{"id":252458,"date":"2025-07-10T03:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T03:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/252458\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T03:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T03:35:13","slug":"way-of-the-sword-reforges-onimusha-for-a-new-ps5-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/252458\/","title":{"rendered":"Way of the Sword Reforges Onimusha for a New PS5 Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

Would it be lazy to compare Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/a> to Dark Souls<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Probably, but after seeing Capcom\u2019s latest character action adventure in motion for approximately 20 minutes, we can\u2019t help but sink into FromSoftware shorthand.<\/p>\n

The reality is that the likes of Elden Ring<\/a> have had such an overwhelming influence on the genre, not even this titan from the PS2 era can escape its clutches.<\/p>\n

And so seeing the protagonist circle strafing around a target-locked adversary in a brutal dance to the death does invoke comparisons to FromSoftware\u2019s recent string of hits, even if the developer\u2019s ultimately going in a different direction here.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019ll have been 20 long years since the last Onimusha proper once Way of the Sword arrives, so in some ways this strikes us as a soft series reboot.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

Superhero samurai Miyamoto Musashi \u2013 based on the likeness of legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune \u2013 has arrived in Kyoto to prove he has no equal when it comes to his mastery of the sword.<\/p>\n

Equipped with a mystical Oni gauntlet, he soon assumes powers beyond a mere mortal\u2019s capabilities \u2013 which is convenient, considering he\u2019s up against the supernatural.<\/p>\n

Onimusha has always fused real history with folklore, and that\u2019s unchanged here: the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, where much of the game takes place, has been inhabited by ghoulish enemies known as Genma, and you\u2019ll be tasked with taking them down.<\/p>\n

This is where Capcom\u2019s trademark gameplay fluidity comes into focus: Musashi can block at the expense of stamina, but time your defense just right and you\u2019ll parry.<\/p>\n

In one scene, we saw the protagonist flick a foe\u2019s arrow into another adversary, causing mass damage. Environmental hazards, like explosives and fire, also add energy to the scuffles.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

While we didn\u2019t physically have the controller in our hands, we found the smoothness of the combat system easy to appreciate. The hero\u2019s able to block from all directions, even behind his head, with slick animations seemingly augmenting every frame with a high level of controller response.<\/p>\n

As is the case in past games, you can absorb souls in order to recover health, restock skills, and earn XP. However, you need to manually consume these before a Genma does, which adds a tactical element to the combat system while you consider the best order of approach.<\/p>\n

The biggest thing we took away from the demo is just how cinematic everything is looking, in the best possible way.<\/p>\n

One combat encounter against a rival gauntlet wielder named Sasaki Ganryu dropped our jaw, as it had a choreographed ebb-and-flow to it which looked absolutely outstanding. The RE Engine is once again really putting in some impressive work here.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, beyond all of the fisticuffs, you can expect some light puzzle solving: one segment we saw involved Musashi using his Omi Vision to see hidden spiritual elements, which he needed to interact with to forge a path forward. It\u2019s simple stuff, but we\u2019re sure it\u2019ll evolve over time.<\/p>\n

Obviously, in a hands-off demo, we\u2019re just scratching the surface of Way of the Sword here, but it all looks immaculately presented. Perhaps there are few surprises so far, but Stellar Blade<\/a> proved last year that there\u2019s more than enough room on the market for a fast and frenetic action game.<\/p>\n

The dark fantasy art style will draw comparisons to the likes of Dark Souls, as will the way the combat is framed on the screen, but we\u2019re expecting less wall punching and more fist pumping from this larger-than-life effort.<\/p>\n

And honestly, after almost 20 years, we\u2019re more than ready to step into the world of Onimusha once more.<\/p>\n

\"Preview:<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch on YouTube<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe to Push Square<\/a> on YouTube158k<\/a><\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on Onimusha: Way of the Sword? Have you been waiting patiently for a new entry in this storied series? Will this be your first brush with the brand, or are you a long-time fan? Absorb our souls in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Would it be lazy to compare Onimusha: Way of the Sword to Dark Souls? Probably, but after seeing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[25288,126,97229,25893,55,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-252458","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-capcom","9":"tag-features","10":"tag-onimusha-way-of-the-sword","11":"tag-previews","12":"tag-ps5","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114826846302981957","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}