“Onimusha has all the time had a darkish fantasy really feel, however Kyoto has a picture of being a gorgeous and scenic place,” explains director Satoru Nihei. “Within the historical past of Kyoto, there are plenty of darkish parts, occult tales, and unhappy historical past. Once we have been searching for a setting to match the imaginative and prescient that we had for the sport from an leisure point-of-view, we discovered that Kyoto was a very good match as a result of we had these parts already embedded inside the historical past.”
One of many largest modifications to the broader gaming panorama since Onimusha’s 2000s heyday is the introduction of heightened problem hack-and-slash fantasy video games, often known as the soulslike sub-genre, popularized by titles like Elden Ring and Darkish Souls. Although Manner of the Sword definitely presents gamers with a wholesome problem, Capcom is cautious to make the sport accessible and enjoyable fairly than irritating. In taking part in the sport, bosses like Musashi’s swordsman rival Sasaki Ganryu undoubtedly hold gamers on their toes however to not the purpose the place a single slip-up leads to an unforgiving sport over as is frequent in soulslike video games.
“With the soulslike style, the problem wall is far larger and it may be very irritating for gamers,” Nihei factors out. “It’s not one thing that we needed to do with this title. There’s a stability so that there’s some problem to it however we don’t need gamers to get annoyed with it. We’ve centered on implementing these distinctive Onimusha points – the satisfying motion and for individuals to get pleasure from slicing by way of enemies and never hitting these difficult partitions.”
Onimusha: Manner of the Sword was one of the vital gorgeously rendered video games at Summer time Sport Fest 2025 and that distinction remained firmly intact at this 12 months’s TGS. Created with Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, it is a hack-and-slash expertise that runs closely on its environmental environment and numerous slick sword fights. For the inventive crew, the prospect to contribute to the legacy of a dormant Capcom franchise and convey it roaringly again to life with the trade’s newest tech was an irresistible alternative.
“I performed the unique sport 25 years in the past and, at the moment, there weren’t that many samurai motion video games,” Nihei recollects. “Onimusha stood out and was actually cool. Although it was introduced as CG, it was one thing that gamers might get an actual hands-on samurai fantasy motion to dwell out in real-time. We hope that now, with the know-how that we now have for this new title, we are able to create that very same feeling.”
Kadowaki additionally performed the unique Onimusha video games after they have been first launched and is conscious of the expectations that comes with reviving the beloved property. Although this created a way of strain for the event crew, they’re assured within the high quality of the sport that they’re making in pleasing previous followers and new gamers.
