Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, & PC)

To be honest, swapping between guns and swords has never felt right to me. If a game is going to focus on swordsmanship, it needs to commit to it completely and honor the history behind the blade. The way of the sword, from its craftsmanship to handling the blade as the point of contact between your strikes and a flurry of attacks. It’s your mastery of the sword that will keep you alive, the respect you show to its adaptability, and the way you gradually become one with it. It’s games like Ominusha: Way of the Sword that continue to keep the thrill of swordplay alive. And not just by focusing on the sword as your primary weapon, but building the characters, environments, and world around you on the history of dueling and a symbol of power.

Ominusha: Way of the Sword is, indeed, like its predecessors in more ways than one, except that those games came out twenty years ago. So much has changed in the time since the last Ominusha game. Today, Soulslike games sit at the top of the best swordsmanship games. And in gaming as a whole, the storytelling and worldbuilding standards have evolved. Happy to report, though, that Capcom has taken all of this into account and created a sequel that does feel evolved. A reboot of Ominusha, looking pristine, feeling damn satisfying, and performing flawlessly. But it’s the core story and gameplay that will take your breath away. The endearing characters with multi-faceted personalities. The gruesome demons that test your will to live. And the overall display of courage in the face of crippling fear. This game has it all.

Let’s break it down a little further, though, in my review of Ominusha: Way of the Sword.

The Way of the Samurai

The thing with being the best is that you can never let your guard down. Any misstep and the crown might be taken away from you. The protagonist is the best at what he does. A samurai you may already know, called Miyamoto Musashi. He was,  in fact, a real-life swordsman and a renowned duelist in Japanese history. Though he passed away many years ago, his likeness has been realized in the protagonist. His face. His mannerisms. And yes, the family estate has given its consent for it. 

Perhaps knowing that the protagonist is modeled after a real-life person, and there being so many books, films, and even games that have been inspired by him, makes the character so damn compelling. Perhaps the accuracy in the mannerisms of the protagonist to the real-life Miyamoto Musashi leaves me utterly impressed. I suppose, though, that even without any knowledge of the history behind the character, you’ll still find the protagonist charming. 

He’s brash and overly confident, but his attitude isn’t without merit. And it’s also a part of his character development as he learns to rely on his companions. He learns that being the best at what he does may not necessarily help anyone if he shuns everyone and any help he’s given. You can probably already tell that the character arcs in Ominusha: Way of the Sword have a lot of depth. It’s a layered story, perhaps not from the actual plot, but from the multi-faceted characters you’ll grow attached to.

The Thing

Right. The story. Well, there isn’t really much I’d like to assess there. It’s a serviceable one, certainly. And it does have its moments of intrigue. While dueling and making sure you retain your spot at the top, you face your greatest opponent, Ganryu Sasaki. The battle is steamy for a bit, until you’re rudely interrupted by demons. And they overwhelm you, hauling your ass through the gates of hell. I wouldn’t call it a defeat, though, since Ganryu suffers the same fate. And so, you both find yourselves in a pickle jar. And when the second chance at life is offered to you, there’s no choice but to take it. 

Second chances often come with a caveat, though. This time, you have to wear an arm gauntlet and suck the souls of those who fall on your sword. It gives you power. And it comes with a girl companion you’ll come to adore trapped inside of it. And anyone else might have been happy to wear the arm gauntlet. Ganryu sure does, using it to suck human souls and grow more powerful. But you’re an honorable swordman and want to remain so purely from your own sword skills. It’s so bad, actually, that you try to cut the thing out of your own arm.

At times, predictable. Other times, intriguing. Ominusha: Way of the Sword’s story isn’t at all frustrating to unravel. But the characters, oh, the characters helping you, and those challenging you, have strong performances and writing and character arcs you’ll enjoy.

In and Around Kyoto

So, you’re back on earth. The time period is during the 17th-century Edo era in Kyoto, Japan. You’ll find lots of historical lore and fiction. Some myths are surprisingly true, and others are made up. The world, while mostly dark and broody, has its pull factor nailed down. Mostly because of the stunning design. This isn’t an open-world game. So, you’ll often be funneled down main quests, encountering demon creatures, and finding hidden chests. But there are open zones, mainly in Kyoto itself, where there are ancient temples and winding streets. 

This is your hub-like area, where demon portals might pop up that you’ll seal off.  You can run around, talking to NPCs and vendors. You can pick up side quests, though they aren’t always fulfilling, as you know how it goes in most role-playing games. Main story quests are where the action is, and for that, you’ll need to prepare. So do explore the hub for chests. Catch your breath here after brutal battles. And unlock new areas the more you play.

The Perfect Parry

All of the lighter exploration and stories aside, the combat is the juice or the meat. Whatever you want to call it. It’s where you’ll have the most fun with Ominusha: Way of the Sword, and likely keep returning for more. It’s not at all a quick breeze like the demo may have led you to believe. Though it eases you into its tools and mechanics, you’ll soon realize that it takes skill and mastery to defeat the demons and bosses of this world.

Through swift light and heavy attacks, you’ll confront enemies. You know, the usual main ingredients that make up a solid RPG, and special attacks to boot. But before you can properly drain enemies’ health, you’ll want to drain their stagger meter first. And to do so, you’ll need to practice and perfect your defense timing. Actually, there’s no going anywhere further into the game without properly dodging, deflecting, and parrying attacks. And the way you know which defense to use is by paying close attention to attack patterns to preemptively react accordingly. 

Attacks that can’t be parried are dodged. Deflecting is an interesting beast because it’s a defensive step as much as it is offensive. It interrupts an attack, and if you time it well, it will drain a significant portion of the stamina. And then there’s the blazing state, which you achieve through perfect parries. It lets you unleash the Break Issen special attack, which is easily the finisher you need for fodder enemies and even some weakened bosses.

You Have Fallen

You ask, still, what makes Ominusha: Way of the Sword different? Well, it’s how it all flows flawlessly, when it all comes together, fluidly, responsively. The sword clashes are electrifying, especially because of the stunning visual effects and smooth animation. Combat looks amazing, with moments when the camera zooms in on a perfect parry. You can really feel the power channeling through Musashi Miyamoto. 

So, even when you get that “You Have Fallen” screen thrown back at you. Even when you’ve lost count of the number of times that you have seen that demeaning “You Have Fallen” screen. Because some bosses are really that tough. The variety of bosses on here will switch up their moves and patterns, in addition to looking gross and intimidating. You still keep trying and trying and failing and trying. And after you succeed, you might even increase the difficulty just to see how much more you’re made of.

Verdict

Now this is how you bring back a series that has been MIA for 20 years now. Though I didn’t really doubt that Capcom would do Ominusha justice, given their recent upward trend in giving us some of the best games ever. Resident Evil Requiem. Dragon’s Dogma. Pragmata. Let’s not forget Monster Hunter Wilds. Or Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. I thoroughly enjoyed my story and combat time with Way of the Sword, and can’t wait to play through what Capcom does next with the series.