In the decades since the last Onimusha game, the industry has grown immensely. I’m pleased to say that when we previewed Onimusha: Way of the Sword in June, Hayes mentioned that the series has always been an eccentric series for Capcom. After playing the latest game, a soft reboot, I can attest that, despite being brand new, Onimusha‘s spirit is alive and well.
The series debuted in 2001 and has seen several entries, with its protagonists battling the Genma, demons bent on destroying Japan. Much of that returns as we move away from the game, which was once described as Resident Evil but samurai.
But there’s so much more to Onimusha, and next week’s soft reboot is one of the coolest games I’ve played this year. It’s got incredible performances, cheeky Japanese humour, satisfying combat, and incredible visuals thanks to the versatility of the RE Engine. In short, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is so damn good.
Stop the Genma, Save Kyoto
The PlayStation 2-era games were all set during the Sengoku period, when war ravaged the lands, and political strife made things uneasy. The soft reboot moves us into a separate continuity during the Edo period, when the Tokugawa shogunate ruled the country and peace was the norm. It’s a smart move to pick things up and set them in a time removed from the other games, as it lets the characters flourish without being overshadowed by familiar faces.
What I appreciate about Onimusha: Way of the Sword is that it is not only fun to play but also fun to watch. Musashi’s performance is elevated thanks to Kenichiro Thomson’s performance, and not just the fact that Capcom gained permission to model Musashi after the late, iconic Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune.
The series is known for resurrecting the likeness of dead actors for its leads. In Onimusha 2, Jubei uses the likeness of Yusaku Matsuda. And of course, in the third game, Jean Reno and Takeshi Kaneshiro play Jacques and Samanosuke, respectively.
Onimusha’s New Hero Is One Of Its Best
In a rather unsettling incident, Miyamoto Musashi is on the run from a local swordsman whom he wronged. After a brief chase and a few cutscenes later, Musashi is given the Oni gauntlet by a man in white and sent back to Kyoto. As he awakens, he learns that Malice is corrupting Japan’s capital, and he must work with a few locals to drive Malice back from the city.
As it turns out, though, Miyamoto Musashi is not keen on the Oni gauntlet and his newfound strength and powers. See, the gauntlet amplifies his strength, and rightfully, the famed swordsman is not happy about that. If he’s to be known for being the best in the country, he wants to be known for using his own strength to gain the title. As such, the reluctant hero agrees to help out and save the city while also trying to find a way to have the gauntlet removed.
You’ll explore much of eastern Kyoto, including the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and an assortment of otherworld Oni portals linking the living and the dead worlds together. The world is warped by the Malice, with hauntingly grotesque visuals permeating the city and embedded in homes and temples.
However, for all the exploration I did and Genma I fought, I constantly wanted to learn more about Musashi and his situation. He’s a bit reluctant at first to carry the Oni gauntlet, but with some support from Ono no Takamura, another man you meet in Kyoto with his own Oni gauntlet, and Izumo no Okuni, a young woman who assists Takamura, I found the chemistry behind the trio engaging and a highlight of the quieter moments when Musashi learns from them.
You have three currencies you must manage: yellow souls to heal, red souls to upgrade, and blue souls to charge your Oni Armaments. These three things are necessary if you wish to become strong and face off against the growing threat the Oni are in Kyoto. Oni Armaments are also limited, so you can’t equip them and use them exclusively. They are also a great tool to regain health in a pinch, as they can help restore your health bar.
You Must Parry Like an Onimusha
Combat is probably some of the most satisfying and engaging mechanics I’ve played in some time. It feels dynamic and constantly forces you to pay attention to your surroundings. When the public demo launched a few months back, the consensus was that it felt too easy. In some cases, the fodder enemies still aren’t the most challenging, but they’ve certainly improved from when we last saw Onimusha.
It isn’t exactly Devil May Cry, as it focuses on building flashy combos and being offensive, but instead, you’re left to play as a samurai with every strike of your sword meant to feel deliberate and purposeful. Keeping that notion in your head will save your behind more than anything, as there are moments when one mistimed swing of my sword left me open to devastating repercussions of my choice.
The Issen mechanic returns, and it’s one of the coolest things you can pull off. It’s paired with the Break Issen, a mechanic you use when you stagger an enemy and break them, and it allows you to target a body part to earn more souls, more health, or to sap an enemy’s strength, or the Chain Issen, which lets you take down multiple enemies.
Parrying is crucial, and honestly, if you don’t master it, you will struggle against bosses like Sasaki Ganryu and Daidara. I didn’t really grasp how important it was until the first challenge against Ganryu, and even later against Daidara, who was tough to take down. Eventually, you’ll have access to a dojo to practice the basics and earn consumables for battle. Practicing your timing is important, as even one extra swing can leave you defenceless and unable to parry.
Onimusha’s combat is its biggest strength, but it’s sideloaded with fodder enemies for the most part that don’t do enough to let you learn the in-and-outs of fighting. But there’s a disconnect between fighting bosses and fighting the fodder enemies. To the point where I spent hours learning to parry, use Reflex Dodges, and build Issen to clean house. The multiple phases and health bars bosses have meant I could easily clear the first round, only to have my hard work wiped away in the second phase. And you start from the first wave, so don’t expect to start from halfway as I assumed.
The combat is easily my favourite thing right next to the story, but you’ve also got a lot of ways to expand on Musashi. There are equippable charms which can bolster your character and allow you to do things like heal for more, or land more critical attacks. You can find them hidden throughout Kyoto, and it’s worth exploring for these charms, but it comes at a cost, and that’s some really surface-level quests you’ll come across as the city opens up.
For all the things Onimusha: Way of the Sword gets right, it has paper-thin fetch quests and tons of Genma chastising and chasing villagers. Despite how many times I’ve saved the villagers in Kyoto, I’d finish a main story mission and then walk through the streets to see the same NPC caught up in the same situation: being bullied by the demons. I’d defeat the enemy and get items you use for favour at the temple, and then repeat it the next time you came around. These quests add nothing to the story and only exist to pad out the story.
Verdict
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is an excellent revival of Capcom’s samurai series. It’s a bit grittier and nittier, but it retains the cheesy humour, too. And while combat is exceptional, not everything clicks into place so seamlessly. Some of the open-hub activities wear out their welcome the third time you encounter them, and a bit of trimming the rough edges would’ve made exploring Kyoto that much better. Thankfully, the performance and meat of Way of the Sword create another exceptional game you won’t soon forget.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
