•Filip Premuš• 17 min read
Games
Onimusha Way of the Sword Is Worth Buying, With One Catch
Is Onimusha: Way of the Sword worth buying? If sword duels are the reason you play action games, yes. Onimusha: Way of the Sword brought Capcom's series back on September 4, 2026, and our review puts its counter system and boss roster among the best action combat in years.
The one catch is pacing. Our full Onimusha: Way of the Sword review scored it 8/10, and its weak spots all feed that problem: a padded Kyoto hub, passive regular enemies, and bosses that return too often.
Below, you'll find who should buy it, where it drags, and what players say.
Onimusha Way of the Sword Worth Summary
Buy it now if you play action games for sword duels.
Wait for a sale if a padded middle act ruins a game for you, since the hub content is part of the design.
The main story runs about 20 hours, a full completion about 33, and Carnage difficulty pushes it past 60.
The launch build runs well, with 60 fps performance modes on every console and a clean PC port.
A free Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo and a PC benchmark let you test it before paying.
What Makes Onimusha Way of the Sword Worth Buying?
The combat makes it worth buying. The Issen counter asks you to press attack in the tiny window just before an enemy's blow lands, and Musashi answers with one flash that deals huge damage. Once it clicks, you'll bait attacks just to see it again.
Parries, deflects and a dodge stack around it, and seven Oni Armaments add variety. The armaments come out for the odd heavy hit, and the sword does almost all the work.
Bosses carry the rest. Each major fight has its own moveset to learn, and Musashi's rival Sasaki Ganryu keeps returning with new tricks as the story darkens. His late altered form was the one fight in our run that forced a long break.
OpenCritic lists an 86 top critic average, and top-rated Steam user reviews praise the sword mechanics most often, with the cutscenes and PC optimization close behind.
Where Does Onimusha Way of the Sword Fall Short?
It falls short in the open Kyoto hub between story chapters. The hand-built story levels are tight and paced by the fights. Kyoto packs treasure spots and combat encounters around its folklore-based mystery quests, and only those quests feel worth the time.
Regular Genma make the hub worse. They circle and wait their turn, so a system built for opponents who push back rarely gets tested outside boss rooms. Steam reviewers raise a related complaint, calling the early hours too easy and the enemy variety thin.
Repeat bosses and hand-holding pile on. Some sub-bosses and a few named bosses return again and again, and the spirit in the gauntlet explains mechanics you've already figured out.
These flaws are built into the design, so a patch is unlikely to fix them. How you play decides how much they hurt. Mainline the story chapters, grab side content only when you need upgrade materials, and the pacing holds up well.
Who Should Buy Onimusha Way of the Sword Right Now?
Duel fans should buy it now, and newcomers can too. Way of the Sword tells a standalone story set in Edo-period Kyoto, so no series history is needed.
Player type | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
Duel and boss fans | Buy now | The Issen and bosses are the highlights |
Series newcomers | Buy now | Standalone story, accessible entry |
Longtime series fans | Buy now | A Musashi who lives up to the name |
Players who hate padding | Wait for a sale | Hub content feels heavier at full price |
Hardcore challenge seekers | Wait | The real test starts with post-game Carnage |
How long is Onimusha Way of the Sword? The main story takes about 20 hours across 22 chapters, side content pushes it near 25, and a full completion runs roughly 33.
The launch build runs well, and our review hit no serious bugs. Every console version has a performance mode aimed at 60 fps, the PS5 Pro keeps ray tracing on in it, and PC requires Windows 11 and an SSD.
Before launch, Capcom released a free Onimusha Way of the Sword demo on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2 and PC. Finishing it with your save kept unlocks a Kubi Akari charm in the full game. PC players can run the official benchmark from the Onimusha: Way of the Sword Steam page.
FAQs About Ominusha Way of the Sword Worth
Final Words
Onimusha: Way of the Sword gets better the longer you play. Early Genma barely push back, and the Issen shows its full depth once late-story bosses start punishing mistakes. A chapter-first run keeps it close to a 20-hour highlight reel, and a marker-clearing run exposes every thin side mission in Kyoto.
Carnage is the open question. It unlocks after the credits and holds several rewards, so the number of players who return for that second run will show how deep this combat goes.
Still unsure? Play the demo and fight a few Genma. If the Issen hooks you there, the full game delivers much more of it.
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