Onimusha is back after twenty years — what the new one actually is
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is out, the first mainline entry in two decades. Here's what Capcom has revived, and who it's for.
Stated by the maker, publisher, or platform holder.
Capcom released Onimusha: Way of the Sword on 4 September — the first mainline entry in the series in twenty years. If that name means nothing to you, it's worth knowing why its return is a genuine event for a certain kind of player, and whether it's for you.
What it is
Onimusha is a third-person action series set in a dark-fantasy version of feudal Japan. You play a swordsman fighting demons — historically with a mix of methodical, weighty melee combat and the ability to absorb defeated enemies' souls to power up. Way of the Sword is set in a supernatural Kyoto during the Edo period, pitting you against demon swordsmen and other supernatural foes.
Think of it as sitting between two things Capcom already makes well: the deliberate, stamina-and-positioning combat of a soulslike, and the cinematic character-action of Devil May Cry. Onimusha is slower and more grounded than the latter, more story-and-atmosphere-driven than the former.
Why the twenty-year gap matters
Series that vanish for two decades usually stay vanished. Onimusha coming back is Capcom betting that the appetite for its specific flavour of grounded, historical action-horror has returned — and there's reason to think it has. The soulslike boom proved players want demanding, atmospheric melee combat, and Capcom has spent the last decade rebuilding its reputation with strong Resident Evil and Devil May Cry entries.
Way of the Sword is the studio testing whether that goodwill extends to reviving a dormant name rather than iterating an active one. If it lands, expect Capcom to treat Onimusha as an ongoing series again.
Who it's for
If you like Capcom's action pedigree, enjoy soulslike combat but want something with a stronger narrative spine, or have any nostalgia for the original games, this is aimed squarely at you.
If you bounced off the slower, more deliberate pace of soulslikes and want the fast, combo-driven flow of Devil May Cry, this may feel heavier than you'd like — that's the trade Onimusha has always made.
It also arrives in an absurdly crowded month. Landing the day after The Blood of Dawnwalker and alongside NBA 2K27, with Marvel's Wolverine ten days out, it risks getting lost in the autumn release crush. Worth not overlooking simply because of when it launched.