Here’s one I didn’t see coming: a new Onimusha game. It’s called Onimusha Way Of The Sword, and is the first new entry in Capcom’s samurai action-horror series since… well, that upcoming VR game doesn’t count, and nor does the Warlords remaster in 2018. So, 2012? Maybe 2006, if you rule out the Unity browser sim? Cor.
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On the off-chance that you’ve never played an Onimusha game, and possibly weren’t alive back in 2006, it’s basically Resident Evil but with a samurai and set in Japan. That was true of the first one, anyway. Later instalments took… interesting liberties. Onimusha 3 had Jean Reno in it for some reason. One thing they all share is more of a combat focus than the Resis. You don’t need to find ammo for a katana, after all. But they certainly aren’t hack-and-slash games.
The Way Of The Sword trailer doesn’t reveal much, but it suggests a back-to-basics approach, as you might expect from a series that hasn’t had a mainline instalment in almost two decades. It appears to be set in feudal times, and a bunch of demons are causing a ruckus in the woods. There are scenes of swordplay, including a few vicious finishers and some dramatic parrying. If it’s cleaving close to formula, there should be RPG elements as well.
It’s out in 2026. Any old Onimusha players in the haus? I think I fell off the series around about the time Jean Reno showed up.
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