It is turn into very tough to doubt Capcom and its capacity to craft unimaginable motion video games. So when Onimusha: Method of the Sword was first introduced again in 2024, I could not assist however suppose that it was destined to be a banger.
And a banger it’s. A full-on revival of the developer’s as soon as beloved demon-slaying sequence, Method of the Sword is likely one of the finest combat-focused outings I’ve performed in years.
Capcom seemingly set out with one easy objective: to make a sport about doing completely sick stuff with a sword. The whole lot that occurs right here is in service of an outrageously refined fight system, and all of it revolves round your trusty blade.
I suppose the subtitle offers it away, however hardly ever do video games keep so true to their identify.
In conventional Onimusha trend, Method of the Sword twists a interval of Japanese historical past right into a story of man versus demon. The monstrous Genma are in some way escaping hell and leaking into the mortal realm, drowning the capital metropolis of Kyoto in blood and despair.
When protagonist Miyamoto Musashi is struck down by these nightmarish creatures within the prologue, he is plucked from the afterlife by a mysterious benefactor, who then fuses a magical gauntlet to the as soon as nice swordsman’s arm and sends him again to the residing world.
Naturally, the gauntlet permits Musashi to go toe-to-toe with the in any other case insurmountable Genma hordes, granting him inhuman energy and reflexes.
This poses an issue for our reckless hero, nonetheless. Musashi has devoted his life to mastering the sword, and so to him, abruptly buying such energy is a betrayal of his code.
He is obtained no selection, although. The gauntlet’s the one factor maintaining him alive, and it must feed on Genma souls in an effort to maintain its restorative properties.
And so Musashi is moulded right into a stereotypically begrudging lead, compelled to ally with a fellow gauntlet-wearing warrior and obey the desires of the noble spirit that resides in his personal armament.
However regardless that Musashi performs a reasonably cliche position, he does it brilliantly. He is an endearingly trustworthy and expressive protagonist, and his typically abrasive character performs off the encompassing forged rather well.
Specifically, his relationship with the aforementioned spirit — a prim and correct lady by the identify of Shizuka — all the time entertains. She sees him as a ruffian, together with his crude mannerisms the reason for a lot comically-tinged friction.
It is the antagonists that actually promote Method of the Sword’s storytelling, although. They’re correct villains — correct bastards. The large dangerous is particularly wonderful in simply how unapologetically evil and unhinged he’s, stealing each scene by which he seems.
Talking of, the sport’s cutscenes are excellent, filled with allure and cinematic aptitude. That is massive finances Onimusha, and actually, it is simply good to see Capcom pour a lot effort into reviving such a fan favorite franchise many years down the road.
That mentioned, I do not suppose the sport’s advertising and marketing has gone arduous sufficient. Capcom’s proven loads of gameplay up till now, however you have to belief me: you ain’t seen nothing.
Maybe that is the purpose — the developer does not need to spoil something past the journey’s opening hours. However Method of the Sword genuinely wowed me on multiple event, and the jaw-on-the-floor moments solely turn into extra frequent as you progress.
I am not saying this can be a spectacle on the identical degree as one thing like Last Fantasy 16, however when Method of the Sword kicks into gear, it is riveting.
It is the boss fights which are the sport’s best achievement. They’re excellent examples of memorable fight encounters, and there are a great deal of them. For me, many of those boss battles are up there with one of the best in trendy gaming.
In fact, such reward would not be doable with out an unshakeable fight system holding the whole lot collectively, and as alluded, the brand new Onimusha’s nailed that facet.
On paper, Method of the Sword is your commonplace modernised motion title. Gentle assaults, heavy assaults, dodging, blocks, parries, and particular strikes that require some sort of useful resource.
However in observe, the sport’s distinctly tactile really feel, bolstered by some unimaginable animation work, elevates it effectively above the overwhelming majority of its friends. Each swing, each stab, each last-second deflection — they’ve all obtained that signature Capcom weightiness to them, and it makes for pure satisfaction.
My solely qualm with the fight is it takes a short while to get going. Initially, skirmishes can appear a contact too sluggish and methodical, and the enemy selection’s a bit missing throughout the early hours.
However when you begin pushing by way of the talent timber and Musashi’s strategies develop more and more efficient, the system actually begins to sing.
