Ever since it was announced at The Game Awards back in 2024, I’ve been looking forward to Onimusha: Way of the Sword more than any other Capcom project. While my only exposure to the series came via the exceptional Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, I knew the long-running demon-slaying adventure series was ripe for a reboot in an era dominated by demanding action games like Stellar Blade and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
After playing both the original and the expanded demos for Way of the Sword, I think the latest entry in the franchise will be as solid as Capcom’s other 2026 hits, even if I think it falls a little bit short of the modern classics it draws inspiration from. If you’re looking for a throwback adventure that hearkens back to when the Onimusha series was at its peak, you’ll be pleased to know that Way of the Sword mostly delivers on that promise. If you’re looking for something that feels like an evolution of the series that puts it on par with recent action adventure hits, you might have to wait (and hope) for a sequel.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Let’s start with the positives: the swordplay in Onimusha: Way of the Sword looks and sounds fantastic. Parrying enemy attacks is immensely satisfying and the windows are forgiving enough for even action game novices to pull off dazzling counters. The enemies and the bosses I fought against were both well-designed in their appearance and the tactics demanded to defeat them.
Unfortunately, I was able to button mash my way through most of the demo’s content and was never really challenged outside of one of the two bosses I fought. I see some potential for later areas to mix and match enemies that require you to use your full suite of abilities later on, but most of the enemies you fight in the demo are pushovers who can be killed after a short combo. Health pickups are plentiful, meaning I never really had to use any of the healing items I picked up.
Outside of combat, I was disappointed by how limited exploring and moving around the world is in the demo. The expansion adds a sequence where you unlock the Oni Bow and use it to move objects by striking targets that indicate which direction you’d like it to move, and it just didn’t feel good. It didn’t help that the levels themselves are very linear, resembling Resident Evil-style hallways more than the open Japanese countryside the game takes place in. There isn’t much room to travel off of the main path, and the more time I spent outside of combat, the more I yearned for another arena full of oni to dispatch.
Luckily, the boss fights appear to deliver in terms of challenge and spectacle in ways that the standard enemies don’t always do. Both bosses required me to dodge more frequently and carefully time my parries so that I could unleash longer, more powerful attacks once I broke their posture. Fans of more demanding action games may still find these fights easier than their contemporaries, but their scale is impressive nonetheless and should appeal to action game fans who want something more casual and forgiving.
I’m still optimistic that I’ll enjoy Onimusha: Way of the Sword when I play the full release, and reviews seem to suggest that Capcom has another critical success on its hands, but I can’t help but feel like there’s some untapped potential here. Maybe I’ll change my mind after the full game releases on September 4.
