Capcom’s 2026 might be one of the company’s best years ever, both critically and commercially. Closing out the year in a stacked month, Onimusha: Way of the Sword joins Resident Evil: Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3, and Pragmata as yet another bright spot in its recent track record.
It’s been 20 years since fans got to experience a mainline title in the series, with the fourth entry, Dawn of Dreams, underperforming commercially despite receiving a more than positive reception back in 2006. Capcom and the general gaming landscape have changed substantially since the early 2000s, and Way of the Sword reflects that.
No, it’s not a Soulslike, even if the game’s pacing reminds you of one. It’s a character-action game focused on deliberate combat. Like most modern action games, parrying, dodging, and managing a stamina bar are key components of the loop. Mastering these, alongside the series’ signature Issen counter, is the meat and bones of Way of the Sword’s gameplay.
This time around, you control Miyamoto Musashi, inspired by the real-life swordsman of the same name. Fate leads him to a gauntlet capable of consuming the souls of defeated enemies—known as Genma—as he is tasked with cleansing the corruption known as Malice that has enshrouded Kyoto and surrounding areas.
The premise is unsurprisingly basic, but it is heavily carried by the characterization of Musashi and the people he meets along the way, both friends and foes. Musashi himself is far from a stoic samurai; he’s a hot-headed, foul-mouthed warrior who is more interested in upholding the sanctity of the Bushido code than harnessing the “dirty” power of the gauntlet.
His journey leads him to Takamura, a fellow gauntlet user who pleads for Musashi’s help, and Okuni, a former Kabuki dancer who has her own motives to get involved in a little Genma-hunting on the side. The gauntlet itself hides an Oni, Shizuka, who is also ready to aid Musashi in a variety of unique ways.
Even if you come purely for the combat, the cast makes you care about the narrative. While purists may prefer Japanese audio, the English dub is surprisingly strong. The anime-inspired poses can look slightly jarring on realistic RE Engine character models, but expressive facial animations successfully sell the story's dramatic climax.
If the story is solid enough, the combat is top-notch.
Discourse around Way of the Sword’s difficulty has plagued social media ever since Capcom released a demo for players to try out. I’m happy to report that the full game has tough challenges and enemies that will test your mastery of the mechanics. This isn’t limited to bosses, as there’s plenty of regular Genma variety to keep things fresh, alongside mini-bosses to warm you up for major cinematic set-pieces.
The game puts a heavy emphasis on trial and error, so expect to die often while figuring out enemy patterns. However, you won't be stuck for hours on a single encounter. Capcom nailed the overall difficulty curve, even if the final gauntlet (no pun intended) leans a bit too close to unfair territory.
As for combat, Musashi’s blade gives him access to a wide range of moves. You have basic one- and two-handed attacks that can slash through opponents and interact with them in unique ways. The goal of combat is to deplete an enemy’s stamina gauge to dish out a powerful strike that deals serious damage.
Mindlessly mashing will not yield good results; enemies are smart enough to dodge or parry your attacks. You’ll have to rely on a multitude of defensive mechanics, each with specific uses. The basic ones include a parry that leaves opponents wide open, a perfect dodge that makes your follow-up deal significant stamina damage, and the Issen counter—a more powerful version of the perfect dodge that heavily depletes the stamina gauge while dealing high damage.
You’ll be able to unlock even more tools and upgrade those already at your disposal. The parry can evolve into a deflect, which inflicts massive stamina depletion at the cost of dealing no raw damage. You can also power up your Issen to reflect or react to projectiles. Seeing Musashi surge across a building to one-shot a pesky Genma archer will never get old.
Musashi’s trusty katana is not the only weapon at his disposal. While it remains your primary tool of destruction—with no option to swap to different swords with unique stats—you’ll gain access to Oni Armaments: special weapons that can save you in dire scenarios. They all serve specific purposes, with my go-to being the Earth-Shakers: dual hammers that break the fabric of space, dealing massive stamina damage while stripping armor and shields from enemies.
