Capcom has undergone a formidable interval of rejuvenation over the past decade. The upside of successes with Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Road Fighter, and Satan Could Cry is that the developer is now reviving extra legacy franchises for brand new tasks. One such revival is Onimusha: Means of the Swordthe 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 Sport Fest 2025, we bought an early take a look at the primary gameplay for Means 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 type in motion, we talked about how the most recent know-how from Capcom was instrumental in bringing the sequence again to life.
A New Samurai’s Future
“We began occupied with this new recreation in 2020, and one of many issues that we actually needed was to have a deep give attention to extra cinematic and satisfying swordplay for the sequence, and now we have higher know-how to make the most of for this contemporary model of Onimusha,” Nihei mentioned. “We additionally put numerous effort into the story, the setting, and characters as effectively—we’re constructing one thing completely 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 venture and went on to turn out to be one among Capcom’s early technical showpieces for the PS2 in 2001. With its trendy 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 venture seems to be an worthy showcase for the RE Engine, which has powered latest video games like Monster Hunter Wilds, Dragon’s Dogma 2and 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 in their souls for extra energy. Armed together 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 stage of element inside the design of the setting evident within the demo, which takes place in a crumbling village earlier than shifting in direction of a fort overrun. The builders at Capcom labored extensively to recreate Feudal Japan, together with real-world areas reminiscent of Kiyomizu-dera temple—which was crafted from enter from native historians.
In response to 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 exceptional 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 the whole lot, we put numerous effort into the facial seize for the characters,” mentioned the sport director. “We paid numerous consideration to the wrinkles on the faces and completely different options of those characters, like after they scrunch up their faces and emotive particulars, (particularly) throughout fight encounters. We actually centered 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 common construction of Means 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 supply alternatives to discover, work together with townspeople, and tackle non-compulsory 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 big impression on the motion style over the last decade.
“We did not actually take note of different motion video games like Darkish Souls and Ax once we have been creating our tackle an Onimusha recreation,” the director mentioned. “What was most essential for us was how we introduced the sequence and its concepts again in a compelling method. What actually makes an Onimusha recreation, and how will you make the most of the most recent know-how to convey the attraction and enchantment of the sequence to fashionable 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 partaking a number of enemies and anticipating their actions to reveal their weaknesses. Parrying enemy assaults will open up their protection, permitting you to launch a counterattack. In case you use an Issen method to strike an enemy proper earlier than their assault hits, you’ll deal an immediate dying blow.
Miyamoto can also be a scrappy fighter and might use grabs and contextual abilities 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 response to Nihei, the group’s explicit imaginative and prescient for Onimusha: Means of the Sword would solely have been doable with the present know-how on the developer’s disposal.
“With the brand new know-how now we have, we have been in a position to form of convey out the perfect of our particular results and character definition within the recreation, particularly through the battle scenes that you simply noticed from the presentation,” he mentioned. “We even have a boss encounter that may do assaults that may cut up the bottom. These sorts of particulars and stage of high quality that now we have for this recreation was one thing that we will solely do with the engine know-how that now we have now, and that is what is going to make this entry (of) Onimusha really feel actually particular.”
