Onimusha: Way of the Sword PS5 Review

I still remember playing the Onimusha series back on the PS2 and knowing how good the combat was back then.

Fast forward to 2026, Capcom releases the next big entry in the series titled Onimusha: Way of the Sword on the modern platforms with the same promise of delivering another such masterpiece.

Gone are those fixed weird camera angles and now we get our modern perspective of open-world RPG style angles.

You play as Miyamoto Musashi, a fierce and young warrior who fights demonic monsters in a dark fantasy version of Edo-period Kyoto which gets overrun and plagued with demonic underworld creatures known as Genma

These Genma spread malice everywhere they go turning areas of the map red which Musashi needs to clear out and defeat the leaders there in order to cleanse such malice and clear parts of Kyoto in the process.

The Kyoto area is open for you to traverse through with locked areas of the map that gets unlocked when you get rid of the red genma from its vicinity by defeating the demonic presence and the different lords.

Musashi is given an Oni Gauntlet capable of giving him the strength needed to slay such demonic presence and get rid of genma from Kyoto. Even though he dislikes this artifact at first titling it as “Unnatural”, he later comes to the decision that this is the only way to stopping such a malevolent force.

The gameplay in Onimusha feels very satisfying, from chopping down enemies to parrying or dodging their attacks, everything feels super smooth and sublime.

On your journey you will find certain companions that will aid you in levelling up your gear and weapons at your base while also helping you learn via training sessions so boost your gameplay and skills.

You will also come across Oni portals from time to time, that either rewards you with new items/skills or just gives you enemy wave challenges to complete.

Speaking of skills, there are few of them that you keep getting throughout your journey called “Oni Ornaments” where some provide additional damage, some gives you more purple souls to power up your super strength or simply stun enemies and damage their stamina meter.

There are also charms present as well that provide passive boosts to your character be it in the form of boosting your own health or skill attacks.

You can manage your other consumables, charms and skills from the pause menu just like any other RPG games.

Bosses and Mini bosses in Onimusha are unique and have their own attack patterns and feel.

All of them have their signature weapons and attacks keeping the players engaged throughout their sessions.

Midway through the game, you unlock your special Oni skills that is powerful enough to slay multiple opponents at the same screen at the same time but needs more recharge than the other skills.

You also visit multiple other areas apart from eastern Kyoto (your base) which keeps the plot moving forward.

Cutscenes here are just a treat to watch as its true to life and feels almost real and emotional at times.

Graphics even at performance modes on the PRO with Raytracing on feels punchy and sharp with smooth movements of the flora and fauna all around without any major or minor performance degradation.

Face animations and sound is exactly as you would expect from Capcom to deliver and so they did.

Not just cutscenes, but also the game in general has great facial animations and combat sounds that you have come to expect from such a company over the years

My only gripe with this game would be the absence of multiple weapons as you are stuck to your major sword here as primary weapon of choice.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Capcom for sending us a copy of this game for Review