Onimusha: Way of the Sword Preview: So Far, It Has the Juice

I archetypal saw Onimusha: Way of the Sword astatine past year’s Summer Game Fest, but I didn’t get to spell hands-on with it myself until the Tokyo Game Show. It was the champion crippled I played astatine an perfectly stacked show, truthful erstwhile I got different ace astatine it earlier this month, it didn’t disappoint. I’m not rather definite it was the champion crippled I saw astatine SGF this twelvemonth – contention was fierce betwixt this, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Alien Isolation 2, and immoderate that I simply can’t speech astir yet – but it’s easy successful the conversation.

My demo of Onimusha was a two-parter. The archetypal portion was a hands-off presumption wrong a theater. It was awesome and featured a mates of brag battles I privation I’d gotten to play. But an enactment crippled is lone arsenic bully arsenic it feels, truthful I’m going to absorption connected my hands-on demo for this preview. And man, does Onimusha consciousness good.

My demo dropped maine into a ngo called “Careful What You Wish For.” Musashi finds himself astatine Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, which has been overrun by Malice and is present the location to a Genma who is relieving shrinegoers of their burdens successful a alternatively deranged way. The archetypal pistillate I ran into had travel to the shrine due to the fact that she envied what she looked upon. Can’t covet without eyes, right? So there’s your solution. Another antheral came to the shrine hoping to beryllium escaped of the symptom successful his knee. No knee, nary pain. Problem solved. And 2 lovers who wished to beryllium unneurotic everlastingly are turned into surviving dolls. Worst of all, everybody seems beauteous blessed astir each this. Something has to beryllium done, and Musashi is the 1 to bash it. Musashi and Shizuka, the dependable helium hears successful his gauntlet, fig the champion mode to bash this is to marque interaction with the psyche of Yorimasa, an Oni who was revered arsenic a leader successful the mortal realm. But to bash that, they’ll archetypal request the assistance of the Eight Stout Pillars. Problem is, there’s lone 5 of them successful their shrine; the remainder person been scattered astir the shrine by humans bewitched by the Genma. This is wherever my demo truly starts.

Our hero, Musashi, is modeled aft legendary Japanese histrion Toshiro Mifune, who is champion known for his collaborations with Akira Kurosawa.“

Before I get into that, though, I privation to rapidly intermission and speech astir Musashi himself. If you’re not aware, Musashi is modeled aft legendary Japanese histrion Toshiro Mifune, who is champion known for his collaborations with Akira Kurosawa. You know, the feline who directed films similar Seven Samurai, Ran, Kagemusha, The Hidden Fortress, and Yojimbo. Onimusha has a agelong past of utilizing the likenesses of existent actors for its characters (see Jean Reno successful Onimusha 3), but what Capcom has done to seizure Mifune is incredibly impressive. From his facial animations to the mode helium scratches his caput to his iconic enarthrosis shrugs, Capcom has nailed Mifune’s mannerisms and transferred them to Musashi admirably.

Back to my hunt for the missing Three Stout Pillars. Shizuka was determination to usher me, and Way of the Sword has a precise generous “Hey, travel the shiny shot of airy to the objective” happening going connected if you’re truly not into exploring yourself (though you should, due to the fact that the shrine is neat), truthful it wasn’t precisely hard to find my missing chromatic friends.

But the existent motivator present is the combat. Action games person to consciousness good, and Way of the Sword feels amazing. Let’s get thing consecutive retired of the gate: Way of the Sword is not that benignant of enactment game. It’s not Devil May Cry and it’s not Ninja Gaiden. It is not what I would telephone Combo Mad. What it is alternatively is deliberate. It’s got the modular airy attack/heavy onslaught combos that you’d expect from astir non-Combo Mad enactment games, but the instrumentality present is you tin modulation betwixt them seamlessly, and it feels fantastic. What makes Onimusha special, really, is the antiaircraft play. You tin parry astir immoderate onslaught successful Way of the Sword, opening them up to retaliation. If that’s not your bag, you tin deflect attacks, which builds up your foes’ stagger metre (and tin beryllium utilized to deflect projectiles). You’ve besides got your dodge, which is the lone mode to debar grabs, and you mostly get a beauteous sick antagonistic for timing them perfectly (known arsenic a Reflex Dodge). If you’re feeling nasty, though, you tin effort an Issen counter, which requires you to onslaught conscionable earlier your opponent’s onslaught lands.

