‘Onimusha: Way of the Sword’ Is Fast, Frantic Fun [Review]

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a franchise revival that feels like it understands what made the original games so much fun. The gameplay is fast, frantic, and often delightfully violent, while the game throws a surprisingly large number of systems and mechanics at you. Thankfully, most of them feel like they have a purpose and a time and place to be used. It can take a while to figure out how everything fits together, but once it clicks, Onimusha: Way of the Sword becomes a very enjoyable action game.

Fast, Frantic And Satisfying Combat

The biggest strength of Onimusha: Way of the Sword is its combat. The game wastes very little time getting you into fights, and once you’re there, things can get pretty chaotic. There’s a lot happening at any given moment; attacks, counters, abilities, different weapons, enemies that require different approaches, and a variety of systems that you need to keep track of.

At first, it can feel like Capcom has thrown everything at the wall just to see what sticks. There’s a lot to learn, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for initially feeling a little overwhelmed. The good news is that the mechanics generally aren’t pointless. As you spend more time with the game, you’ll start to understand when and why you should be using different abilities.

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That’s where the game really starts to come together. Once the various systems become second nature, combat becomes considerably more fluid. You’re not simply mashing buttons and hoping for the best; you’re reacting to enemies, taking advantage of openings, and figuring out the best way to dismantle whatever happens to be standing in front of you.

There’s something particularly satisfying about getting into a rhythm where everything starts happening almost instinctively. It’s fast, it’s frantic, and when everything comes together, Onimusha: Way of the Sword feels excellent to play.

A Silly But Engaging Story

The story is another area where Onimusha: Way of the Sword manages to keep things moving. It’s not necessarily going to win awards for the most sophisticated narrative ever written, but I found myself interested in seeing where things were going.

And yes, things can get pretty silly. This is an Onimusha game, after all. There are moments where the story asks you to simply go along with whatever bizarre thing is happening on screen. Fortunately, the game understands what it is. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be some ultra serious historical epic at all times.

That works in its favour. There’s enough going on to keep the story engaging, while the more ridiculous elements give the game some personality. I wouldn’t necessarily say the story is the reason you should play Onimusha: Way of the Sword; but it does a good job of keeping the momentum going between all the sword swinging.

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A Little Lacking Visually

This is probably the area where I was most disappointed with the game. Onimusha: Way of the Sword looks good for the most part; but when you put it next to some of Capcom’s other recent releases, it becomes considerably harder to ignore some of its shortcomings.

In particular, it feels strange that Capcom’s other 2026 releases, Resident Evil: Requiem and PRAGMATA, both offer path tracing on compatible hardware, while Onimusha: Way of the Sword doesn’t. For a modern Capcom release, that feels like a pretty glaring omission.

This isn’t to say that the game looks bad. It doesn’t. There are some nice environments and character models, and the game can certainly look impressive when everything comes together. But there are moments where I couldn’t help but think that the game should look better than it does.

That’s perhaps an unfair comparison to make, but Capcom has set the bar pretty high for itself. When other games running on the same broader technological foundation are showing off advanced lighting techniques, it’s noticeable when one of them doesn’t.

Keeping The Momentum Going

For the most part, Onimusha: Way of the Sword moves at a pretty brisk pace. The combat keeps things moving, and there are enough different mechanics and encounters to prevent the game from feeling completely repetitive.

Unfortunately, there are some areas where the momentum starts to fall apart. Certain sections feel redundant, repetitive, or just plain dull. It’s especially noticeable because the rest of the game can be so fast paced.

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When you’re tearing through enemies and chaining together attacks, the game is at its best. When it slows down and asks you to move through another area that feels like you’ve already seen before, the cracks become a little more apparent.

These sections aren’t necessarily terrible, and they never completely derail the experience. But I did find myself wishing that the game would just get back to the good stuff. When your combat is this much fun, anything that gets in the way of it can feel like a distraction.

Should You Play Onimusha: Way of the Sword?

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a fun return for a franchise that has been away for far too long. The combat is the star of the show; and while there are a lot of systems to learn, the vast majority of them eventually prove to be useful. Once everything clicks, slicing through enemies becomes incredibly satisfying.

The story is engaging enough to keep things moving, even if it occasionally veers into silly territory. The biggest issue for me is that the game doesn’t quite match the technical showcase we’ve seen from Capcom elsewhere in 2026. The lack of path tracing is particularly strange when Resident Evil Requiem and PRAGMATA have both embraced it on compatible hardware.

There are also some stretches that feel like they could have been trimmed, particularly when the game starts repeating ideas or environments that aren’t nearly as interesting as its combat. Still, these are relatively minor complaints in an otherwise enjoyable action game.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced action game with plenty of sword fighting, a ridiculous story, and enough mechanics to keep you busy, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is worth checking out. It isn’t quite the technical powerhouse that some of Capcom’s other games have been this year; but when you’re standing in a room surrounded by enemies and everything starts clicking, it’s hard not to have a good time.

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