There are franchises that disappear because the industry moved on.
Onimusha never really felt like one of them.
Samurai combat, Japanese mythology, demons, cinematic storytelling and horror-influenced environments sound arguably more suited to modern gaming than they did when the series was one of Capcom's major PlayStation 2 properties.
And yet, for more than two decades, Onimusha remained dormant.
That makes Onimusha: Way of the Sword feel less like another sequel and more like a test.
Can a series built around ideas from an entirely different era return without abandoning what made it special?
Capcom's answer is a very confident yes.
Way of the Sword modernizes almost everything surrounding Onimusha without sanding away its identity. It is violent, stylish, deliberately linear and built around an excellent combat system that becomes increasingly satisfying as the game introduces stronger enemies and more demanding bosses.
More importantly, it understands exactly what kind of game it wants to be.
This is not an open-world samurai RPG.
It is not trying to become Japanese Resident Evil.
And despite the unavoidable comparisons, it is not Capcom's attempt at making its own Soulslike.
It is Onimusha.
Just considerably bigger, prettier and more ambitious than before.
Miyamoto Musashi Is Exactly the Hero This Revival Needed
Way of the Sword returns to the historical Japan that has always formed the backbone of Onimusha, this time taking players to a dark supernatural interpretation of Kyoto during the Edo period.
At the center of everything is Miyamoto Musashi.
Rather than introducing another traditionally heroic samurai, Capcom builds its protagonist around Musashi's obsession with becoming the greatest swordsman alive.
Honor is not always his priority.
Strength is.
His personal journey begins during a confrontation with Sasaki Ganryu, when the appearance of demonic creatures known as Genma turns what should have been another duel into something considerably worse.
Musashi dies.
Naturally, that is only the beginning.
He is pulled back from death with a mysterious Oni gauntlet permanently attached to his arm, an artifact capable of absorbing the souls of defeated Genma.
The arrangement is not exactly voluntary.
And Musashi is not particularly happy about it.
What follows is essentially a supernatural road trip through Kyoto and beyond, with Musashi reluctantly drawn into a much larger conflict between the Oni and Genma while desperately searching for a way to remove the gauntlet and reclaim control over his own fate.
That reluctance makes him far more entertaining than a conventional chosen hero.
Musashi can be selfish, arrogant and far more interested in proving his strength than saving humanity.
But he is never completely heartless.
There is always enough humanity underneath the ego to make his decisions believable.
The result is a protagonist who feels substantially different from Onimusha's previous leads while still fitting naturally into this universe.
A Simple Story Told With Confidence
The actual premise will feel familiar to anyone who knows Onimusha.
Genma are invading.
The Oni are involved.
Humanity is unfortunately stuck in the middle.
Musashi travels between locations, closes supernatural rifts, absorbs a considerable number of demon souls and gradually learns more about the conflict he has been dragged into.
Way of the Sword is not attempting to deliver a philosophical reinvention of samurai fiction.
It does not need to.
The strength of the narrative comes from pacing and characters rather than an unprecedented premise.
Musashi eventually works alongside figures such as Ono no Takamura and Izumo no Okuni, while an Oni spirit residing within his gauntlet becomes another important presence during the journey.
Their relationships help keep the story moving, and several later developments are more interesting than the straightforward opening initially suggests.
Some twists are relatively easy to anticipate.
Others land considerably better.
Most importantly, the campaign rarely stalls.
This is a heavily linear game, so Capcom does not have to construct the story around dozens of unrelated activities or enormous gaps between important events.
Something meaningful is almost always happening.
For a campaign that can run roughly 20 to 25 hours depending on exploration and optional content, that consistency matters.
Sword Fighting That Actually Feels Dangerous
None of the story would matter nearly as much if fighting demons was not enjoyable.
Thankfully, combat is where Way of the Sword becomes exceptional.
Musashi's basic toolkit is immediately understandable.
One-handed strikes provide your standard offensive options while heavier two-handed attacks give him additional power. Dodging and blocking cover defense, with properly timed defensive actions opening the door to much more aggressive responses.
Then the game begins layering systems on top.
Musashi has access to Oni weapons, including a bow and additional supernatural tools unlocked throughout the campaign.
His gauntlet absorbs souls.
Enemies have an exhaustion system that effectively functions as another layer of defense.
And breaking through that protection creates opportunities for devastating attacks capable of tearing opponents apart.
The controls themselves are not complicated.
Understanding when to use everything is.
That distinction makes the combat work.
Within the opening hour, you can already look competent.
Twenty hours later, you are still improving.
