Though I’ve never played an Onimusha title prior to SGF, I’m pretty open to trying anything Capcom is cooking up. They’ve got a massively diverse number of series that cover every sort of genre, but they’ve got a special edge when it comes to action games. As such, I figured Onimusha: Way of the Sword would be decently fun at the bare minimum, and after getting my own hands on it, I came away from the demo completely blown away and ready for more as soon as possible.
The demo for Onimusha: Way of the Sword had me start out by taking on slower, weaker demons. Even though they’re essentially grunts in the long run, these enemies still looked noticeably distinct and freaky, drawing on Japanese mythology without feeling derivative of other similar media that feature oni and the like. I stumbled across some pretty bloody scenes of even the weakest oni devouring strewn about corpses, which certainly helped sell how threatening this encroaching demonic force is. That being said, they’re not nearly as threatening as our playable protagonist, Musashi.
Credit: Capcom
I quite liked how weighty Onimusha: Way of the Sword felt with its combat, as every one of Musashi’s slashes – even light attacks – felt as though they both hit hard and leave you pretty open to enemy strikes if you aren’t careful. There’s a constant sense of risk and reward to doling out slashes, which is what makes the game’s focus on timing and technique so refreshing.
Hitting the dodge button at the perfect moment results in a super-slick flash step-esque technique, while blocking at the exact moment a strike would hit you has you pull off a spark-producing parry that leaves your foe wide open. Achieving these feats provides the perfect amount of challenge when paired with the tension that comes with battling a couple of foes at once, creating some of the most rewarding sword combat I’ve experienced in recent memory.
Credit: Capcom
Though deflecting arrows from distant demons and mercilessly slicing oni in two was a blast, it was the boss of the demo that really blew me away. Known as Rasho-gan, the Wish Warper, this guy was on another level in terms of both difficulty and design. He’s like a skinless demon that’s covered in eerie hands, which he uses to twist the wishes of nearby denizens to suit his will. For example, an elderly villager I met said he had knee pain, but Rasho-gan removed his leg above the knee, technically making the knee pain go away. Establishing the boss as this nasty and chilling figure was a great call, as I felt more than ready to strike him down when the time came.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword‘s SGF demo featured an incredibly cool boss fight.
As I was playing on the “Action” difficulty, I was actually killed by Rasho-gan more than once. Between nasty glob projectiles, lengthy tech grabs, and massive blade strikes, there were a lot of moves for me to learn the timing of. Yet despite dying a few times, I never felt frustrated or bored with the fight. I got a good chunk further with every attempt and felt as though I was learning and improving substantially each time, which granted me a true sense of achievement that had me raring to try again. If every boss is like this in the full game, then Onimusha: Way of the Sword is going to get me borderline addicted to the boss fights.
Credit: Capcom
This small SGF demo singlehandedly sold me on Onimusha: Way of the Sword, as it showed me how satisfying and tense the series’ combat can be. The sense of accomplishment I got from defeating the preview build’s boss was something you don’t find in many games, and I’m certainly hungry for more. Combine that with the strong presentation of the game’s enemies and settings, and you’ve got what I’m thinking will be one of the most exciting games of the year. Though it’ll be competing against a massive deluge of other releases that month, I’ll certainly be playing Way of the Sword when it launches on September 25.
