Onimusha: Way of the Sword – We tried the demo, and it's awesome

Capcom has approached 2026 like me in front of a buffet: without mercy.
In fact, since the beginning of the year, the Osaka-based software house has already released 3 incredibly significant titles such as Resident Evil Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3, and Pragmata, and aims to end the year with a bang, bringing back a saga that has been left in oblivion for too many years: Onimusha, which, as we discovered during the last State Of Play, will see the release of its new chapter “Way of the Sword” on September 25th of this year.

Given that the last time I had the opportunity to slice Genma at will was back in 2006 – incidentally, also the last time I saw Italy win the World Cup, but let's not dwell on that – with Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams, I immediately jumped into the demo made available by Capcom; and I can tell you in advance that it left me with more than positive feelings.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword has a lot of identity

The first thing to say is that, fortunately, Onimusha: Way of the Sword does not propose any soulslike mechanics. Perhaps this clarification may seem unnecessary and unrequested, but ever since the title's announcement, there has been a fear that it might look to FromSoftware's titles.

On the contrary, Capcom has decided to offer an experience faithful to the saga, proposing a third-person action game that is fun to play and not too demanding, and that is certainly a big plus for the game.
To be clear, not demanding does not mean easy, but rather that Onimusha: Way of the Sword offers an excellent balance in difficulty, which is decidedly accessible with normal enemies and then increases when facing bosses (or the specific boss in the demo).

The gameplay of Onimusha: Way of the Sword does not aim to revolutionize the genre; it is decidedly simple in its proposal, with light and heavy attacks and actions to parry and dodge, but very cinematic in its execution.

The combat I had the chance to try in the demo was more than satisfying and put me multiple times in front of a large number and different types of enemies, which gave rise to a dance of slashes, dodges, parries, and executions that was as fun as it was beautiful to watch.
The clashes also benefit from an enemy management system that takes a series of elements from the Arkham saga; in fact, while fighting with various enemies, a danger signal will appear if an enemy is preparing to attack, which will allow us to defend ourselves and prepare the right countermove, giving way to spectacularity.

Worth noting are the possibility of performing a series of critical attacks in sequence and the presence of stealth attacks when we take enemies from behind: small things that, however, help to add depth to the gameplay.

A demo just long enough

The demo offered by Capcom lasts around 45 minutes, which drops to 25/30 in a second run, and, surprisingly, in this amount of time, it manages to provide all the necessary indications to master the game system.

The proposed level asks us to reach the terrace of a temple in a linear but well-structured map and, above all, not without details that tell what happened before our arrival.

The way the demo was built is commendable; as I said, every gameplay mechanic is gradually explained until the confrontation with the demo's boss, which pushes you to use everything you've learned up to that point.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword offers a beautiful dance to the sound of sword strikes

The clash with the end-of-demo boss definitely raised the difficulty bar, without making the game frustrating: a choice that opens the game to a wide audience and not just hardcore players.

Both the clashes with normal enemies and the one with the boss require a certain underlying strategy: although the game doesn't shine for difficulty, attacking head-on leads to a premature game over.
In Onimusha: Way of the Sword, it is essential to find a right balance between attack and recovery, to avoid getting trapped in an enemy combo that will lead to game over.

Sometimes it's better to use the time after a dodge to heal instead of attacking the enemy, also because they might in turn dodge our attack and hit us critically.
The combat in Way Of the Sword offers much more than the classic attack, parry, attack; even the simplest enemies can parry our attacks and respond in ever-different ways.

Parrying remains central to the game's ecosystem, but it's not enough to knock out the various enemies.
Attacking or parrying an enemy multiple times can cause them to change their attack strategy or initiate a sword fight, where timing and the choice of the right attack decide who will prevail, or it can even cause the enemy in question to decide to counterattack with a grab, which can only be avoided with a well-timed dodge.

The RE engine does Onimusha: Way of the Sword good

Graphically, Onimusha: Way of the Sword uses the RE engine, now perfectly mastered by Capcom, which allows not only excellent graphical realization but also excellent characterization of the animations of the various characters.

Musashi, the main protagonist, is very expressive, and the movements of his face and body are perfectly rendered both in the darker and more entertaining moments.
The attention to animations is not only a prerogative of the main character; even the end-level boss, Ganryu, is excellently stylized with dynamic and lively animations, as well as a combat system created specifically for him.

The game also offers the two classic modes: quality and performance. Although I am not a fanatic of 60 FPS, I advise you to overlook the graphical quality – which is not particularly scaled down anyway – and to opt for performance mode with the 60 FPS lock. The game is much smoother and more enjoyable, especially in clashes with many animations or many enemies.

In terms of sound design, like all modern productions, Way of the Sword is best when played with a pair of headphones with 3D audio.
Also noteworthy is the presence of Italian voice acting, however, my advice with Japanese productions is to use the Japanese voice acting.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword aims to be one of the surprises of 2026

From what was seen in the demo offered by Capcom, Onimusha: Way of the Sword aims not only to revive the franchise but also to detach it from the label of Resident Evil's younger sister saga.

The title is also an ode to the various action games of the early 2000s trying to make their mark on new consoles – yes Legacy of Kain, I'm talking about you – without disuniting, but rather adapting their formula to a different audience while maintaining their identity.

Capcom confirms it doesn't want to miss a beat in 2026 and after launching a new IP – science fiction for big software houses today – it has decided to bring back a saga that has been silent for 20 years.

With what was shown in this demo, it seems to have hit the mark again, however, I leave the final judgment for September 25th, when Onimusha: Way of the Sword will arrive on PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S