Onimusha's Souls Remain More Than Nostalgia
Absorbing souls has always been one of Onimusha's defining mechanics, and Capcom wisely keeps it central to progression rather than treating it as nostalgic decoration.
Enemies release three primary varieties.
Yellow souls restore health.
Blue souls replenish the resource required for Oni weapons.
Red souls essentially form the game's economy, allowing Musashi to purchase items and improve equipment and abilities.
It creates an immediate relationship between combat and progression.
Kill enemies efficiently and almost everything you need comes directly from them.
The skill tree itself is relatively straightforward but extensive enough to provide meaningful progression throughout the campaign, with certain upgrades requiring both souls and specific materials.
It never becomes overwhelmingly complicated.
Again, that feels intentional.
Way of the Sword does not want you spending fifteen minutes comparing percentages in an inventory screen.
It wants you fighting.
The Issen Still Feels Incredible
One mechanic deserves particular attention.
The Issen.
Timing a counterattack perfectly allows Musashi to unleash an extraordinarily powerful strike, turning enemy aggression against them.
It is risky.
It is incredibly satisfying.
And once you become comfortable performing it consistently, normal encounters develop an entirely different rhythm.
Instead of simply waiting for an opening, you begin inviting attacks.
Even smaller interactions contain surprising depth.
A successful defensive maneuver can allow you to control where an enemy is sent afterward. Throw them toward another opponent and both may become vulnerable.
Environmental objects can become weapons.
Positioning starts mattering.
Crowds that initially look like a collection of individual enemies gradually become opportunities to manipulate the entire battlefield.
These small systems prevent combat from feeling like repeatedly hitting whatever happens to be closest.
When everything comes together, Musashi looks less like someone surviving a battle and more like the legendary swordsman he is supposed to be.
Regular Enemies Could Fight Back a Little Harder
Unfortunately, the average Genma occasionally makes Musashi's life too easy.
Standard enemies have a tendency to hesitate while others attack.
Anyone who has played older Assassin's Creed games will immediately recognize the behavior: several enemies surround you, but instead of overwhelming Musashi simultaneously, they sometimes appear to patiently wait for their appointment with his sword.
It reduces the threat considerably.
During a first playthrough, Way of the Sword offers two primary difficulty options.
Story mode prioritizes players who mainly want to experience the narrative.
Action mode is designed as the more demanding choice.
I would recommend Action to anyone reasonably familiar with modern action games.
Even then, regular encounters are rarely punishing.
That does not make them boring — the combat is far too enjoyable for that — but it means much of the campaign never fully demands everything Musashi is capable of doing.
Then a boss arrives.
And suddenly the gloves come off.
The Bosses Are Phenomenal
If normal enemies teach you the combat system, bosses are the exam.
These are easily some of the strongest moments in Way of the Sword.
Bosses are not simply normal enemies with enormous health bars.
Their attack patterns differ dramatically, forcing you to understand timing, positioning and defensive mechanics rather than relying on whatever combo worked during the previous encounter.
They are also where several of the game's most cinematic mechanics truly shine.
Sword locks and blade clashes turn specific exchanges into dramatic confrontations without making them feel like passive cutscenes.
You are still involved.
You are still reading the opponent.
You are still trying not to die.
And unlike most standard encounters, these fights can absolutely kill you.
Boss battles were the moments where I actually had to stop, learn what had gone wrong and try again.
Victories consequently feel earned.
There is also enough variety between them that reaching a new major confrontation becomes something to look forward to rather than another mandatory health bar.
Way of the Sword could already survive purely on the strength of its normal combat.
Its bosses elevate that combat into something memorable.
Linear Is Not a Dirty Word
One of the best decisions Capcom made was resisting the temptation to turn Onimusha into another giant open world.
Kyoto is not an enormous city where Musashi can wander for thirty hours collecting icons.
The game is fundamentally linear.
Areas can still be surprisingly large, with alternate paths, hidden objects, upgrades and optional discoveries scattered throughout them.
Oni Vision provides an additional exploration tool for uncovering things that may otherwise be overlooked.
But eventually every road leads forward.
And that suits Onimusha perfectly.
A supernatural action game does not automatically become better because it allows you to travel twenty minutes in the opposite direction.
The more controlled structure allows Capcom to carefully manage atmosphere, enemy encounters and story pacing.
There are occasional secondary missions and reasons to look beyond the obvious route, but exploration never overwhelms the main adventure.
Players expecting feudal Japan transformed into another gigantic map may find the scale restrictive.
I found it refreshing.
