At the outset of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Miyamoto Musashi is fixated on liberating himself from the Oni Gauntlet. This mystical artifact, by way of an odd twist of destiny, has turn out to be certain to our hero. However the cussed younger samurai doesn’t need the gauntlet’s powers. Musashi’s sole want is to show himself by his fingers alone. Nonetheless, as the journey unfolds, Musashi’s views progressively shift and increase. He begins to embrace the path he’s discovered himself on, turning into extra open to his new place in the world.
The motion recreation begins to open up after the early moments. Missions with tighter scopes circulation right into a wider location that provides new challenges to beat and extra room to discover our rising arsenal of talents.
This final gameplay preview picks up proper the place the Onimusha: Way of the Sword Demo leaves off. After Musashi duels rival swordsman Sasaki Ganryu on the stage of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, he’s transported to an otherworldly dimension, the “Oni Refuge.” It’s a surreal panorama the place gravity is a suggestion. Islands float in the sky, and we conjure ruins from skinny air.
Then the Genma barge in. Invading from the depths of hell, these demons conflict with the sacred surroundings, however they’ll quickly meet Musashi’s blade. We swiftly lower them to shreds. When our katana connects with Genma, they’re carved aside at the angles our sword travels by way of their twisted kinds. We name it dynamic dismemberment. This method splits them in two throughout the torso, hacks them from head to toe, and… properly, you get the image.
Earlier than lengthy, Musashi plucks an Oni Bow from the wreckage of this realm. Lastly, we will return fireplace towards Genma archers. The bow additionally permits us to resolve environmental puzzles that require vary. Our arrows can set off traps, too. Finally, they’ll even come in useful throughout a duel, severing a boss from its energy supply, as soon as Musashi returns to Kyoto.
After excising the Genma from the Oni Refuge, the clouds of Malice looming above Kyoto start to elevate. But darkness nonetheless lingers right here. Our subsequent cease in Japan’s historical capital is Rokudo Chinno-ji Temple. It’s one of many real-life areas in the recreation. Legends say it exists at the crossroads between our world and the gates of hell. For Musashi and his allies, this sanctuary turns into dwelling. It’s their base of operations in the struggle to save lots of the metropolis.
Kyoto is an unlimited location far bigger than anyplace we’ve seen in the recreation. Nonetheless, our capability to wander and discover its streets has bounds at the second. Hellish constructions erupt from the earth and a poisonous fog sweeps by way of city, forming blockades that imprison any locals who haven’t but fled the demonic corruption.
Our quest to liberate Kyoto begins by sealing rifts the place Genma manifest in our dimension. These creatures spawn in all sizes and styles, however Musashi slays them and absorbs their souls all the identical. We’ll make use of these. Alongside treasures we uncover, souls assist us improve gear and unlock new talents to face what awaits on the path forward.
This path ultimately results in Kiyomizu-zaka slope, a pilgrim highway that climbs up the hillside to the temple the place we began this journey. Right here lies the key to unlocking a lot of Kyoto. However to even enter this place we should first face some really formidable foes.
Again in the Oni Refuge, we had a run-in with Daidara, a towering Genma with a hulking body and bottomless urge for food. The gluttonous large’s starvation even extends to devouring our hard-earned souls. We’re pressured to make tactical choices in the warmth of battle about when to soak up souls, or danger shedding them to Daidara’s ravenous maw.
This isn’t the solely Genma after one thing of ours. One other affords to free Musashi from his gauntlet… at the value of his total arm. Our hero considers this deal, if just for a second. Although Musashi has warmed up to his Oni Gauntlet, he nonetheless hopes to take away it.
It’s a want Rasho-gan is simply too glad to grant. This multi-armed monster has been posing as a deity at Yasui Konpiragu Shrine. Right here, he fulfills worshipers’ needs in the worst attainable methods. Constructed from the physique elements of his victims (like the leg of a person who longed to be rid of knee ache), Rasho-gan wields his additional limbs to throw every little thing he has at us, together with uprooting timber, boulders, and even total buildings to crush Musashi.
Escaping Rasho-gan’s clutches with our lives drives us to make full use of the recreation’s deep arsenal of fight methods. For our efforts, the shrine guardians reward us with Oni Energy. Musashi accepts this new energy, and we will now tear down the demonic boundaries round Kyoto. Now it’s time to take down the supply of the poisonous fog choking the metropolis.
This life-sapping mist emerges from eerie vegetation, and it clears after we chop them down. Nonetheless, Byakue stands in the method of our gardening. Earlier than we will fell the final tree, this animalistic Genma costs in. As we brawl, the brute will get coated in its personal blood and grows wilder. Talent alone might enable Musashi to outlast this creature, however one other technique proves clever. Delivering fewer however extra devastating blows quickly tames the beast.
After finishing the mission, the evil haze over a lot of Kyoto clears. The townsfolk come out and rejoice. Now, extra of the metropolis is open for us to discover. That is simply the begin of our action-packed journey. It’s one which gamers can look ahead to experiencing for themselves when Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches for PlayStation 5 on September 4. Pre-orders for the game are available now at PlayStation Store.