# Onimusha: Way of the Sword review

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review/
- Published: 2026-08-31T18:37:05+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-01T00:43:20+00:00
- Original publisher: Eurogamer
- Original article: https://www.eurogamer.net/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Gaming, Music, Research, Science

## Key points

- Eurogamer praises Onimusha: Way of the Sword's Musashi-inspired combat system.
- The "issen" parry-counter mechanic rewards patience over aggression.
- Game is very difficult, favouring reading enemies over button-mashing.

## Summary

Eurogamer's review of Onimusha: Way of the Sword concludes that Capcom has built the game's combat around the philosophy of real-life swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, whose treatise The Book of Five Rings prizes patience, observation and intuitive judgement over brute aggression. The reviewer argues this produces a demanding, old-fashioned action game that rewards reading and countering enemies rather than chaining combos, setting it apart from genre peers such as Nioh, Wo Long and even Sekiro, and calls it a more convincing swordsman "role-play" than any of those titles.

Central to the combat is the "issen", a parry-like counterstrike triggered by correctly anticipating a light or heavy enemy attack, which the review says is far more rewarding than standard attack strings and enables lethal follow-ups. Clear visual cues — flashing telegraphs for deflect-only attacks, red for undodgeable strikes, blue for dodge-only ones — guide split-second decisions, likened to a "Simon Says" system, while enemy animations are praised as more detailed than FromSoftware's. The review flags the game as punishingly hard and likely to frustrate some players, particularly fans of more acrobatic action titles, but ultimately frames it as a tightly constructed power fantasy for those who master it.

## Coverage

- [Eurogamer: Onimusha: Way of the Sword review](https://www.eurogamer.net/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review)
- [GamesRadar+: Onimusha: Way of the Sword review: "It's no Sekiro, but goofiness, accessibility, and tight combat help this rough diamond shine"](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review/)
- [GameSpot: Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Review](https://www.gamespot.com/videos/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review/)
- [IGN: Onimusha: Way of the Sword Review](https://www.ign.com/articles/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-review)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.