Hands-on impressions - Onimusha: Way of the Sword feels familiar yet refreshingly unique

How would you stand out among the current crowd of dark fantasy action-RPGs and hectic slashers coming from the different Asian developers? As usual, Capcom seems to have found the answer by looking at its own back catalogue, at the same time trying to offer something slightly different and reviving one of its dormant IPs. And while we still expect the return of Devil May Cry sooner rather than later with a sixth entry for fans of the speedy style, the 2.5-3 hours we spent with the imminent Onimusha: Way of the Sword confirmed that, even if it offers nothing ground-breaking, its classic formula and genuine personality turn it into something we really fancy playing to completion when it releases on September 4.

So, in other words, what's in-between the never-ending flood of harsh Soulslikes and the occasional hack and slash? Something like this title. More of an action-adventure, it isn't as punishing and demanding as the two aforementioned extremes, nor as slow or as fast, thanks to the game's milder pace. You will die many times, mind you, especially with the deliberately annoying (yet amazingly designed) bosses, such as son of a Genma Raho-gan, but it's a much more focused experience where you can trust your sword (logically), your gauntlet, and your wit.

It doesn't take itself too seriously either, and while protagonist Miyamoto Musashi won't be throwing out a one-liner every few seconds as if he were Dante or Bayonetta, you can expect some humour and attitude towards what really is a horrifying story at times.

That story begins, in true Japanese style, by introducing too many names, and ideas, and goals at the same time, but it becomes very easy to follow, and even engaging to some extent, once the game has laid down its introductory systems. Our friend Miyamoto faces his rival/antagonist Ganryu Sasaki early on, and both share the same curse, just with different intentions, as they have to keep feeding their Oni Gauntlet with Genma souls. Ganryu would kill innocents, but you would rather slash evil monsters to collect more souls. However, will our hero eventually give in to the dark power or will he control himself, save his people and find a cure?

While the grunt enemies couldn't be more generic (Edo era zombie walkers in the ruined forests and streets of Kyoto), the bigger creatures or bosses are a declaration of intent from the get-go. So far, their designs are interesting, their patterns and behaviours captivating, and the way they mark the beats of the story seems right.

The Daidara, "Slavering Glutton", greets you soon enough as a sort of unicorn boar with Anancus-like fangs, and the fact that he acts like a funny anime character underlines the light-hearted approach here. "Smells like Oni!", he keeps saying as he charges towards you, and this battle is the best way to learn how important two things will be in the full game: well-timed parries and deflections to stop your rivals for good while draining their stamina, and collecting expelled blue and brown souls all the time, before your opponent absorbs them back as reinforcement. Oh, and it also showed us that these beasts can break the environment and use it against you... or the other way around.

"Who are you? - Good question, I'll tell you when I know myself, pig"

Besides, there's an elemental touch to battles, both big and small, as our hero can charge up an ignition meter, unleash attacks that can start a fire on suitable ground, and also face fire-powered enemies. And when he's not facing giant Genma, Miyamoto-san seems pretty agile while traversing the world, clearing fences and blockades with grace. Again, contrary to other trendy genres, he can't jump manually as all the action is, well, more grounded, but in the fashion of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you can auto-leap over small spaces.

At first, the more linear scenarios were dreamlike parallel-dimension caves and cliffs, where rock cracks are filled with gold and where you'll have to solve very simple (at least so far) environmental puzzles to keep going, and where hidden Oni Glyphs can only be seen with Musashi's Oni Vision (L2+R2).

However, again, once you've got to grips, a bigger open-ended area in Kyoto lets you explore more or less at will, with several main and secondary missions available on a growing map. It's not a fully open-world experience, but a nice change of pace and approach coming from the more linear areas and the epic Genma encounters.

With the first big Genma down, we also learned more about the story, and it's only fitting to keep the OoT reference going, as you'll have your own Navi character in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The name is Shizuka Gozen, who comes from the dynasty of the hell-ruling Oni, and presents you with another conundrum once you've awakened the "lady of the gauntlet":

"I don't live in a gauntlet by choice - I don't answer to that name - the power of the Oni is the only thing keeping you alive - without the gauntlet, you will die"

She also says it's exhausting to come out of your gauntlet with all that miasma, but that's part of the humour I mentioned. And as the more "human haven" moments of the story intertwine, we also got to meet Ono no Takamura sensei as Miyamoto's master to keep training and progressing, and young Izumo no Okuni as our protected friend. But Onimusha is ominous:

"Given the speed at which the miasma is spreading, I fear the worst. I sense there are more cracks opening up in this area"

With the healer's amulet and a fragment of Johari (a piece of King of Hell Enma's mirror), and as you slash your way through the first few hours of the game, you also unlock additional powers and Oni Weaponry (D-pad right) to make both your combat and your survival more varied, strategic, and balanced. In a more RPG-like progression touch, amulets can be upgraded by redeeming red souls and favour, which also has to do with offering objects to gods in shrines. But don't overthink this, as it's pretty well introduced and you'll quickly accept it as part of the resources at your disposal.

