Revealed:
Our Verdict
Onimusha: Way of the Sword sees the storied collection return to its roots, whereas including simply sufficient fashionable sensibility to entice a contemporary viewers. Its sturdy solid, well-realized narrative, and dopamine-inducing fight are all top-notch, although some of the finer particulars elsewhere are missing. It is a laser-focused samurai motion thriller that’s certain to please, and hopefully marks the starting of a brand new period for Onimusha.
Between the promise of excessive mastery espoused by the likes of Sekiro and Nioh, and the sprawling open-world narratives of the Ghosts collection and Murderer’s Creed: Shadows, college students of the digital blade have arguably by no means had it so good. When Capcom introduced that Onimusha would lastly return after twenty years, it was prepared to string the highly-competitive subgenre’s needle. The eyelet, I can affirm, is completely match for Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Its approachable but fulfilling fight system, horror-filled, wide-linear rendition of Edo interval Japan, and frontman, bona fide sword saint Miyamoto Musashi, make for a potent mixture.
Way of the Sword takes place throughout the fledgling years of the Tokugawa shogunate, as Musashi first reaches Kyoto to problem the head of the well-known Yoshioka faculty, Yoshioka Seijuro. Having traditionally notched up a flawless dueling report, Musashi is successfully the Mayweather of the samurai world, so, unsurprisingly, his in-game counterpart makes mild work of this introductory bout. Lower than enthused by their grasp’s defeat, Seijuro’s seething college students pursue the younger ronin in an amusingly animated road chase – the exaggerated expressions of the iconic Toshiro Mifune, Musashi’s silver display facesake, on full show. Onimusha has by no means did not impress with its opening segments, and Way of the Sword continues the development.
Unluckily for Musashi, he runs into rival swordsman Sasaki Ganryu. Much more sadly for the pair, they’re run by way of by the demonic Genma, sending them right down to Hell. Upon arrival, Musashi is plucked from the bloody river by a mysterious man in white, forcibly geared up with an oni gauntlet – an artifact that pulls energy from the souls of the departed – and zipped again as much as the world of the dwelling. Upon returning to Kyoto, Musashi is led to grasp swordsman and fellow gauntlet wielder Takamura, alongside his dancing disciple, Okuni. We shortly study that Takamura’s been retaining the gate to Hell locked up tight for some 800 years, combating the Genma day-in, day-out. Way of the Sword maintains some of Demon Siege’s anachronistic power on this sense, albeit nothing practically as off-piste as Samanosuke cruising alongside in the Blanc-mobile.
Busy retaining the hellish legion and their ringleader at bay, Takamura enlists Musashi’s assist to take care of Kyoto’s rising Genma downside. The town and its surrounding areas have change into swamped in malice, offering the excellent storm for rifts to type and demons to spew forth. Musashi, nonetheless, is reluctant. Whereas the fledgling legend now possesses the energy of the onimusha, and with it the means to struggle the Genma, he instantly rejects it, wishing solely to depend on his personal energy to win battles. Because it transpires, the gauntlet’s the solely factor retaining Musashi alive, so he finally yields and agrees as a way to doubtlessly discover a technique to get shot of it.
A lot of Way of the Sword’s narrative considerations itself with the true that means of energy, and it does nicely for example its myriad kinds, in addition to the darkish temptations it brings, by way of some superbly produced cutscenes. Musashi wrestles with these complexities all through, studying the laborious approach at instances that his spectacular talent and unwavering confidence aren’t all the time sufficient to get the job performed. Although the essence of Musashi’s character stays constant, he regularly turns into extra co-operative, not solely with the gauntlet and its religious denizen, Shizuka, however with the allies he makes alongside the approach. It is a pretty typical hero’s journey, however Capcom’s execution is stellar, deftly spinning in heartbreaking moments and comedic reduction as Way of the Sword progresses.
Way of the Sword’s early sport is pretty pedestrian, getting you on top of things with Musashi’s new methods. It is largely a cycle of discover rift, kill Genma, revenue, with the odd boss thrown in right here and there to ensure you’ve cemented the fundamentals. It’s kind of of a sluggish burn for the first couple of hours, and your capacity to understand every thing Kyoto has to supply is hamstrung by a fringe of intense malice, however it’s interspersed with some well-placed narrative beats to maintain issues ticking over. It is not lengthy, nonetheless, earlier than issues actually begin to ramp up.
I am notably fond of how Capcom has nestled in its facet quests and collectibles, attractive you to retread outdated floor as the malice begins to clear, and extra traversal mechanics are regularly unlocked. The developer-publisher manages to squeeze every thing it could possibly out of its linear sections, showcasing, as it has been doing for years, that you do not want an enormous sandbox to facilitate discovery. It additionally stays congruent with the collection’ roots, with lots of tight encounters round each bend. Aesthetically, Way of the Sword attracts from the historic and the religious. It is not a horror sport as such, however my favourite areas have been the place it was at its most horrific – the extra grotesque, the higher.
That being stated, it feels as if a couple of of Way of the Sword’s smaller corners have been minimize. Kyoto’s inhabitants has the density of my hairline, and there is little or no ambient chatter outdoors of the occasional cry for assist as a resident flees from the Genma – a recurring encounter that is not the solely instance of copy-paste being deployed (my apologies to the native artisans for the hundreds of utterly an identical pots I carved up in search of supplies). The town feels empty because of this, although, in Capcom’s protection, if Hell rifts have been opening up left, proper, and middle, I in all probability would not stick round, both. It is the similar case with puzzles. Onimusha has by no means been Resident Evil relating to difficult conundrums, however bizarrely, I solely counted a single actually distinctive one, the satisfaction of fixing which was spoiled by Shizuka chiming in with hints. These gripes solely barely detract from how wonderful Way of the Sword is general, however it does really feel prefer it’s missing in components.
