- Quick Summary: Onimusha: Way of the Sword expands far beyond its demo with challenging parry-focused combat, rewarding exploration, deep RPG progression, and impressive visuals. From the preview, it seems to be shaping up to be one of CAPCOM’s strongest franchise revivals.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a new CAPCOM game that follows an Oni Gauntlet-wielding samurai named Miyamoto Musashi, who sets out to make a stand against the encroaching Genma menace and the evil Malice spreading throughout a fictional, Edo-period-inspired Kyoto.
Many older action RPG fans may recognize the name, as this isn't CAPCOM's first Onimusha game. However, it is the first mainline entry in the series since 2006's Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, so forgive me for explaining a little bit of the backstory to kick things off.
Anyway, I recently got to go hands-on with Onimusha: Way of the Sword at CAPCOM's office, picking up where the demo left off. Having already sampled the opening section, I was keen to see how the game expanded beyond that first slice, and what quickly became apparent is that the demo only scratches the surface.
One thing that struck me both in the demo and even more so during this preview was just how gruesome and visceral combat can be. Early on, there's a cutscene where a bystander is stabbed through the head with a sword by Sasaki Ganryu, the boss encountered towards the end of the demo. It's a graphic moment that immediately establishes the dark tone for this expanded samurai adventure.
During the opening stages, I was almost immediately introduced to Musashi's bow, a weapon that wasn't available in the demo. It's a fun addition, although I found it pretty ineffective against bosses. Instead, it seemed far more useful for dealing with distant enemies wielding ranged weapons or activating and knocking down elevated targets.
Later in the preview, though, I unlocked the ability to upgrade the bow, along with the rest of my weapons and gear. Still, combat is very much built around Musashi's sword and his ever-expanding Oni Gauntlet abilities.
Speaking of bosses, the first major boss fight after the demo proved to be my first real test. Unlike the relatively human Sasaki Ganryu, Daidara is a gigantic monster that honestly gave me Elden Ring vibes. Playing on Action Mode, the harder difficulty setting vs. Story Mode, I quickly discovered this wasn't a fight I could brute-force and button-mash my way through. While regular enemies can largely be dealt with by chaining attacks together, bosses demand a completely different approach.
Parrying is absolutely the key to success in these boss fights. Simply holding block and attacking whenever there's an opening won't cut it, as poorly timed blocks against Daidara's heavy attacks still result in plenty of damage. It takes genuine precision to consistently nail those parries, and that's something I had to learn the hard way.
Like most of the bosses I encountered during the preview, Daidara also features multiple phases. Just when I thought I'd won, the fight entered a second stage where the creature became even more dangerous. To make matters worse, if I wasn't constantly applying pressure, Daidara would gradually recover health, forcing me to carefully balance aggressive attacks with defensive parries while also managing my own healing. The result was a surprisingly demanding encounter.
It was mentioned during the preview that some players have criticised Onimusha for being too easy. If you've only played the demo, I can understand where that impression comes from, as you're mostly fighting smaller groups of enemies before taking on a fairly straightforward opening boss. But based on what I played afterwards, I don't think that criticism really holds up. Granted, I'm not the best when it comes to timing-heavy RPG combat, but the preview boss fights genuinely challenged me, and I think they'll provide a solid test for veteran players, too.
Once Daidara was finally defeated, the game opened up considerably. Rather than progressing down a single linear path, Kyoto became more open, allowing me to choose which objectives to tackle. The overarching goal appeared to revolve around returning three of the Eight Stout Pillars to their shrine while dealing with the ever-spreading Malice and the Genma threat.
One of the first activities I came across involved closing rifts scattered throughout Kyoto. Each rift spawned two waves of enemies, and only after defeating them could Musashi use the Oni Gauntlet to absorb the corruption and restore the area. It was a fairly straightforward activity, but one that fit nicely into the game's wider exploration.