Time it right, and you’ll execute lesser Genma connected the spot, but clip it incorrect and you’ll get hit, truthful you’ve either gotta cognize what’s coming and beryllium assured successful your reflexes oregon guess, and the second is apt to get you killed if you’re not paying attention. When you’re cooking, Way of the Sword feels incredible. You don’t truly combat enemies truthful overmuch arsenic determination through them, you’re encouraged to marque usage of these antiaircraft techniques.

Chaining unneurotic parries and deflects builds a metre that activates Blazing State, which juices Musashi’s leaf and causes enemies to driblet much bluish souls erstwhile killed. There are 3 kinds of souls: yellowish (health) and reddish (currency), but bluish souls powerfulness your Oni Armaments, almighty weapons that tin wide rooms oregon woody devastating strikes to azygous foes, provided you person capable souls to complaint them up. Chaining Reflex Dodges opens up mighty Reflex Combos to truly laic connected the hurt. And past you person worldly similar Blade Barrages, choreographed sequences erstwhile 2 blades harvester that necessitate you to property the close onslaught to travel retired connected top, oregon Blade Locks, wherever you’ll person to overpower your foe. Way of the Sword gives you a ton of tools to woody with those nasty Genma nevertheless you like, and that’s beauteous rad. If I person 1 ailment astir my clip with it truthful far, it’s that it mightiness beryllium excessively easy. I played connected the harder of the 2 modes we had entree to during my demo, but the lone clip I felt challenged was erstwhile I decided not to usage healing items astatine each and trust strictly connected yellowish souls. Admittedly, I’m a spot of an enactment crippled junkie and this was a demo wherever we had entree to things Musashi wouldn’t person until overmuch aboriginal successful the game, but arsenic idiosyncratic who craves a challenge, I anticipation Onimusha keeps the hits coming.

After I’d rounded up the past of the missing Stout Pillars, it was clip for a showdown with the Genma holding the shrine hostage. His sanction was Rasho-gan. Nasty bugger. When I met him, helium was successful the process of severing a pistillate from her fingers due to the fact that she didn’t privation to play the Shamisen anymore. She, similar each different unfortunate of the shrine, is overjoyed. He tries to sever Musashi’s arm, and astir gets distant with it, but Musashi reminds maine that he’s not getting thing from him earlier the combat starts. Rasho-gan’s a large fight; helium tested my mastery of Musashi’s antiaircraft techniques. The instrumentality was not committing excessively overmuch to attacking and letting him travel to me. It felt a small excessively casual astatine first, which of people was erstwhile a 2nd wellness barroom appeared. He had immoderate caller tricks – astatine 1 constituent helium was dropping parts of the shrine connected maine similar I was the Wicked Witch of the East – but the extremity was the same. Hit those parries and deflects and Issens, currency successful for large harm erstwhile I could, and debar overcommitting. I managed a reasonably comfy but contested triumph the archetypal time, but I bushed my demo with clip to spare, truthful erstwhile I was asked if I’d similar to bash the combat again, I jumped astatine the chance. The 2nd time, helium hardly touched me. Onimusha had fto maine show mastery, and I loved it for that.

Often, you permission a demo satisfied. But sometimes, you enactment down your controller with different thought successful mind: “Yeah, I could support going.” If Capcom had fto me, I would person played Onimusha: Way of the Sword each day. But the ride’s gotta extremity sometime, and I was blessed with what I did get to see. Plus, I got to combat the brag twice. That rules. If Way of the Sword manages to support the prime of the 2 demos I’ve played for its afloat release, Capcom volition person yet different deed successful what seems similar an endless drawstring connected their hands. Just… bash maine a favor, yeah? I request a higher trouble to fulfill my degeneracy. It’s a disease, and there’s lone 1 cure. Besides, Musashi wouldn’t caput the further challenge, either.

Will Borger is an IGN freelancer. You tin find him connected Bluesky @edgarallanbro.