Likewise, there are easy-to-understand yet comprehensive skill trees, where you can upgrade your reflection ability (this will be a must, believe me), fire state, bow power, stealth, and so on. And of course your gauntlet, by providing miasmite. Want even more of this? Unlock new attire by replaying bosses and strengthen it with hemp and cotton, obtain new basic and special skills, unlock combos and better Oni Vision...

"I feel as though with every passing second I'm becoming less human. - Whether you like it or not, if you want to remove the gauntlet, you'll have to kill more Genma, and to kill more Genma, you'll have to improve the gauntlet"

In the later part of our demo, we went on a peculiar fetch quest called "Careful what you wish for" to collect a number of stolen Stout Pillars (idols) around a map still constrained by the miasma boundaries. It's clear filler, yes, but the good kind. What was interesting here was the story behind it: a blind lady and a crippled man who no longer suffer as, with an eye and a leg amputated, they don't have to see or walk into their fears anymore. Or the thought of not having to play some horrible music if you cut off your fingers. Reuniting the eight guardians of fortitude should put this craziness to an end, and the evil mind behind it all was Rasho-gan, scourge of fates, "Wish Warper", a human-shaped monster with eight arms, tentacles, and so many hands you can't count. A challenging boss fight that ended up feeling as satisfying as it was annoying.

"Poor humans - they catch a whiff of the miasma and come flocking to donate this and that"

This was the peak of our session, as we deciphered his intriguing patterns and weak points while enjoying our badass dodge animations. It was the game's first real test, at least in the "Action" difficulty setting (with "Story" being an easier one), and it took us more than ten heart-pumping retries.

From then on, we won't spoil much. Mysterious samurai Yorimasa helps Miyamoto for some reason and grants him the power of the eight guardians to be able to break miasma barriers and therefore open up new areas on the map. New and more unique enemies (such as the Ent-like rock monsters in Kyoto or the fascinating Kubi Akari two-headed creatures) invade the map through new Rifts whilst you try to save the citizens in their final moments. Sometimes, you use environmental objects in the style of Resident Evil 4 or 007 First Light, for example by kicking a cart or a wooden plank to crush the walkers.

"Shizuka escaped in the gauntlet; the rest of her clan has probably perished. The Oni arrived from hell under the command of an extraordinary leader, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. His strategy was superior: he plundered hell and took two gauntlets as trophies - Ganryu and Musashi." - Why? And is he Shizuka's father?

Then a third boss called Byakue, "Hundred Defilements", seems like a rock-hard, white-furred gorilla/bear beast that only gets stronger, so you'll need to drain its stamina first to stand a chance. It grabs you with its hair! Argh!

A comment on overall graphics and on Onimusha: Way of the Sword on the Nintendo Switch 2

Finally, you shouldn't expect an absolute looker here nor top-notch graphics and cutscenes, as much as it uses Capcom's RE Engine: its blade combat and its more organic environments put a bigger load on it when compared to, say, Resident Evil Requiem. It's also more discreet, I'd say, production-wise, so even on the PS5 Pro, while rock-solid and smooth enough, it wasn't a visual spectacle to behold.

Now, you can blame, or appreciate, the fact that it runs okay on the Switch 2. The framerate is a bit low in handheld mode (where you can lock it at 30 fps), but as was the case with Requiem, hair FX and physics are the most blatant differences, and I'm curious to see it docked, as it seems like yet another decent, completely playable Day 1 port on Nintendo's console, keeping the colour space, HDR, and surprisingly fast loading times.

One thing, though: Capcom better be fast at patching in motion controls to both the PS5 version and the Switch 2 settings beyond detached Joy-Cons (currently the only way to have them on, as you can wave your hand to wield your sword), as they make a huge, welcome difference when aiming the bow compared to the clunkier analogue alternative.

But all in all, I really want to play the full game over the next few weeks to give you a review before its release in less than a month. Onimusha: Way of the Sword might not paint the most beautiful Edo Japan we've ever seen, but its incredible monsters look the part, it doesn't feel like either a Soulslike or a hectic hack and slash, and more importantly, it just seems like lots of rewarding fun while being proud of its own personality.