The game spreads these tools well throughout the story, even hiding major Devil Trigger-style power-ups deep into the campaign.
All these mechanics excel when boss fights roll around. Onimusha features well over a dozen major fights that merge the best concepts of Way of the Sword into an adrenaline-inducing package. They are cinematic and get progressively harder, giving you room to breathe while you learn the mechanics.
Relying on a single defensive option against tough opponents will quickly get you killed. Perfect dodges disrupt unarmed attacks, parries open windows for raw damage, and blocking everything will inevitably trigger a guard break. Because bosses mix unblockable strikes with command grabs, mastering every defense is mandatory—and rewarding, as successful parries fill your Blaze Gauge to buff overall damage output.
Once you get into the groove, landing Issen counters is a must, as it leads to a Break Issen state. You can target specific body parts to deal severe damage or extract a high number of souls to turn the tide. Beyond standard red and yellow souls (used for currency and healing, respectively), you can farm blue souls to fill your Oni Armament bar, or purple souls to fill your Awakening bar for an extremely powerful transformation.
Each boss possesses distinct quirks, attack patterns, and personalities. They are never just fodder; in fact, several are quite charming and seek a fun challenge rather than malice, much like a Shonen anime antagonist.
If you struggle to wrap your head around all these systems, Way of the Sword features a comprehensive training area accompanied by decent rewards for your time. You can also replay previously defeated bosses here, adding great replayability to a game that takes roughly 20–30 hours to complete if focusing on the main story and side content.
While Way of the Sword does not feature an open world, it offers a sizable central hub in Kyoto. Beyond exploring eastern Kyoto, you'll visit iconic locales such as Kiyomizu-dera Temple, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. Level design isn’t particularly outstanding, but you get completely sucked in thanks to how gorgeous the environments look.
The lush forests shrouded in thick fog convey a strong sense of loneliness and anguish while making you want to stop at every turn to capture shots using the game’s robust photo mode. My personal highlight was a visit to a rather unsavory laboratory filled with gruesome experiments that paid homage to Onimusha’s roots as “Resident Evil with samurai,” based on vibes alone. I’ll admit a couple of jump scares got me good.
As you clear more Malice, additional districts of the city open up, leading to new discoveries and side content such as Mysteries of Kyoto or Chance Encounters—small side quests that inject the world with more personality, crafting materials, and access to Oni Portals that allow Musashi to further upgrade his skills.
Sadly, while the writing for side quests is funny and charming, the actual objectives get repetitive fast: go to a location, assess the situation, eliminate targets, rinse and repeat. At least the crafting materials and skill upgrades make them worth doing.
Progress is driven by multiple upgrade trees. A few feel fairly uninspired—like the Equipment Enhancement tab, which consists mostly of minor incremental upgrades, such as increasing sword damage by 2% or raising health and stamina by fixed amounts. The Basic and Special skill trees are where things get much more exciting.
As the name implies, you’ll upgrade basic functions with the former, granting access to follow-up attacks after a perfect reflex or the ability to chain Issen strikes. The Special skills are directly tied to Musashi’s Oni powers and arms, offering a wealth of abilities to unlock and master.
I’m a bit disappointed there isn’t more variety for basic attacks. Because combat relies heavily on reacting to enemy strikes, engagement depends almost entirely on AI aggression. This gets frustrating when enemies passively stand around; waiting to counter feels counterproductive when their stamina gauge refills, leaving you dependent on their initiative rather than overwhelming them on your own terms. Still, there are plenty of mechanics to wrap your head around that I can understand why they decided to kept attack prompts extremely straightforward.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a fantastic return for a franchise many thought Capcom had left behind. Even when I thought combat had hit its peak, the game kept layering on deeper mechanics, richer upgrades, and thrilling boss encounters that demand your absolute best. In a stacked month of massive releases, Musashi’s journey isn't just worth your time—it's an absolute must-play for action fans.
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A review code was provided by the publisher.