Capcom has been celebrating one of its best years in recent times, with both Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata enjoying major success so far in 2026. However, being a fan of melee action combat and a self-proclaimed souls nut, the game I was looking forward to the most from Capcom was Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Although I had already planned myself for the game’s eventual release near the end of the year, Capcom decided to shake my plans by releasing a free demo of the game, announcing it during the State of Play June 2026.
So, without wasting any time, I downloaded the demo on Steam and threw myself into it – only to have it end in mere 20 minutes. Yes, the demo was short, but it did give me a good feel of the game’s combat and setting, while also raising some major concerns. Here are my first impressions of Onimusha Way of the Sword based on the free demo.
Miyamoto Musashi Is Exactly the Kind of Hero Onimusha Needed
Anyone who follows Japanese culture or their long history of legendary swordsmen would know of the name Miyamoto Musashi, the undefeated master of 64 duels. Although I myself became a fan of him after watching plenty of his cool anime appearances, in actuality, I barely knew a thing about his history.
Although Onimusha Way of the Sword won’t be doing a good job telling Musashi’s story, as it is based on fiction about a fight against Onis (demons), I still looked forward to playing as the legendary swordsman. And I did not expect an overly charismatic person who makes jests even in the face of death.
Capcom has made Musashi highly expressive, and I absolutely loved it. His style, expressions, and nonchalant personality with silly jokes really made me think of Leon from Resident Evil.
Now, whether this is actually Miyamoto Musashi’s personality or not, I will leave it up to the knowledge of Japanese developers. What I can say is that I am looking forward to more from him once the game is released.
Not Every Sword Fight Needs to Be a Parry Simulator
Games centered around Japanese swordsmen often boil down to parrying and dodging, which is the Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima formula. Well, it is a really good formula, but it can become a tad repetitive when done over multiple games.
Thankfully, Onimusha Way of the Sword’s demo showed much more depth to it. The combat does center around timing, but it has multiple facets beyond just parrying or dodging. You can initiate sword clashes by perfectly timing your attacks with the enemies, or deflect blows to deal stance damage, which is different from parrying and blocking.
There are critical hits where you can choose which body part to attack, dealing significantly more or less damage based on your understanding of the enemy’s weak spots.
On top of that, you have the traditional parrying and perfect dodge system that has always felt good in such games. But what makes the combat feel really satisfying is the VFX and the reception to using your abilities.
Pulling off a perfect parry can have a short cinematic takedown, or dodging a specific attack can lead to a different type of counterblow. This variety of mechanics, while keeping the game’s combat rooted to timing, has really made me look forward to Onimusha Way of the Sword’s release.
The Demo Pulled Its Punches a Bit Too Often and That’s Quite Worrysome
With such amazing combat, I expected the game to be a challenge. Although Capcom is not really known for too much unnecessary challenge like the Souls games. Their main focus has always been about pushing back players enough to make them feel good about winning, with occasional high difficulty challenges.
The exceptions might be Monster Hunter’s franchise or Dragon’s Dogma, although in the latter’s case, the challenge is not the combat but the in-game convenience.
However, the Onimusha Way of the Sword demo is easy in a whole different way. The enemies I faced in the game felt like programmed to not attack unless I initiate it. In group enemy scenarios, they just stood in one place, waiting their turn as I went from defeating one to the next.
Yes, no one likes getting ganked from multiple angles, but no one also likes absolutely zero pushback in group fights.
The demo was comically easy, even when playing on the highest available difficulty. Initially, I assumed that the game had reset to Story difficulty, instead of the Challenge mode, but that was not the case. Hopefully, this lack of enemy difficulty is only limited to the game’s demo, because I won’t be enjoying such little pushback in a sword-fighting action game, especially when playing as a legendary swordsman.
So, these are my initial impressions of Onimusha Way of the Sword from the demo. I continue to have high hopes for the game’s release, but I would also be the first person to call out the game on release if the difficulty of enemy encounters remains the same. Have you tried out the demo yet? Tell us about your opinion on the game in the comments section below.
