Onimusha - Way of the Hype.

Overview

Ominusha is a game that I went into blind, I heard the hype on the podcast but I knew nothing about the game except it was a fighting game and it was based around a samurai. I had not played any of the other games from over 15 years ago, so first impressions was it going to be a game in the same style as the Ghost of Tsushima/ Yotei series. Boy was I wrong ! Upon dying and coming back to fight against monsters you realize that this game is very different..

With that in mind, let me break the game down into a few categories.

The world - theme , graphics and general stuff.

The game is not ground breaking in its graphics, but it presents very well, set in a well presented Japanese world, which has a unique feel . You immerse yourself in your surroundings. It plays exceptionally smooth and the loadings scenes are mere seconds. Which keeps you glued to the game, and you can focus on the action.

Sound - sound effects and music.

I’ll make this one short, great sound , voice acting is superb and the music is excellent. Nothing mind blowing but no complaints whatsoever here. Authentic and high quality.

Gameplay - the big one, hope you’ve got a minute.

When I first started playing this game I wasn’t expecting what I got, I enjoyed it and thought it was good but I didn’t realise the scale of it. A few hours in and that changed, the combat was engaging and difficult but gave a great sense of achievement. By the end of the game , I’m not sure any other games combat will feel the same. The design for the combat really is flawless.

The bosses and enemies are engaging and had me frustrated but desperate to keep trying and getting that sweet victory!

But mainly they are perfectly balanced and you can beat them in multiple different ways depending on your play-style.

This game is not easy, but it’s not a souls-like in the traditional sense it’s something more and it’s something better. It rewards skill in the same way but victories in this game just felt so well earned, there is no brute forcing this game at all.

Final category before I wrap up.

Characters and lore - outside of the world how did they flesh out the story and immerse you into the game.

At first sight , you fall in love with the main character and how he’s written, funny and based on a real person is always a winner, the other characters actually had me caring about them which is rare for me! So it was well written with just enough lore to flesh out the fictional world.. but I want more! I want the next game to expand on this story and grow this world and setting. Not much else to say on this, great character design.

With all that said !

Explaining my 10/10. While playing the game I had first accused Ace and Josh of being too generous, so I tried to fault parts of the game as I went along.

By the end of the game, this is my list of faults.

The animations clip sometimes, cloaks and clothes etc (but it’s not even that annoying)

The quests and filler content of the game is a little lacklustre. But again, not annoying.

One boss fight for me, felt a little out of place.

So it had me thinking, if this is all I could come up with, and I enjoyed the game so much I’m going straight into a new game + then it had to be a 10/10. I loved this game, it did everything a game that’s truly a 10/10 does... it proves itself by gameplay and quality instead of presumption and expectation.

Warning! It is not easy and will not be for everyone. Hope you enjoyed this review! Go play the game!