Capcom has undergone a formidable interval of rejuvenation during the last decade. The upside of successes with Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Road Fighter, and Satan Might Cry is that the developer is now reviving extra legacy franchises for brand new initiatives. One such revival is Onimusha: Manner of the Sword, the upcoming reboot for the samurai action-horror sequence that made Capcom’s first step into the next-gen period of the early 2000s a memorable one.
At Summer time Recreation Fest 2025, we obtained an early have a look at the primary gameplay for Manner of the Sword and interviewed recreation director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki about their creation, which ended up being probably the most talked about video games from the showcase. Seeing the reboot’s new fight and visible model in motion, we talked about how the newest expertise from Capcom was instrumental in bringing the sequence again to life.
A New Samurai’s Future
“We began excited about this new recreation in 2020, and one of many issues that we actually needed was to have a deep concentrate on extra cinematic and satisfying swordplay for the sequence, and now we have higher expertise to make the most of for this contemporary model of Onimusha,” Nihei stated. “We additionally put loads of effort into the story, the setting, and characters as nicely—we’re constructing one thing fully new for the sequence.”
The unique Onimusha was initially conceived as a PlayStation 1 spin-off for the Resident Evil sequence, aiming to take the survival horror expertise to Sengoku-era Japan. It will definitely turned its personal challenge and went on to grow to be one in every of Capcom’s early technical showpieces for the PS2 in 2001. With its fashionable fight, sturdy environmental design, and real looking facial and efficiency seize—that includes actor Takeshi Kaneshiro because the protagonist, Samanosuke Akechi—the unique recreation turned one of many PS2’s early breakout hits.
The reboot for Onimusha carries an identical promise of a rousing samurai motion fantasy boasting spectacular character and environmental visuals. Seeing the prolonged demo at SGF, the challenge seems to be an worthy showcase for the RE Engine, which has powered current video games like Monster Hunter Wilds, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem.
Within the reboot, the story is centered round historic Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto (modeled after late actor Toshiro Mifune with approval from the Mifune property), who turns into an unwitting proprietor of the Oni gauntlet that grants him the energy to face off in opposition to invading demons and take up their souls for extra energy. Armed along with his trusty sword, a demonic gauntlet, and a mysterious companion guiding him via Oni-infested Feudal Japan, Miyamoto will tackle harmful monsters and even rival swordsmen who search to stake declare to a rustic in chaos.
There’s a formidable degree of element inside the design of the setting evident within the demo, which takes place in a crumbling village earlier than transferring in the direction of a citadel overrun. The builders at Capcom labored extensively to recreate Feudal Japan, together with real-world areas equivalent to Kiyomizu-dera temple—which was crafted from enter from native historians.
In line with Nihei, one explicit space of focus for constructing a brand new Onimusha motion recreation was to convey a way of realism and cinematic shine. This was current within the authentic, however the reboot leans into this additional, with the protagonist being each a outstanding and emotive swordsman in addition to a reluctant hero who navigates encounters with a resolve that is nonetheless being hardened.
“When it comes to the cinematic really feel and all the pieces, we put loads of effort into the facial seize for the characters,” stated the sport director. “We paid loads of consideration to the wrinkles on the faces and totally different options of those characters, like after they scrunch up their faces and emotive particulars, [especially] throughout fight encounters. We actually targeted on the animation of fight and character expression, and the various kinds of terrain within the surroundings that the characters are in.”
RE-defining Samurai action-horror
The fight and basic construction of Manner of the Sword go for a extra story-driven development, which is an attention-grabbing departure from the sequence’ Resident Evil roots. The devs acknowledged that it is primarily a linear expertise, however the recreation will nonetheless provide alternatives to discover, work together with townspeople, and tackle elective actions.
Fight is much extra deliberate and methodical with its swordplay than it was in earlier sequence entries. It is much less about utilizing combo assaults to whittle down enemy well being and extra about being environment friendly, cleaving foes in half with one or two strikes. Nevertheless, one factor that the builders have been clear in stating was that the fight was not impressed by Soulslike video games, which have had a major impression on the motion style over the last decade.
“We did not actually take note of different motion video games like Darkish Souls and Sekiro once we have been growing our tackle an Onimusha recreation,” the director stated. “What was most essential for us was how we introduced the sequence and its concepts again in a compelling manner. What really makes an Onimusha recreation, and how will you make the most of the newest expertise to convey the attraction and enchantment of the sequence to trendy avid gamers? These questions have been what was most essential for us once we have been constructing the sport.”
The overall move of fight focuses closely on participating a number of enemies and anticipating their actions to show their weaknesses. Parrying enemy assaults will open up their protection, permitting you to launch a counterattack. Should you use an Issen method to strike an enemy proper earlier than their assault hits, you’ll deal an instantaneous loss of life blow.
Miyamoto can also be a scrappy fighter and may use grabs and contextual expertise to counter enemies. In a single amusing encounter, Miyamoto snatched up a desk to make use of as a protect from enemies firing arrows and instantly tossed it again at them when a gap got here.
Witnessing fight unfold with fantastically designed animations was spectacular—particularly Musahsi’s particular demonic weapons that pierce the veil between realms. Capcom’s RE Engine tech continues to be an incredible showcase for detailed character animations and conveying sheer scope.
In line with Nihei, the group’s explicit imaginative and prescient for Onimusha: Manner of the Sword would solely have been potential with the present expertise on the developer’s disposal.
“With the brand new expertise now we have, we have been capable of type of convey out one of the best of our particular results and character definition within the recreation, particularly through the battle scenes that you simply noticed from the presentation,” he stated. “We even have a boss encounter that can do assaults that can break up the bottom. These sorts of particulars and degree of high quality that now we have for this recreation was one thing that we are able to solely do with the engine expertise that now we have now, and that is what is going to make this entry [of] Onimusha really feel actually particular.”
