Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review: The Best Combat We've Ever Played?
Josh and Ace went in completely blind on a franchise that hadn't had a game in 20 years. They came out calling it game of the year.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword came out quietly. A few outlets handed it a 10 out of 10, but there was almost no conversation about it anywhere, our own Discord included. When we asked the community which game they wanted us to cover between Wolverine and Onimusha, Onimusha won by about 75% to 25%. People were curious that's for sure!
Neither Josh nor Ace had ever played an Onimusha game, which makes sense for a franchise that hadn't had a new entry in 20 years. Josh went in with zero hype and zero knowledge. Ace knew one thing: Capcom has been on a roll.
What is Onimusha?
Onimusha is the ultimate samurai simulator. This is what it should feel like to play a samurai in a video game.
You play Miyamoto Musashi, based on the real legendary swordsman. He's arrogant, cocky and, somehow, completely likable, with some of the best facial animations we've seen. Kyoto is overrun by demons, and Musashi gets an Oni gauntlet that makes him stronger than any human. He hates that, because he's proud of being the best samurai without any help.
The combat is something else
This is where the episode turned into a love letter. Josh did not say this lightly:
I think Onimusha might have some of the best combat I have ever seen in a video game.
This isn't a 40-hit-combo, juggle-them-in-the-air game. You have light and heavy attacks, blocks, dodges and parries, and the system keeps layering on top of itself:
- Issen, a counterattack in a tiny window just before you get hit. Nail it and you dodge and wreck the enemy at the same time. It's risky and devastating, and later you can chain it.
- Deflect parries, which take a huge chunk out of an enemy's stamina bar if you time them right.
- Breaking defenses, for shielded enemies and for bosses that sit in a guard stance waiting for you to swing.
- Demon armaments, weapons you swap on the fly from a number pad. Build up enough energy to use them, and they can have devastating effects.
Break an enemy's stamina and you choose your punishment: stab them in the head for massive damage, or target their weapon or demon arm to stop their scariest special moves. > By the end, you're playing the piano like a maestro of samurai death. -- Josh
Ace called it a dance of death.
None of it is easy. Even trash mobs will whittle you down if you stop paying attention, and every mistake is yours. There's no gear check, and a few hours in, the difficulty ramps up at exactly the right pace.
The hot take
I think Onimusha is better than Sekiro. I will take the fun and the smoothness of the combat over the punishment you get from Sekiro any day of the week.
Josh agreed, 100%. These are two Souls fans who love Sekiro. Onimusha gives up a bit of Sekiro's realism and brutality for combat that just feels incredible.
The pacing (and a funny confession)
The pacing is masterful. You get maybe half an hour of exploring and side quests, and then the game throws another great boss at you. The side quests pay you in upgrades, quality-of-life perks and materials, so they're worth your time.
Confession time: Josh and Ace didn't upgrade their Oni gauntlets for about two-thirds of the game. The game mentions it once and never marks it as a quest. They played most of the game on what amounted to hard mode, and it was still doable, which says a lot about how skill-based the combat is.
Any downsides?
A few small ones. Kyoto's districts start to look alike, the villagers are forgettable, and the crafting and upgrade materials get a little grindy. Josh also wasn't as into the story as Ace, who says the ending and the antagonists win you over.
The VGP take
Onimusha: Way of the Sword runs about 25 to 30 hours, has a hard mode and a brutal New Game Plus, and is absolutely worth $70. Ace gave it a 10 and named it his game of the year so far. Josh gave it a 9.5 and called it his front-runner too. He was even planning to finish it after recording, which he almost never does.
It's a crime more people aren't playing this. Go fix that.