The place Way of the Sword actually makes up for its shortcomings is in its fight, which is much extra redolent of the unique video games than Daybreak of Goals. “For those who dwell by the sword, combating is every thing. Or, to place it merely, as a result of it is enjoyable.” Takamura’s philosophy is not something notably enlightening, however the imposing swordsman completely encapsulates the way it feels to cleave by way of Genma. Musashi was already an achieved fighter by the time he reached Kyoto, having received his first duel with a wood quarterstaff at simply 13 years outdated. Unsurprisingly, he is a dab hand at demonic demolition.
Musashi makes liberal use of mild and heavy strikes, however the important heft of his moveset lies in defensive manoeuvers. Timing a counter-attack at the excellent second initiates a traditional Issen, which will be upgraded in the talent tree to shortly dispatch a number of enemies directly. Whereas holding down the block button will not do a lot, you will be rewarded for efficiently parrying or deflecting blows.
The previous builds up the Blaze Gauge, empowering Musashi with additional well being and stamina harm when full, whereas choosing the latter nets a higher discount of your goal’s stamina bar. This distinction entices you to modify up your protection, and the delight present in triggering a quick-time duel, a slow-mo deflection, and even filling up your Reflex Combo Gauge by completely dodging grabs greater than matches that of a well-weighted strike hewing hellspawn. I might’ve appreciated to have seen extra of the dual-wielding Niten Ichi-ryū type Musashi famously developed, however his shortsword does not less than make an look throughout sure ‘Break Issen’ executions. I did discover a scarcity of general animation selection for every motion, however what’s there’s suitably flashy.
Breaking the stamina bars of mini-bosses like the Byakue, in addition to these of main encounters, triggers a special sort of Break Issen. Right here, you are provided a alternative of a number of weak factors to strike. One sore spot spills out souls – excellent should you’re working low on sources. One other offers devastating harm. In sure fights, a 3rd possibility, one which removes a pesky appendage totally, could seem. That is one other strong strategic addition, one which bailed me out on a couple of event.
As an onimusha, Musashi has a range of powers obtainable to him. Whereas the choice to shift the ordinary arsenal of oni weaponry to a bar charged with souls could not sit nicely with some vets, it was the proper name. Not solely is that this thematically per Musashi’s desire for the blade (it is known as ‘Way of the Sword,’ not ‘Way of the Superpowered Oni Weapons,’ in spite of everything), however the fundamental swordplay is so good that having them there as a strategic possibility appears like a far stronger design alternative. The Two Celestials yield extra yellow soul orbs, which is ideal should you want a fast well being injection. Wind-Whipper, in the meantime, is incredible for coping with teams. There have been a pair of choices I did not get the most worth out of, however the eye check could have let me down when gauging their precise energy.
Naturally, shoving a sword in the designs of the damned is a surefire technique to convey some critical warmth, and Onimusha’s large bads do not disappoint. Each boss has its place thematically, with each offering an additional tier of problem over its predecessor. It is not lengthy earlier than Musashi encounters Daidara, a hulking meat slab that demo gamers (or OGs Osric slayers) will already be nicely acquainted with. Pork chop comes at you with broad, clearly-telegraphed assaults; barely a problem. A duel with a revived Ganryu affords a greater indication of how Way of the Sword’s extra frenetic encounters will go, which is just cemented when going through off towards Rasho-gan, a terrain-tossing fiend who’d been suckering the locals into giving up physique components as a way of fulfilling their needs. Capturing the Sukuna-like Genma’s tendrils with the Oni bow mid-animation disrupts his throw, and I admire how sure fights have been designed with Oni weapon utilization in thoughts.
The primary criticism stemming from the demo is that large bouts have been too simple. Clearly, this can be a subjective stance that may differ from participant to participant, however I perceive the sentiment. Way of the Sword presents two base issue choices: Story and Motion. The previous is extremely forgiving, with bosses being notably much less resilient and dealing much less harm, whereas parry home windows have been significantly bigger. For the common participant, Motion mode ought to present a cromulent degree of problem – I averaged a couple of deaths per try of the late-game fights. The hardcore soulslike sickos on the market in all probability will not break a lot of a sweat, however should you’re coming into the sport anticipating to rumble with Isshin, then that is not a problem; that is an iss-you. Way of the Sword is not attempting to be cruel, it is attempting to be approachable and enjoyable… that’s, till you end the important sport as soon as.
A closing space the place Way of the Sword will get it proper is in the efficiency division. The RE Engine is at its greatest when utilized in additional contained video games, and I can fortunately report a buttery easy expertise on my Ryzen 5 3600 / RTX 4070 Ti rig. Enjoying at 1080p with Extremely settings and DLSS set to ‘High quality,’ I did not fall foul of stutters or something of the kind. Its system necessities are modest by fashionable requirements, so you possibly can anticipate comparable outcomes with a weaker GPU (as you possibly can think about, the bottlenecking on my finish is actual).
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a strong return for the storied franchise. It feels as if Capcom has caught to the fundamentals, specializing in delivering a compelling story and satisfying fight, quite than getting slowed down in the bells and whistles. It is materialized fantastically, reintroducing us to a collection that clearly has far more to present. Whether or not or not that is the final we see of Musashi and Co., Way of the Sword has solely made me extra excited for Onimusha’s future.