Onimusha: Way of the Sword is solid samurai action with an impressive arsenal of combat options. The problem is that they wear thin sooner than I would have liked.
First things first: The Onimusha series completely passed me by. So I’m not judging Onimusha: Way of the Sword against its predecessors, but simply on whether it’s fun to play or not. No nostalgia goggles involved.
You play as Miyamoto Musashi and fight your way through a Kyoto overrun by the Genma. And what you’ll mainly be doing in this version of Kyoto is fighting—which is exactly where things get interesting. Onimusha gives you far more tools than just blocking and dodge rolls, with a whole range of defensive responses built around timing windows of varying strictness.
If you block just before an attack lands, you parry it and leave the enemy vulnerable. Deflecting, meanwhile, chips away at their stamina. It even works against arrows. Dodge at the very last moment and counter, and you’ll land an Issen—the deadly counterattack with the tightest timing window of them all.
Once an enemy’s stamina is depleted, you can finish them off with a Break Issen. Against bosses, you can target individual body parts: red means more damage, while purple grants more souls for your Oni Gauntlet. Those souls fuel your upgrades, alongside Oni Vision, Oni Strength, and Oni Armaments such as Wind-Whipper or Earth-Shakers.
On paper, it sounds complex. In practice, after a few hours, I kept falling back on the same two or three responses because the game rarely forces you to use the others. As a result, combat starts to feel repetitive much sooner than a system this flexible deserves. The finishers contribute to that as well: the first time you land an Issen, it makes a real statement. By the twentieth, the animation mostly just interrupts the flow.
Not Enough Beyond the Combat
Don’t get me wrong. The combat is fun, and the bosses put up a satisfying fight on the higher difficulty settings. This is where you actually have to understand what the system expects from you. You can’t simply button-mash your way through. It’s everything in between that offers less than I would have hoped for given the range of options at your disposal.
The enemy variety is another weak point. Floating heads, spiked creatures, and foot soldiers in four to six variations follow you through area after area. New encounters such as Nue are the exception, and combined with the same combat responses over and over again, the repetition becomes even more noticeable.
As a newcomer to the series, I found the story moves along without much momentum. Even when the game is clearly building toward a big reveal or dramatic moment, I usually see it coming well in advance. Visually, it can look a little dated in places, but technically there’s very little to complain about: stable performance on PC, no bugs, and short loading times.
Finally, let’s clear up one impression that has taken hold in some of the coverage so far: Onimusha: Way of the Sword is not an open-world game. Its maps are highly guided, and for the most part you’re simply moving from A to B. Kyoto is the only area that opens up somewhat, serving as a hub for side quests. Completionists will also revisit previously explored areas along the way.
Score
- 2 out of 3 points – Recommended with Reservations
Verdict: Solid fare for genre fans and longtime fans of the series, with a few genuinely great boss fights. If you enjoy classic action games and get a kick out of precise timing and counters, this is a polished, well-built game. But if you’re looking for plenty of variety, you should know what you’re getting into.
Pros
- Plenty of defensive options, from parrying and deflecting to Issen
- Boss fights are satisfyingly challenging on higher difficulty settings
- Break Issen lets you target specific body parts on bosses
- A good dose of humor
- Stable performance, no bugs, short loading times
Cons
- Combat options wear thin quickly because the game rarely forces you to use them
- Issen finishers become tiresome over time
- Noticeable enemy repetition
- Dated visuals and a predictable story
Recommended For
- Fans of the Onimusha series
- Anyone who enjoys classic action games
- Players who enjoy precise timing, counters, and tough bosses
Not Recommended For
- Open-world fans
- Players looking for deep RPG systems and character builds
- Anyone expecting a Soulslike
Facts & Trailer
| Game | Onimusha: Way of the Sword |
| Publisher | Capcom |
| Developer | Capcom |
| Genre | Action-Adventure |
| Reviewed on | PC, Steam |
| Available on | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC |
| ESRB | Mature 17+ |
| Release | September 4, 2026 |
| Price | $69.99 |
