Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review - Capcom's Blade Is Sharp Again

I'll be honest: I did not expect a dormant early-2000s series to deliver one of the best melee combat systems of 2026. Yet here we are. Onimusha: Way of the Sword launched on September 4 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2 and PC (Steam and Epic), and after roughly twenty hours in its dark-fantasy Edo-period Kyoto, I can say Capcom's samurai revival mostly earns its hype.

You play a young, fictionalized Miyamoto Musashi, modeled on the great Toshiro Mifune - a brilliant casting decision that gives every cutscene real screen presence. The setting is a demon-infested Kyoto that swings between grounded period drama and grotesque supernatural horror, and it looks fantastic on the RE Engine.

The combat is the star. Capcom insists this is not a Soulslike, and they're right - it's closer to a duelist simulator. Every fight is about reading your opponent, parrying at the exact moment, and punishing openings. Button mashing gets you killed, fast. When it clicks - especially in the one-on-one boss duels, which are among the best I've played this generation - it produces that sweaty-palms focus only the best action games manage. Absorbing souls with the Oni Gauntlet to power up still feels as satisfying as it did in 2001.

The lows? Way of the Sword sometimes remembers its ancestry a little too fondly. Rift-spawned trash mobs in flat combat arenas pad out the mostly linear campaign, and a few mid-game stretches recycle encounters until the tension deflates. The side content is optional for a reason - most of it is forgettable. Exploration is serviceable rather than exciting; this is a corridor game wearing a light open-zone costume.

Who is it for? If you loved Sekiro's parry rhythm but wanted something less punishing and more cinematic, this is your game. If you need open-world sprawl or RPG depth, look elsewhere - this is a focused, old-school action campaign, and better for it. Availability is no issue in our region: it's on every current platform from day one, and the Switch 2 version is reportedly the surprise standout technically.

Verdict: Way of the Sword is a confident, occasionally old-fashioned comeback. The dull arena filler keeps it out of the all-time tier, but the core sword fighting is so good I finished it wanting a sequel immediately - something I haven't said about Onimusha in twenty years.

Score: 8/10

Image: Forgottencompt123 / CC0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue_of_Miyamoto_Musashi_(%E5%AE%AE%E6%9C%AC%E6%AD%A6%E8%94%B5%E5%83%8F).jpg