To be clear, Method of the Sword shouldn’t be an eye-watering hack and slasher. It stays fairly technical all through, encouraging a cautious however opportunistic fashion of play.
It’s extremely deliberate nevertheless it’s not a Soulslike (simply as Capcom has pressured quite a few instances). In a nutshell, it is a usually slower-paced motion title with explosive moments. Truthfully, the rhythm’s not far off one thing like Resident Evil Requiem, but when Leon got here geared up with a katana.
I also needs to be aware that there is a simple ‘Story’ problem setting — which could be switched to at any time — for individuals who need a much less punishing playthrough.
This is not a brutally tough sport by any means, however it will probably kick your arse occasionally. Parry and deflect timings could be deceptively tough on the default ‘Motion’ setting, and for a lot of gamers, some boss fights will demand not less than two or three retries to get proper.
The Story problem makes these defensive home windows way more forgiving, and there is additionally an possibility to indicate button prompts forward of your opponent’s assault (which may also be used on ‘Motion’ mode).
Whereas the icons do not inform you the exact timing of the incoming strike, they do put together you for what’s about to occur, so that you just’re not having to observe enemy actions like a hawk.
As such, the button prompts can truly be an effective way for much less skilled gamers to wrap their head across the sport’s basic mechanics. They’re good for merely studying what a boss, for instance, truly has in its arsenal.
However what about those that need a stiffer problem? Nicely, sadly, that is a kind of situations the place you solely unlock the arduous problem by beating the sport — and that takes 30 hours or so the primary time round.
‘Carnage’ is unlocked alongside New Recreation+ after the credit roll, and it is cruel, with Musashi barely capable of tank two or three hits from most enemies.
The mode comes with unique beauty rewards, so it is value giving it a shot — however hardcore gamers will undoubtedly be disillusioned in the truth that it is locked behind a full playthrough.
So, whenever you’re within the thick of it, Method of the Sword is a category act — however exterior of its largely linear degree construction, there’s truly room for a little bit of exploration.
Kyoto acts as a sort of hub, with town’s primary temple being your base of operations. Nevertheless, in between key story beats, you are free to wander the largely abandoned (however now stalked by Genma) streets, looking for gear improve supplies and even facet quests.
Once I first obtained to the “open world” stuff I feared the worst, like Capcom was about to homicide the sport’s pacing for the sake of filler — nevertheless it’s truly fairly effectively carried out.
Kyoto’s plight finally ends up weaving out and in of the primary narrative, with the map increasing as Musashi offers with highly effective Genma. It offers the sport a greater sense of development, though a number of the facet quests (there aren’t many) do teeter on the sting of being tedious.
Oh, and if my temporary point out of “open world” design has made you query the sport’s efficiency, I’ve obtained excellent news. Not like Capcom’s current performance-related fumblings throughout Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Monster Hunter Wilds — all constructed on the corporate’s in-house RE Engine — Method of the Sword is virtually flawless.
On PS5 Professional specifically, the title is immaculate on a technical degree. You may cap the body price at 30 or 60 frames-per-second, or uncap all the best way to 120 (assuming your TV is as much as the duty). You may allow ray tracing individually, which, in my expertise, has no noticeable impression on the frames.
It is tremendous clean at 60fps and above, even when the sword sparks are flying and there are a dozen enemies on-screen.
And it is a comparable story on the bottom PS5 when utilizing efficiency mode. The decision takes a bit extra of successful — issues get barely blurry — however not to a degree the place you are going to desire switching to 30fps in a sport the place fight is the whole lot.
I’ll say, although, regardless of the title being rather well optimised, the visuals are considerably disappointing. It jogs my memory of the beforehand talked about Monster Hunter Wilds, the place finer environmental particulars typically go lacking, and the lighting simply appears to be like off.
Clearly you will not actually care about that whenever you’re sweating your self foolish in a boss combat and all of the accompanying results look nice anyway, nevertheless it’s value stating. It simply seems flat now and again, particularly whenever you’re milling round Kyoto.
And eventually, a shoutout to the soundtrack, which nearly solely options conventional Japanese devices. These aren’t the sort of tunes that’ll stick in your head after a session, however they normally ramp up in actually intense methods, lending a creepy, otherworldly vibe to the motion.
