Onimusha Way of the Sword Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Onimusha Way of the Sword marks a beloved series' reemergence for the first time since 2006.

Missing in action since Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Capcom's return to the action-adventure samurai romp arrives in a reshaped genre with new heavyweights and no intention to just release the same old thing.

To that end, Way of the Sword, unlike its prior entries, goes heavy in new directions like open-ended missions and buildcrafting via skill trees.

Of course, the visceral combat and emphasis on heavyweight boss battles stand triumphant. But Way of the Sword follows a new path that could eventually have others in the genre following its own.

A demonic-feeling Kyoto looks as great as it sounds: Compelling.

It's not just Kyoto recreated with all the bells and whistles of next-generation technology and calling it a day. The serious fantasy element behind it all means unexpected twists and turns, like giant floating rock structures off in the distance, jump scares in the form of different enemies and plenty of other creative eye-catching liberties.

It all looks and sounds great, with gnarly detail accompanying the combat and its stellar sound effects. The towering boss battles in all of their detailed glory, of course, are the biggest highlight.

To say this game is an upgrade on its prior entry, fixed camera angles and all, is almost unnecessary, of course. But how does it compare to similar modern titles?

A samurai game with swordplay through and through, Way of the Sword separates itself from the pack a bit with a "steering" mechanic. Within a longer, successful parry, players can "steer" an opponent, using their momentum to send them in specific directions.

Eventually breaking an adversary's stamina enables an instant kill called a Break Issen.

Players can use the environment to their advantage too, whether it's taking cover, encouraging things to drop on the heads of enemies or other little, pretty obvious opportunities.

Beyond that, combat is pretty basic in its options. The negative arrives in the form of repetitiveness and general easiness of the whole thing. This didn't need to be a Soulslike game with immense difficulty, but the repeating enemies that don't feel all that aggressive most of the time can lead to simply inputting the same button prompts on autopilot pretty quickly.

Some of the gameplay elements here are just straight-up PlayStation 2 era goodness. Players collect yellow (health), red (currency) and blue (Oni Armaments) souls that provide different things. The blue is the fun one that unleashes special weapons for big damage.

There's not a ton of exploration to be had here either, with linear pathing and some findable events out in the world actually repeating themselves.

Miyamoto Musashi sets off on a quest with a special gauntlet to slay demons and pursue greatness. It's very manga-like in its early hours, and the big rival and other characters make it all the more memorable.

Those side characters really help drive home the story beats in a fun way. Impressive, too, is the sheer immersion provided by the world while progressing through different biomes that do some heavy environmental storytelling.

Overarching progression takes an expected track…but a critical one.

There's a lot more depth here than one might expect. The series has taken loads of cues from other similar titles like God of War by going massive on the skill trees.

Currencies purchase items or upgrade weapons and stuff, while Power Stones handle unlocking skills on a tree. There are expected bonuses and the like, but also really interesting perks like, for example, killing an additional enemy after executing one. The breadth of options on these trees alone means pretty unique builds and runs and it's genuinely fun to experiment.

Way of the Sword runs well and has some strong options tucked into the menus, including two different difficulty settings to let players experience the game as they see fit.

Way of the Sword is a triumphant return for Onimusha.

Yes, combat can get repetitive and those with Soulslike expectations will nitpick. But this feels like a classic series perfectly making a multi-generational jump back into the spotlight, adapting what it thinks is best from modern times to its otherwise classic formula.

There's lots of depth, replay value, memorable bosses and sheer fun times in Way of the Sword, cementing it as a fantastic comeback and one of the better, albeit quiet, releases of a stacked year.