Japanese developer and publisher Capcom is delivering constant hits, with critical and commercial successes from established franchises, while also reviving older series. That seems set to continue with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, an action-adventure game set to launch next year.
During Summer Game Fest 2025, I got to attend a theater presentation that showed over 20 minutes of gameplay from Onimusha: Way of the Sword. After, I also had the chance to speak with director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki through the assistance of a translator.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is the first new Onimusha game in 20 years, something Nihei says is a result of multiple factors.
"It's all about finding the right people," he says, noting that it can sometimes be difficult with how many projects Capcom has going at once. He adds that development on this game started when the Onimusha team came together in 2020.
In Way of the Sword, players step into the shoes of a warrior named Miyamoto Musashi, and he isn’t just any random samurai. He’s equipped with an Oni Gauntlet, a mystical device that can absorb the souls of his fallen foes, empowering him and granting him supernatural techniques.
Even so, Musashi isn’t exactly happy about this arrangement, as he wishes to prove his strength through normal means. He’s reluctant about using the power of the Gauntlet, but he’s forced to tap into his strengths to face the Genma, nightmarish creatures clawing their way into the world.
These demonic foes slaughter helpless villagers with wanton abandon, inflicting brutality on the inhabitants of Kyoto, especially around the historic Kiyomizu-dera temple.
As I watch Musashi fight back against the invaders, his movements are swift and precise, with careful attention to detail on the animations as he swings his sword to cut through enemy ranks.
His blows are brutal, lopping off limbs or bisecting foes entirely, something Kadowaki says the team really focused on using with the company's proprietary RE Engine.
"Specificially for Onimusha, [the developers] were looking into creating a system for dismemberment for the enemies," he says, adding that the team believes having an active dismemberment system will make combat feel more satisfying for players.
Once enemies are killed, their souls linger on the battlefield and can be absorbed by Musashi using the Oni Gauntlet. This has to be done manually, as the souls don't stay forever, though, and will disappear or even be absorbed by enemies if players wait too long, something that Nihei believes helps to separate Onimusha from other action games.
Musashi has more tricks up his sleeve and can redirect attacking foes into his surroundings, knocking enemies into the environment. A nearby fire or even a table can be turned to his advantage in an instant.
As the presentation continues, a floating Genma absorbs the souls of an enemy that died nearby, becoming empowered and gaining dangerous new attacks. Musashi is capable of deflecting enemy ranged attacks, which is key to staggering certain foes.
Continuing on, Musashi makes his way to the temple. There, the Oni Gauntlet speaks to him, arguing with an almost-sassy tone about what he should do next.
"It's actually something that's very important for the dev team to implement because it's going to serve as a way to provide information, but the interaction between Musashi and the gauntlet is going to provide more context to the world around Musashi and why he's on this journey in the first place," explains Nihei. "It allows us to flesh out the narrative a lot more."
As the conversation between Musashi and the gauntlet continues, visions of the past are conjured up around him, showing spirits of those who were slaughtered here. According to Nihei, the team wanted to explore the juxtaposition of a beautiful temple with the murky stories that persist in legends.
"Kyoto's an extremely old city in Japan, and it has a lot of legends, a lot of folklore. There's a lot of dark and occult-like stories that are found everywhere you travel around the city," Nihei says.
"As game developers and creators, we felt that has a very entertaining element to it. There's a very interesting contrast between the current beautiful image of Kiyomizu-dera and these dark fantasies."
Within the temple, Musashi confronts Ganryu, a rival who also has an Oni Gauntlet. Ganryu has no qualms about unleashing the gauntlet's power, using devastating attacks that put Musashi on the defensive.
Ganryu's attacks render heavy destruction all around as he laughs madly, but eventually, Musashi is victorious. I'm not at all confident that his rival is gone for good.
While Onimusha: Way of the Sword is not coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Kadowaki indicates there's no one element that's possible because of being designed around the latest gaming hardware, and instead, the game is just scaled around what the latest consoles can do.
He gives an example, saying that while the PlayStation 5 could handle 10 enemies surrounding Musashi, if the game had to be developed for the PlayStation 4, then that number might be cut down.
To close out the presentation, I see another boss fight, with Musashi taking on a massive creature called Byakue that tears into the world through a bleeding wound in reality.
During this duel, I noticed that the quick and elegant movements remain, but whenever the attacks clash in a parry, Musashi visibly struggles, exerting pressure and force before pushing the monster back. When I asked the developers about this, Nihei confirmed it was a conscious choice.
"That's one of the things [the team] really focused on for the game, because we felt that for a lot of these bigger enemies, if Musashi reacted the same way he did with regular-sized enemies, it didn't really make a lot of sense and it also didn't seem realistic," he explains.
"Everything should have a weight to it, you can feel the danger. It gives it a more unique feeling compared to other titles in the genre."
From the brutal combat to the dark tone, I'm impressed with everything I've seen, and I can't wait to play this game next year. As my final question, I asked Nihei what he wants players (whether longtime fans or newcomers) to know about Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
"We're creating a game that's steeped in dark fantasy elements," he says. "We're going to have a lot of charming characters brimming with personality. We believe that people are really going to like the cast of characters as well as the story."
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is slated to launch at some point in 2026 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam), and PlayStation 5.
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