What do we know about Onimusha: Way of the Sword (as briefly as possible)

At the gamescom opening ceremony, Capcom presented trailers for Resident Evil Requiem and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. While there was nothing fundamentally new for RE—the footage shown in Cologne had already been covered in our previous preview—Onimusha: Way of the Sword was more interesting: the Japanese developers showed fresh gameplay footage featuring battles with demons of all kinds. But let's take it step by step.

Like previous games in the series, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is set in a dark fantasy world based on Japanese mythology. The game takes place in an alternate Edo-period Japan (1603–1868), with the historic capital city of Kyoto, twisted by demonic influence, serving as the main setting. The developers promise that players will be able to explore many iconic locations from that era.

The main character, Miyamoto Musashi, is a well-known historical figure who has appeared in various forms in Japanese culture for centuries. This legendary swordsman, nicknamed “Kensei” (“Sword Saint”) by his contemporaries, is famous for his unique dual-wielding sword technique. To emphasize this image of a fearsome samurai, the developers used the likeness of iconic Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who starred in most of the legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s most famous works.

Not much is known about the antagonist. His name is Sasaki Ganryu (Sasaki Ganryu)—a dark swordsman also known as Sasaki Kojiro. His fate is closely tied to Miyamoto’s, as he possesses the same artifact—the “Oni Gauntlet.” It seems the hero will have to face him more than once along his journey.

However, most of the time Miyamoto will be facing demons known as “Genma.” As is tradition for the series, the player will need to fill the “Oni Gauntlet” with their souls—a weapon the hero acquires early in the game.

We’ll be filling the Gauntlet, as you might guess, by destroying hordes of demons. According to the developers, they paid special attention to this process, working on the impact of each hit. Their goal is to ensure that players get the maximum “satisfaction from slicing up enemies.”

The trailers show how the hero’s animations convey the clash of weapons when striking enemies, as well as the inertia during parrying. The dismemberment system for monsters and the dense particle effects when they’re sliced work in synergy with the corresponding sound effects. It’s already clear that the developers nailed this aspect of the combat system. But what lies behind its audiovisual side?

In battles with regular enemies and bosses, the hero actively uses a timed block, which can also be called a parry. This system is reminiscent of one of the main features of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Plus, just like in the FromSoftware game, the hero uses a katana as his primary weapon. The similarities with the aforementioned Souls-like project don’t end there. Capcom also applies a similar approach to boss fights. The trailers showed several huge monster bosses and a battle with the antagonist. These encounters took place in spacious arenas, following a formula typical of the Souls genre: well-timed parries can throw enemies off balance, opening them up for a powerful counterattack—a riposte.

However, it’s too early to call Onimusha: Way of the Sword a true Souls-like game. Parrying and bosses are just a couple of genre borrowings. It’s entirely possible that the game won’t feature other Souls mechanics. So, for now, the game can be classified as an action-adventure with Souls elements.

The trailers showed that the hero uses not only a katana in combat, but also other types of weapons. For example, the bow is used for ranged attacks and shooting explosive barrels (of course!), while halberd spin attacks are useful when enemies surround you from all sides.

You also shouldn’t forget about the “Oni Gauntlet.” The artifact can absorb the souls of fallen enemies in several ways. Depending on your choice, it can, for example, restore health or unleash a powerful special move. The developers claim that using the gauntlet correctly in combat can be the key to victory.

It’s worth noting that, judging by the camera placement during fights with multiple enemies, the targeting system in the game is similar to what we’ve seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Ghost of Tsushima. Accordingly, there’s reason to believe that the controls will be implemented in a similar way to those games. However, it would be easier to draw conclusions if Capcom had shown the in-game interface in one of the trailers.

The game doesn’t have an exact release date yet. It’s known that the release is planned for 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Capcom still has to reveal all the key details about the project. However, it’s already clear that the developers are creating a high-quality action-adventure with every chance to become the best in the series.