Onimusha has always been a franchise that I wanted to try, but I never got around to doing so. It’s one of those old-school action franchises that tried to tackle the Ninja Gaiden/Devil May Cry niche but never really captured that audience. However, with Onimusha Way of the Sword, Capcom has finally taken the franchise out of the shadows of other, more mainstream action franchises, without compromising what makes Onimusha, well, Onimusha.
As someone new to the Onimush franchise, I’m really impressed by WotS’s combat system. It’s not as flashy as, let’s say, Devil May Cry or, dare I say, even Monster Hunter. However, that does not mean it’s bad; quite the opposite. The combat in Onimusha has its own identity, something that has become quite rare in the sea of modern Triple-A action games.
While yes, there are issues with the game’s combat system and also with how the demo is structured, it still left me quite excited about the full game.
Technical state and performance for the nerds
Let’s get the nerdy stuff out of the way first, i.e., performance and technical state. I played the demo on both PC and PS5. On PlayStation 5, the game ran at a flawless 60fps with a resolution that looked quite close to 1440p. This is in line with some of Capcom’s other most recent RE Engine games like RE Requiem and Pragmata, and isn’t too surprising. What is surprising, however, is the game’s PC performance.
On my RTX 4070, I got a steady average of 60fps at 1440p with DLSS set to Quality and the High preset. The game did warn me that I was going over budget on my 12 gigs of VRAM. However, that did not hamper the game’s performance, even with apps like Chrome and Discord running in the background.
That said, I do have one minor issue with the game’s technical state. Well, it’s more of an issue with the location presented in the demo than the game’s technical state, per se. Regardless, it is still something that irked me on my first playthrough of the demo. Similar to Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom, in all their glorious wisdom, decided to use the darkest and grittiest part of WotS for the demo.
This ends up clouding most of the textures and giving the game an overall muddy look, which is one of my biggest gripes with RE Engine in general. Don’t get me wrong, the game still looks quite good. However, I would’ve liked a more vibrant locale for the demo, especially given that it’s not concerned with carrying over our progress.
With that said, I’m really happy with how much effort Capcom has been putting into the PC versions of its games lately.
Players are allowed to select from multiple combat layouts
With the tech jargon out of the way, let’s dive into the meat and potatoes of Onimusha WotS: the combat. To my knowledge, WotS retains most of what worked in previous Onimusha games, while adding some modern flourishes like a more forgiving parry and Issen. The combat here is your typical ARPG affair, complete with parries, perfect dodges, and all that jazz.
However, the “uniqueness” of Oniumusha WotS comes in the way of how it presents said ARPG combat. While there are pockets of flashy counters and combos that will make Dante blush, Onimusha isn’t concerned with delivering fast-paced combat. Instead, it’s a more grounded and methodical combat, something I don’t think I’ve seen in an ARPG since the original Dark Souls.
Don’t get me wrong, combat in WotS isn’t as clunky as Dark Souls – far from it. However, every swing of your blade, every counter, every dodge, feels deliberate and calculated. It’s one of those combat systems that might not look cool in a trailer, but when you’re actually playing it with the controller in your hands, it just clicks.
For my first playthrough, I also chose the Aggressive Layout, which is a fancy way of saying classic controls that mimic the layout of older Onimusha games. However, if you want to play WotS like any other action game, you can go for the Defensive Layout, which has a similar controller layout to games like Nioh, Khazan, etc.
The Iconic Oni Gauntlet returns
Outside of your usual combat stuff is the Oni Gauntlet, which lets you siphon souls. Talking about souls, there are three types of Genma souls in WotS, at least that is the case in the demo. There are the usual red orbs, which are Genma Souls that work as currency a la Runes from Elden Ring or Souls from, well, Dark Souls.
Then there are the blue orbs, which power up the Oni Gauntlet and the Oni gauge. Once the Oni gauge is maxed out, you can press R1 or RB to unleash a flurry of attacks using the Oni Armaments. In the demo, you get access to the Two Celestials, which are essentially glorified Dual Blades. Now, the Oni Armaments don’t do all that much damage to enemy HP. Instead, it drains their Stamina, which, in typical ARPG fashion, makes it easier to stance-break said enemy.
Once an enemy is stance broken, you can press Y or B to perform a finisher that deals a lot of damage. However, during certain encounters, in the demo’s case, the Sasaki Ganryu boss fight, you can choose specific weak points once the enemy is stance-broken. This further adds depth to the combat, which I really liked. There’s also Issen, which is a fancy way of saying perfect dodge.
If you perform a dodge right before an enemy’s attack, you can initiate Chain Issen, which is basically the Fear Takedown from Batman Arkham Knight. Furthermore, there’s also a grapple mechanic where you can press A right before an enemy’s special attack lands on Musashi to counter it and deal a ton of Stamina damage. Overall, if you like counterplay in your action games, I think WotS has more than enough options to satisfy you. I, as a Great Sword main, prefer parries over dodges.
Sasaki Ganryu stole the show
If you’re anything like me, you’re going to enjoy the combat in WotS quite a lot. And yes, you can parry almost anything that isn’t a grab or contextual attack. And yes, that also includes kicks, arrows, and spinning crocodile yokai?
Unfortunately, the demo is incredibly short with only a handful of enemy encounters. There’s also no leveling system or skills to speak of. As such, you’re limited to only the basics, which is fine for the first few runs but does get stale quite fast. That said, you can still get your fill of the game’s combat by either reloading a checkpoint or retrying the Sasaki Ganryu boss fight.
Speaking of Sasaki Ganryu, I really liked this boss fight. I don’t think the demo gives us enough material to talk about WotS’s story or characters, but the one boss fight we did get really sold me on the game. Ganryu is one of the most charismatic bosses I’ve fought in any ARPG in the last 2-3 years. The boss fight isn’t particularly challenging as it tests basic combat knowledge and the counters that the demo teaches you leading up to Ganryu.
However, before you even fight Ganryu, you’re greeted by a rather intriguing cutscene that made me really curious to see the story unfold surrounding Ganryu, Masashi, and others.
Overall thoughts
Summarizing my experience with the Onimusha WotS demo, I think I had more fun than I anticipated. While I do think the combat system might not click with everyone, especially if you’re coming to this game looking for the next Ghost of Tsushima or Nioh. However, if you take Onimusha WotS for what it is, give it the time to grip you with its world, its characters, and above all, its combat system, you’re bound to find a really good ARPG.
Also, as someone who is a weeb at heart and an enjoyer of souls-likes and Japanese ARPGs, I can’t wait to see what the full game of WotS has in store for me. If nothing else, WotS does scratch my undying itch to slay some yokai and enjoy a hearty stroll through a dark and gritty ancient Japanese setting.