The RE Engine Continues Its Victory Lap
At this point, praising Capcom's RE Engine almost feels redundant.
Way of the Sword gives us another reason to do it anyway.
This is a gorgeous game.
Kyoto immediately establishes the visual identity of the setting, but the strongest environments combine historical architecture with the disturbing supernatural imagery that has always separated Onimusha from more conventional samurai fiction.
The Genma are especially impressive.
They do not simply look like generic monsters dropped into Japanese environments.
Their designs communicate that they belong to something fundamentally unnatural.
Important characters receive the same attention, with elaborate costumes, detailed faces and excellent animation reinforcing the cinematic direction.
Combat may be the game's biggest visual showcase.
Enemies are dismembered.
Swords collide violently.
Souls flood toward Musashi's gauntlet.
And temporary combat states are represented clearly enough that they contribute to both spectacle and readability.
The Scalding State, for example, causes Musashi's blade to ignite and deal additional damage.
It looks exactly as cool as that sentence suggests.
Performance Is Just as Polished
Way of the Sword also provides a surprisingly comprehensive selection of visual options on PlayStation 5.
Players can choose between Quality and Performance modes, alongside support designed around 120Hz displays.
Frame-rate targets include 60 FPS and 40 FPS within Performance mode, while Quality mode offers a 30 FPS option.
More importantly, the game performs exceptionally well.
During my experience on a standard PS5, neither primary mode presented meaningful technical issues.
No major stuttering.
No disruptive crashes.
No obvious performance disasters hiding behind beautiful screenshots.
Considering how visually dense some of the later encounters become, that level of stability deserves recognition.
Turn the Volume Up
The sound design is just as important to the presentation.
Blades need to sound dangerous in a game built around sword fighting.
They do.
Parries have impact.
Heavy strikes sound genuinely unpleasant.
The supernatural elements carry enough distinct audio identity to separate them from the grounded parts of the world.
And then there is the soundtrack.
Onimusha has always benefited enormously from its musical identity, and Way of the Sword continues that tradition with a score that makes already dramatic sequences significantly more powerful.
Voice options are similarly impressive.
English, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese performances give players considerably more freedom to choose how they want to experience the story, with Portuguese subtitles also available.
The Japanese performance obviously works wonderfully with the setting, but the presence and quality of the other options make this an unusually comprehensive localization package.
Capcom Did Not Simply Revive Onimusha
Way of the Sword works because it never feels apologetic about being Onimusha.
Capcom did not revive the name and then redesign everything around whatever genre currently dominates sales charts.
There are no enormous fields filled with repetitive activities.
There is no gear score forcing you to replace your favorite sword because another one has a larger number.
There is no attempt to stretch a focused adventure into eighty hours.
Instead, Capcom looked at what Onimusha was already good at.
Sword combat.
Demons.
Japanese history.
Horror.
Cinematic storytelling.
Soul absorption.
Then it asked what those ideas could look like with modern technology, modern combat design and the production values expected from one of Capcom's flagship games.
That approach works.
The occasional lack of challenge against normal enemies and relatively limited exploration are legitimate weaknesses.
Neither comes close to overshadowing what the game does well.
And by the end, the strangest thing about Onimusha: Way of the Sword is that we ever went this long without another one.
Verdict
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is not merely a successful revival.
It is one of the strongest entries Capcom has produced in its modern era.
Miyamoto Musashi gives the series an excellent new protagonist, combining arrogance, humor and reluctant heroism with exactly the kind of character arc this supernatural journey needs.
But combat is the real star.
Parries, Issen counters, soul management, Oni weapons and an excellent exhaustion system combine into sword fights that remain satisfying across a campaign lasting roughly 20 to 25 hours. Boss encounters push those mechanics even further and consistently rank among the game's best moments.
Standard enemies could be more aggressive, and players expecting a huge world to explore should adjust their expectations before starting.
Onimusha is still a linear action game.
And that is precisely why it works.
Capcom has not simply dragged another old franchise out of storage.
It has reminded us why Onimusha deserved to survive in the first place.
Score: 9.5/10
Excellent
Onimusha: Way of the Sword brings Capcom's supernatural samurai series into the modern era without sacrificing its identity. Fantastic sword combat, outstanding bosses, an excellent lead character and beautiful presentation make this one of 2026's standout action games, even if regular enemies could provide a tougher challenge.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
This review is based on the PlayStation 5 version and was conducted using a review code provided by Capcom.
Review written and game played by Andrew Louis.
Follow Andrew Louis: https://heydrew.link