# Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review: Capcom’s Samurai Epic Overstays Its Welcome

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review-capcoms-samurai-epic-overstays-its-welcome/
- Published: 2026-08-31T17:00:27+00:00
- Original publisher: Polygon
- Original article: https://www.polygon.com/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review/
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming

## Key points

- Onimusha: Way of the Sword reboots the PS2 series as a modern action RPG
- Praised for intense, parry-focused samurai duels and strong themes
- Marred by repetitive boss fights and a bloated back half

## Summary

Polygon's review of Onimusha: Way of the Sword finds Capcom's revival of the PS2-era samurai franchise delivers thrilling, demanding swordplay but undermines it with repetitive boss encounters that overstay their welcome. The game abandons the fixed-camera, Resident Evil-style exploration of the original 2001–2006 series in favour of a modern action RPG structure, blending influences from Dark Souls, Star Wars Jedi and Yakuza, though the reviewer felt it lacked the distinctiveness of earlier instalments.

The story follows a fictionalised Miyamoto Musashi, whose face is modelled on actor Toshirō Mifune, as he is bound to a demonic gauntlet and reluctantly drawn into fighting monstrous Genma across Edo-era Kyoto. Combat centres on parrying and countering rather than evasion, echoing FromSoftware-style design, and the reviewer praised the swordplay's connection to the game's themes about strength, even as recurring boss fights and a convoluted second-half story dragged down the roughly 20-hour campaign.

## Coverage

- [Polygon: Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review: Capcom’s Samurai Epic Overstays Its Welcome](https://www.polygon.com/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review/)
- [Polygon: Onimusha: Way of the Sword Reviews Say Capcom Has a Fourth Hit on Its Hands this Year](https://www.polygon.com/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review-roundup-metacritic-score/)

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