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Onimusha: Way of the Sword balances supernatural demon-slaying action with a fair bit of real-world history, from the identity of protagonist Musashi Miyamoto to the various historical locations the game visits, including Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto. Capcom took extra steps to make sure its depiction of that location in particular was a realistic one.
"We worked with the Kiyomizu-dera temple officials," producer Akihito Kadowaki told GamesRadar+ in an interview at Summer Game Fest. "It was important to us to make sure that we were presenting these real world locations in Kyoto in Japan not just realistically in terms of how they're laid out today, but also thinking back to how they would have looked at the time setting that the game is in."
Kiyomizu-dera Temple is proving to be quite a popular video game location, appearing in recent major titles like Assassin's Creed Shadows and Rise of the Ronin. Both of those games are mostly grounded in historical reality, which perhaps makes it even more notable that Onimusha – a game about fighting supernatural creatures – is going the extra mile for its depiction of the location, even if Capcom is already acknowledging its creative liberties.
"There's a part of me that wants people who play the game, and perhaps they have a chance to visit the real temple in Kyoto, to notice how well we were able to recreate it and spot all the parts that feel just like the game," Kadowaki continued. "But I also think that you'll be able to spot differences in a fun way. Because, of course, to make it a game stage, we have to get a little bit creative in some areas. So I'd like to think that players of Onimusha: Way of the Sword will enjoy comparing the real world location with our work in the game."
Onimusha: Way of the Sword feels like a PS2 throwback in all the best ways based on the hands-off gameplay demo Capcom showed us behind closed doors, giving old-school action a very modern look and feel. Getting to explore historical Japan in between on the oni-slaying is just icing on the cake.
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