Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a sword-action game from Capcom that puts you in the sandals of Miyamoto Musashi, cutting through Genma in Kyoto with a gauntlet and a very sharp blade. It's good—93% of the 6,081 Steam reviews are positive—but not without friction. The biggest strength is the combat: parries, deflects, and the series' signature Issen land with a weight and clarity that players keep calling the main attraction. The biggest problem is the stuff around it: side quests that feel like busywork, enemies and bosses that repeat, and a second playthrough that wipes your progress. The core is excellent; the wrapper is thin.

The core loop is built on reading enemy attacks and answering with the right tool. Blocking, deflection, parrying, dodging, and the flashy Issen all have a place, and multiple reviewers note that most encounters don't demand a single solution—you can play it safe or gamble for style. Players describe the timing as generous compared to other parry-heavy action games, which lowers the barrier without flattening the ceiling. One player with dozens of hours logged says the combat is the reason to show up, and that after learning it, the only complaint is that there aren't enough enemies to cut. That's the kind of problem you want a combat game to have.

Bosses carry the show

If the combat is the engine, the boss fights are the showcase. Reviewers repeatedly single out the boss design—distinct move sets, phase changes, and cinematic flourishes—as the best part of the game. One player calls the final boss a worthy capstone in both spectacle and difficulty, and another praises a dual-boss encounter for making the pairing feel like more than the sum of its parts. The catch is that some of these highlights get reused: mini-bosses and regular enemies show up again and again, and players who push into the late game notice the recycling. The highs are high, but you'll see them more than once.

Pacing is a tale of two halves. Several players report that the first few hours are too easy—enemies wait their turn and basic mobs fall over—and the difficulty only starts to bite after eight hours or so. One reviewer admits they nearly bounced off the early button-mashing before the boss fights won them over. Another says the opening 30-40% is a slog, then the game finds its footing. If you stick with it, the back half delivers; if you need a challenge from minute one, the ramp may test your patience.

Content is where the game stumbles. The side quests are widely described as filler—fetch quests, kill-X-enemies tasks, and collection errands—and because upgrade materials are tied to them, skipping them leaves you underpowered. One player who finished everything calls the side content 'can-shaped' and says the map design makes traversal a chore, especially in certain areas. Another complains that the game reuses the same handful of bosses and enemies from start to finish. The result is a campaign that feels padded, even though the combat encounters themselves are strong.

The art and sound hold up their end. Players praise the cutscene direction, the character work—Musashi comes across as a cocky but likable lead—and the music, which swells during clashes without drowning them out. The sword-on-sword feedback and the way limbs come off get specific shout-outs for their detail. On the technical side, performance is a bright spot: multiple reviewers report smooth frame rates on high settings, and one notes it runs beautifully on a Steam Deck. The main technical complaint is controller support—some players say DualSense features were promised and then removed, leaving the controller unrecognized.

Newcomers are welcome here. The game doesn't demand series history, and several first-timers say it's a fantastic introduction. The onboarding is gentle—perhaps too gentle for veterans—but the systems are explained well enough that you can start styling on enemies within a few hours. The $69.99 price is the sticking point: with recycled bosses and a 20-30 hour campaign that one detractor says has about five hours of unique content, the value proposition depends on how much you love the combat. If you're here for the parry loop and the boss spectacles, it's worth it; if you want a dense, varied world, you may feel the pinch.