Last year, I reviewed the remasters of Onimusha 1 & 2 – my first foray into the series (from memory) that demonstrated why they remain such a cult hit amongst fans. Both were somewhat reminiscent of Capcom’s style with early Resident Evil titles, complete with campy moments and fixed camera positions that encouraged exploration. Onimusha: Way of the Sword, much like the Resident Evil remakes, creates a new entry that uses all of the recent leaps in presentation to wow audiences with stunning graphics and set pieces. At times, I wasn’t sure if I was watching action or horror as people were brutally cut to pieces all around me in scenes that had no intention of dialling down the chaos. As the blood stains the canvas for 25 hours, the story remains the heartbeat of the experience alongside a combat mode that builds itself on parries. With slick animations and plenty of options to dismantle foes, the experience is another example of the polish Capcom has found in both new and old IPs. Will most action lovers have a great time here? Read on.
One would be forgiven for not recognising the link between older Onimusha titles and this one, as protagonist Miyamoto Musashi is new and it is somewhat of a refresh to ensure the two decade gap is no barrier. Gameplay aligns with this, becoming more of a souls-lite – though don’t despair, as there are multiple difficulty modes and the general enemies are not going to cause much grief. In thinking about my review score, the difficulty balance did spring to mind often. The tutorial is very slow and makes enemies seem nothing more than zombies waiting to be cut to shreds. Post-tutorial, I still never had a challenge with the hordes. Then I entered a boss fight and the comparisons to souls games triggered in my mind. The difference is stark. You’ll have plenty of skills to defeat them, though their extended health bar and multiple forms are a scaling challenge when compared to the general enemies. I can hear you saying ‘of course the bosses are harder’, but it often felt like a completely different game. This is not a complaint, as I love a hard boss fight. I would just like the general enemies to provide more opportunity to hone the incredible skills on offer.
Onimusha is essentially a hack and parry game, though there are a variety of skills through the Oni gauntlet that extend abilities. The first skill is a dagger assault, though I’ll leave the rest for your discovery as they become more impressive. A bow is also present for ridding of enemies on cliffs or at distance. You’ll spend a good portion learning how to duck, dodge and weave while following up with a fatality. As raised, the tutorial is in place to ensure you learn how to protect yourself with precise timing. By the second half of the game, it is clear that this ensures awareness of all the capabilities in movement. Sure, there are weapon upgrades and move sets that seem OP. Yet those incredibly challenging boss battles come down to keeping your health. I looked forward to every boss encounter, even when they whipped me around the arena on the first few tries. The environments, the cackling commentary and superb score make you want to lock right in.
The narrative presentation in this game holds nothing back. A word came to mind: metal. Heavy metal. The bosses are over the top, the deaths are as gory as can be and the music soars to the situation. The opening sees an almost Captain Jack Sparrow swagger in terms of entrance from Miyamoto Musashi. Our hero slays a heap of warriors for no apparent reason and then flees a horde by stumbling through random encounters. Soon enough, luck catches up to our protagonist and he is absolutely mauled by a pack of mutants (Genma). Sent to a place that acts as the bridge to hell, he is given a gauntlet by a shady character as a chance of resurrection. This gauntlet provides both abilities and your spirit guide. Each story beat has purpose and ties in well to both the level design and the progression into a beast of a man who slowly comes to terms with his predicament.
Where the story is a driver, the side missions are present for upgrades and lore. This would also work so well as a 15-hour game without any padding, though the side missions do allow a chance to add to your skills and flesh out the word despite repetition. Saving random NPCs from the attacking hordes can give you resources – I’m unsure I classify these as side missions – and adding to the dark tone of the game world is always appreciated. But I did ponder padding a few times and think the game’s strength is that main narrative and the cut-scenes it includes. I witnessed some of the best video game scenes of 2026 during my play here.
A feature that has always been part of the Onimusha experience is the soul sucking. This sees enemies release different coloured souls (they look like little flames) and you can tap a shoulder button to absorb them. They refill your health, stamina and ability meters among other uses. Pressing that button acts as a vacuum, though you can still be attacked while doing so. This is even more high-octane in boss battles as many can absorb the souls if you choose to leave them, adding more health or power to their presence. This always felt so powerful and tide-turning in hectic battles, and I will miss this aspect when moving on to other action titles.
Performance overall on the base PS5 was excellent. Capcom have some sort of magic water at their headquarters, because after reviewing some other games with technical challenges this just looked and sounded visceral with no limitations posed. On the performance mode at 60FPS, all moved so fluid and free. I saw no sacrifice in choosing the mode with the greater frames. Games with this pace and the preference of a parrying system require higher frames and smooth gameplay. Onimusha achieves this is spades and the experience was all the more seamless because of the technical expertise.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is one of the best action games of 2026, made even stronger through a solid story featuring a charismatic lead. While the game may be about 5 or so hours longer than it needs for perfect pacing, the sheer scale of the narrative (especially the final third, wow!) proves that this old IP has a heap of fight in it yet. With Onimusha always veering in different directions, there is no doubt that the reception on this release will see its future bright as Capcom loads up the stables with performance horses.
Pros
Performance
Pure visceral scenes
Strong lead
Cons
Western voice acting
Side missions
Difficulty scaling
