Onimusha: Way of the Sword - Deluxe Edition

I went into the Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo half-expecting Capcom to chase the soulslike crowd and sand down everything that made the original PS2 games feel distinct. That fear dissolved pretty quickly. This is a third-person action game built around swordplay that rewards timing and patience rather than relentless aggression, and it carries that identity with real confidence. You play as Miyamoto Musashi - the legendary historical duelist, here reluctantly bonded to an Oni Gauntlet after a near-fatal encounter with the demonic Genma who have overrun Edo-period Kyoto. The setup is classic Onimusha: a cursed city, grotesque underworld monsters, a gruff warrior who would rather not be the hero. Combat centres on light attacks, heavy attacks, parries, dodges, deflects, and the series' iconic Issen Counter. A stamina-like system tracks enemy resilience, and draining it opens up Break Issen finishers - Musashi backstabbing a foe and splitting it cleanly in half, that sort of visceral payoff. On top of that, the soul collection loop returns: Yellow Souls for health, Blue Souls as upgrade currency, and Red Souls charging the powerful, limited-use Oni Armaments. Environmental hazards layer in extra tactical options, including burning ground that ignites enemies and interactive objects you can weaponise mid-fight. The combat has been compared to Capcom's own Kunitsu-Gami in feel - not quite as crisp or fast as a pure character-action game, closer to the deliberate, melee-weighted style of the mid-2000s originals. That is, depending on your tolerance, either a nostalgic feature or a mild frustration. Importantly, it is not a parry-or-die game. Parrying looks spectacular and opens the Blazing State for follow-ups, but dodging into Reflex Combos is equally valid. The demo boss fight - a clash with rival swordsman Sasaki Ganryu - introduces blade-clash mechanics that hint at genuinely interesting boss design down the line. Pre-release impressions flagged that early regular enemies fall a bit too easily, so difficulty tuning in the full release will be worth watching. Visually the game is running on Capcom's RE Engine, and it shows. Detailed backgrounds, expressive enemy designs, and a creepy corrupted-Kyoto atmosphere that holds up under scrutiny. Performance in preview builds was reported as smooth with no notable frame drops. The franchise has been dormant for nearly two decades - the last mainline entry was 2006's Dawn of Dreams - so Way of the Sword is carrying franchise-revival weight alongside the normal launch expectations. The Deluxe Edition presumably bundles additional content on top of the base game, though the core experience is what matters here. This one is for players who want action-horror combat with some tactical depth, appreciate historical Japanese settings done with visual care, and have enough patience to learn a timing-based system that doesn't hold your hand. If you burned through the Onimusha remasters and wanted more, this is exactly that ask answered. If you need the speed of Devil May Cry or the brutality of a punishing soulslike, look elsewhere.

Alex · Scout Team

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