I loved how the game started throwing more advanced types of these enemies as the story progressed. Despite knowing the attack sequences of some, these new variants really threw me off, forcing me to adapt and use different moves.
Bosses, on the other hand, are the highlight of the game. Most of these epic counters have two phases, or more, depending on the enemy, and really have you swapping the way you approach combat. For example, one boss fight was all about parrying hits until I broke the boss’s stamina bar. Another, however, was immune to parrying, forcing me to dodge and go on the offensive most of the time.
It is such a refreshing and welcome surprise to see how Capcom can deliver so many boss and mini-boss encounters that feel unique. Also, huge props to the developers for including a system to let us replay these boss fights. As a Monster Hunter fan who never gets tired of facing the same colossal creature over and over just to test a new build, I’m glad this is also part of this installment.
All in all, the combat of Onimusha: Way of the Sword is as epic and as cinematic as you’d expect from a samurai adventure. While we’ve seen titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei delivering epic duels, nothing comes close to what Capcom achieved here. Circling your opponent as lightning strikes behind you with a banger soundtrack in the background is as epic as it gets, and that happens in almost every single boss encounter.
A Stroll Through Kyoto
In terms of exploration, Onimusha: Way of the Sword approaches the game in a semi-open world fashion. You explore Edo-period Kyoto, which has been assailed by Malice. Genma have flooded the streets, leaving nothing but piles of corpses, burnt homes, and destruction in their path.
Oddly enough, I found the setting eerily beautiful. There are so many iconic Kyoto locations, such as the Yasui Kompiragu shrine, Mount Oe, and many more, all recreated beautifully for this entry. Still, what makes them all stand out is how enjoyable it is to explore them.
At first, you have several closed-off locations that you can’t access until you cleanse the Malice. To do so, you often need a new Oni skill, which adds to this survival/Metroidvania feel the series has always included.
Once you start unlocking these skills, several new areas open to you, letting you get new Charms to give Musashi passive buffs or maybe even gather powerful materials to improve your equipment. I was also surprised by how many new quests tasked me with returning to previously explored areas, keeping all zones relevant at all times.
Performance-wise, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is yet another RE Engine success. I go as far as to say that it is the best use of Capcom’s in-house engine to date. I always hit a flawless 60 FPS on my launch-day PS5, with zero frame drops despite the number of enemies or the amount of particle effects on the screen.
Also, Capcom really knocked it out of the park in terms of facial animations. Not many focus on this, but if you thought Diana’s reactions were excellent, wait until you see every character in this installment. Even the conversations you have with characters outside of cutscenes are flawless, to the point that their expression mimic the quality of those you see in cinematics.
Previously, I thought Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem were the pinnacle of technical achievements for Capcom this year. Still, Way of the Sword is on a whole new level, and I’m extremely excited to see just how far the studio will push this engine in its upcoming projects.
Another GOTY Contender
As someone who has been eagerly waiting for a new Onimusha title, Way of the Sword is the comeback the series deserves. It provides an unforgettable story with superb characters, alongside the most refined, engaging, and approachable combat system Capcom has ever made.
The biggest surprise, however, is seeing how the studio has once again exceeded expectations in every way. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is both a technical achievement and one of the best action-adventure games of this year, and that makes it yet another clear choice for GOTY.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword (PS5 Reviewed)
Capcom pushes all boundaries once again with Onimusha: Way of the Sword by delivering a compelling narrative alongside one of the most reactive and engaging combat systems in the genre.
Pros
- A flawless combat system
- The best use of the RE Engine to date
- Musashi is an excellent protagonist
Cons
- A few pacing issues with the story
