Capcom is planning to cap a banner year with a revival of the Onimusha series, their classic mixture of Resident Evil style monsters with medieval Japanese mythology. It’s 17th century Kyoto and massive pillars of conjoined human faces have just burst from the ground, screaming in pain. That’s where you come in. As heroic samurai Musashi, you must cleanse the city and rid the world of underworld entities known as Genma. These include multi-limbed tricksters, lion-headed warlords, and gluttonous boar-men who want to stuff you down their gullet.
In Musashi’s arsenal sits a magical gauntlet acting as both guide and boxing glove, several golden weapons summoned from the ether, and the sharpest katana in all of existence. As we discover during our hands-on, it’s capable of slicing through literally anything.
Combat and mechanics
Combat is what distinguishes Onimusha: Way Of The Sword from its dark fantasy action forebears. Capcom’s first mainline instalment since 2006, and the fifth overall, is a bold attempt to modernise the series through deeper, more visually spectacular violence. Built on RE Engine, the game uses motion capture provided by expert sword fighters. This gives encounters heft and while clearly fantastical, moves carry weight and menace, whether you’re battling groaning zombie warriors or just cutting down some bamboo trees.
Underpinning everything are the core tenants of blade-on-blade combat. Instead of spamming attacks, it’s all about picking the right time to block, break through guards, and pull off perfect ripostes. Each time you do, your blade cleaves enemies at the precise angle of entry, leaving them in deli counter slices on the ground. They drop precious orbs you can hoover into your magic gauntlet by holding the left shoulder button (be quick, because other enemies can gobble them up for strength buffs). These orbs power different aspects of your build. Yellow ones replenish health, and red are currency for upgrades. Blue, though, are the most exciting, because they fill up your Oni Armaments.
Oni Armaments and missions
The first Oni Armaments are gleaming twin daggers called the Two Celestials, which are capable of one-shotting multiple foes in a blitz of golden fury. Later comes a double-edged naginata called a Wind Whipper that unleashes howling vortexes to blow away crowds. Follow-up flaming attacks can even ignite the gusts. Gradually building towards these special showstoppers gives combat a constant stream of crescendoes.
Skirmishes came thick and fast in the Kyoto-based sandbox section of our demo. We witnessed squads of undead soldiers terrorise the city by dragging people kicking and screaming out of dwellings, and piling burned bodies high. Quests are playable in any order. One of them involves hunting down three talking statues, each guarded by a floating fleshy mass that you’ll need to suck into your gauntlet like a Cronenbergian Ghostbusters.
Another mission involves an even more dangerous enemy. During the quest ‘Be Careful What You Wish For,’ Musashi spots citizens praying to a mysterious jinn. One of them begs it for a way to get out of her piano lessons, so it responds by snipping her fingers off. Wish granted. Next, a loved-up couple plead for a way to be together forever, so the jinn traps their spirits in a pair of inanimate dolls. It’s a creatively realised monkey paw dilemma.
Boss fights and cinematic presentation
Confronting the crafty demon prompts a tough boss battle that recalls early clashes in Elden Ring, only much more cinematic. The jinn snaps at you with wispy black shears and flails its writhing mass of arms while laughing manically. Time your guard well with L1 and you’ll wipe the grin from its face, with the camera whipping close to frame the counter like an action movie. Get knocked against a wall and the camera angle changes to show your impact knock vases off shelves and smash to the floor.
The cinematic sensibilities run deeper than most action role-players. The hero himself is a legend of the silver screen. He’s modelled on Japanese acting icon Toshiro Mifune, who starred in classic films Seven Samurai and Rashomon. Mifune died in 1997, but his likeness and mannerisms add a touch of glamour and gravitas.
Accessibility and historical accuracy
Along with heightened choreography, the game adds another spin to the often imitated Elden Ring formula: accessibility options. On easy mode, you’ll get prompts indicating what buttons to press, and when to press them. This offers a welcome helping hand for those who want to beat a boss first try rather than 50th.
Despite heavy supernatural elements, Kyoto feels grounded. That’s because Capcom consulted with historians to ensure a realistic baseline. Everything from shrines and temples to domestic interiors are faithfully based on feudal Japan. It makes for an uncanny setting when juxtaposed with such grotesque looking monsters.
Conclusion
Onimusha: Way Of The Sword does exactly what Capcom promised. It brings the series slap bang up to date with slick and satisfying combat, sharply written missions, and impressively detailed environments deftly blending historical reality with outrageous fantasy.
Formats: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Price: £64.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 4th September 2026
Age Rating: 18
