Just recently, I had the chance to review Onimusha 2‘s new remaster, and less than an hour in I was sold on this franchise. Since my passion for the series is so new, I am greatly anticipating the upcoming Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
Even better, we had a chance to see a hands-off gameplay demonstration of Onimusha: Way of the Sword at Summer Game Fest 2025. It’s bold and action-packed. It’s the series you know and love, redefined for the modern age.
The Legendary Swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi
Producer Koichi Shibata was playing the live demo for Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The setting appears to be largely in Kyoto. Our protagonist is one of Japan’s most legendary historical figures: Miyamoto Musashi.
This is Musashi in his younger years, so he’s more concerned with training with the blade, rather than the Oni Gauntlet attached to his arm.
Fans familiar with the series will recognize the Oni Gauntlet. It’s the means by which our protagonist absorbs the souls of Genma, the enemies of the series.
This gauntlet appears to have a personality, so we see a bit of banter between Musashi and the feminine voice residing inside of it. This dynamic is intriguing, and Musashi seems like a silly fellow in this one. Onimusha is already a quirky series, so there’s great potential in the storytelling.
In this demo, the players works their way through the grounds of a shrine or temple, called Kiyomizudera Shockingly, Genma are attacking people and Musashi is ready to dive into the action.
Return of the Issen
Returning players will find many familiar elements from the series return in this installment. Musashi can hack and slash away with his sword as a basic attack. Enemies, of course, drop colored souls which are absorbed in the gauntlet.
He’s able to parry, and in one instance of combat, we see Onimusha: Way of the Sword leverage its next-gen capabilities. Musashi parries a blow from a Genma and redirects the enemy into a flaming torch. The enemy takes extra damage, so environmental damage adds a bit more depth to the combat.
In another instance of combat, an archer draws its bow and aims at Musashi. It’s inside a small building, so Musashi grabs the tatami mat, blocks the arrows, then throws the mat at the Genma. This makes the Genma vulnerable to your attack and stuns them.
Perhaps the most iconic element of the series, the Issen counter, also makes a return. Attacking an enemy right as they are about to hit you allows for a cinematic attack that usually one-hit kills lesser enemies. The hands-on demo makes it look easy, but I imagine that’s from many hours of practice.
We saw Musashi use an Issen on multiple enemies at once; essentially, you can chain together an Issen attack on foes in close proximity to one another. This allows for you to take out multiple foes in quick succession, like the badass that you are.
Terrifyingly Good Graphics
Flying Genma — the annoying little buggers that they are — make a return and absorb souls from fallen foes. The way Musashi attacks and defeats these enemies are especially cinematic. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a seriously gorgeous game.
Indeed, this might just be Capcom’s best looking game yet. The forest surrounding the temple is gorgeous. Capcom uses light fog and lighting to create an astonishing view.
My favorite enemy we saw were these crow-like humanoids. They’re swift and can evade attacks. There’s this doppleganger-like effect where you try to hit them, but the real one comes just out of reach. It’s a tricky fight for Musashi!
We carry on through the shrine grounds, this time coming across a dark mass. Musashi can absorb these masses and get a glimpse into the past. It seems like absorbing these might be a main objective of the game.
Absorbing the mass shows dark, shadowy figures on the shrine grounds. We reach a larger building in the shrine and see the Genma are throwing peasants over the edge of a railing, down a cliff.
This is actually inspired by real folklore of the area, something I was vaguely familiar with. But our trance is soon interrupted as Musashi’s longtime rival, Ganryu Sasaki, appears. He has his own Oni Gauntlet and, apparently, fully embraces its power.
Battle of the Oni
An exhilarating sword fight ensues. This battle really seems to really capture the feeling of a duel, with the warriors trading blows, parrying and the like. We also noticed that Ganryu has a health and stamina gauge, giving me vague hints of Sekiro inspiration.
The battle is flashy. Ganryu’s helmet breaks off from your fight. Depleting his stamina gauge also allows you to do a targeted strike; you can actually choose where on his body to attack. These are color-coded and give you orbs of a particular color.
So if you need health during a boss fight, targeting the corresponding color will give you orbs to heal. Stabbing Ganryu in the head or abdomen were choices here, adding a little strategic element to combat.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Preview | Final Thoughts
We also look at one final boss encounter after Ganryu. As if reality itself is shattering like glass, malice starts to ooze out of a fissure and out comes Byakue, a large, axe-wielding Genma boss.
This fight features more and more parries and clashes. The parrying of attacks really stands out hear, and there seem to be so many different animations. It’s quite exciting to watch, so I can only imagine how fun it is to play.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword had an impressive showing, and is perhaps my favorite game of the show. It’s a game that shows so much dedication to the craft and doesn’t deviate from what made Onimusha such a coveted IP in the first place: some good ol’ action-packed demon slaying.
Onimusha was previewed Summer Game Fest.