Not long afterwards, Shizuka was introduced. She becomes absorbed into the Oni Gauntlet and serves as the mysterious voice guiding Musashi throughout the journey. The preview seemed to tease a much bigger backstory surrounding her, although I'll avoid spoiling what little I saw here.
Story-wise, the conflict between the Oni race and the spreading Malice continued to develop, while another character named Yoshitsune also appeared to be positioned as a potentially significant antagonist later in the game. Unfortunately, with only around two hours of gameplay, I didn't get to see how those threads develop.
Around this point, I also unlocked the aforementioned upgrade systems, allowing me to improve the Oni Gauntlet alongside my weapons and equipment. Every good RPG needs meaningful progression, and this seems like a solid way of rewarding exploration and continued play.
On that point, another mechanic I really liked was the ability to replay boss fights by ringing the bell outside Takamura's Temple. Alongside this, you can also complete combat drills, both of which appear to reward you with unlockables, giving players a genuine incentive to revisit earlier encounters.
For example, completing my first drill rewarded me with a new Oni-crafted weapon capable of generating powerful wind attacks. While I still preferred the dual daggers introduced during the demo, I liked having the option to experiment with different weapons and playstyles.
Graphically, I thought the game looked excellent. I played on PS5 Pro, and the visuals were consistently impressive throughout. Someone else attending the event was shown the Switch 2 version in handheld mode and mentioned it didn't look quite as good compared to the PS5 Pro running on a television, although it may fare better when docked.
I will say, though, there was one moment where I did notice the character's mouth movements looked slightly unnatural and out of sync, despite playing with the original voice acting and English subtitles. Thankfully, this was an isolated moment rather than something I experienced throughout the preview.
One of my favourite sections of the entire preview was a side story called Be Careful What You Wish For. The premise revolves around townsfolk making wishes at a mural that has been corrupted by a Genma entity. Rather than granting their desires as intended, the wishes are twisted into horrific outcomes. Someone suffering pain in a limb, for instance, has that limb completely removed.
The mastermind behind these corrupted wishes is another boss called Rasho-gan, who ended up being my favorite encounter of the preview. They were completely maniacal, genuinely unsettling, and strongly hinted at serving an even greater evil. Armed with multiple arms and an aggressive, lightning-fast moveset, Rasho-gan took me several attempts to defeat. I won't spoil any strategies, but it's another boss that really rewards learning attack patterns and mastering your defensive timing.
The final section of the preview took place inside areas completely overrun by Malice. While exploring these corrupted zones, my health constantly drained until I destroyed plant-like growths spread throughout the environment. Reaching the end of the area triggered the final boss I faced during the session.
In many ways, this ended up being both the quickest and hardest boss I encountered, although Daidara remained particularly challenging simply because I was still getting used to the combat system early on.
Once again, success came down to carefully timing parries, memorizing attack patterns, recognizing when lengthy combo strings were coming, and knowing exactly when it was safe to retaliate. Dodging also became much more important during this encounter, particularly when avoiding charging attacks.
After several failed attempts, I eventually defeated the boss, lifting some of the surrounding Malice and opening up even more of Kyoto to explore.
Overall, my time with Onimusha: Way of the Sword left me wanting to play more. The mystery surrounding the Genma, the Malice, and several of the key characters was set up well, while Kyoto itself feels packed with intriguing stories waiting to unfold. Visually, it's impressive, too, and the combat becomes surprisingly deep once you encounter the bosses.
While my recent hands-on with PRAGMATA was probably a little more my kind of game, I still had a fantastic time with my two hours or so playing Onimusha: Way of the Sword. It launches on September 4, 2026, for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2. And honestly, CAPCOM is absolutely killing it right now with its mix of brand-new games, long-awaited franchise continuations, and revived IPs like this.
I came away from this preview with very few negatives, and if the full game maintains this level of quality, Onimusha could prove to be one of CAPCOM's strongest revivals yet.
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