I worried Onimusha: Way of the Sword would be too easy, then got my ass beat by a many-limbed demon

I loved the Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo that launched this summer. The way every sword clash feels decisive, the careful dissection of gruesome demons, the last-second dodges to afterimage behind an enemy before a brutal finisher. But, I have to admit, I was a bit worried that this opening to Capcom's revival of the Japanese hack and slash was perhaps a little too easy, not giving me enough pushback to feel the sweat on my DualSense-shaped sword grip. It's rare I ever feel this way, but I wasn't the only one. Now, playing about 3 hours past the point of the demo in an extended hands-on, I've never been happier to get my ass thoroughly trounced.

One of gaming's strengths as a medium is when it can offer up a nemesis – and the satisfaction that comes from using your own skill to work your way up from inferior to an equal, testing your mettle against machine code. Vanquishing Malenia in Elden Ring. Mastering the Last Judge in Hollow Knight Silksong. Finally beating the Death Egg Zone in Sonic 2. Onimusha: Way of the Sword could have some of the best sword combat in gaming – it very well might – but without a reason to put my ability to the test, I was worried it'd be tough to appreciate. Then, a weird demon covered in dismembered fingers with multiple-limbs picked me up and Star Platinumed my body across a shrine with a barrage of punches. At least eight times. It can feel good to be humbled.

Devil in the details

The many-limbed demon in question who gives me a hard time is called Rasho-gan, a Genma. Led by Yoshitsune, these chaos demons are taking over and spilling out of the depths of Hell as they overwhelm the Oni who reside there. Even powerful Oni have had to flee, sealed within gauntlets bestowed upon powerful humans, compelling their wielders to strike down and absorb soul energy from the invading corrupted forces in order to restore their power.

Our hero Musashi Miyamoto, a real-life historical master swordsman (and dubbed a sword saint, much like Sekiro's own Isshin Ashina), is among those to receive a gauntlet. This subversive depiction of Musashi – using deceased actor Toshiro Mifune's likeness – is tempered by his being a bit of a cheeky goofball. Yet, though clearly perturbed by the emergence of literal demons he has no choice but to fight, he's still a dab hand in a fight. He only gets better over the course of my hours playing Onimusha's opening, gaining upgrades across story moments and through shrine-checkpoint upgrade menus alike.

Operating out of Kyoto, the city and its surroundings have been corrupted by malice – chunks of otherworldly matter encrusting buildings and jutting out of rooftops. While the beginning of my hands-on has me battling through a linear level, my return to Kyoto shifts me to dashing about the city trying to keep evil forces at bay with quests I can seemingly tackle in different orders. Some of these sidequests are a little rote. Random civilians run by, chased by Genma foot soldiers, and saving them rewards me with a basic item. Others see me having to dispel and absorb spheres of corruption by fending off a few waves of enemies. As more of Kyoto is saved, the explorable area expands, and citizens may request additional sidequest assistance (though my time playing comes to an end just as this begins to open up).

Early Kyoto had me a bit nervous that I'd be spending too much time running back and forth doing boring fetch quests while smushing weak demons, especially as it kicks off with a smattering of tutorialization as I dispel the aforementioned orbs. Even the introduction to the quest that sees me facing off against Rasho-gan has me darting through alleys and buildings to track down three missing stone statues – not exactly the pulse-pounding demon battling I was expecting. It's why the prospect of getting shredded by a boss battle excites me so much.

Rasho-gan has taken refuge in a Kyoto shrine – an eerily pretty, flowering location amid the otherwise stricken city – purporting to help visitors sever their cursed fates. All too literally, with semi-ironic solutions to their problems. One lady, tired of being forced to practice music, simply has her fingers severed, and she's even bizarrely overjoyed at the solution. With the statues restored, the creature's sights shift to Musashi, whose desire to be rid of the gauntlet on his arm prompts Rasho-gan to try to lop the limb off wholesale to add to his collection.

Cue the boss battle that had me shaking my head solemnly with each defeat, in a room filled with fellow players doing much the same. But, there's no frustration here – just the feeling that all the moves I've been taught to this point are finally beginning to come together into a cohesive whole. Musashi's detailed swordplay really begins to come together in this boss battle for me, switching up from the power fantasy of dispatching Genma fodder to requiring mastery of that power to survive.

Comparisons could be made to the likes of Sekiro or Nioh 3, where katana play likewise revolves around nailbiting parries and deflections, the shape of steel whooshing through the air just as important as the movement of the character clutching them. But, Onimusha: Way of the Sword's combat is just as much an evolution of the original game back on PS2, where battles were just as swift and decisive.

Momentum can be a big factor in success. Sure, you can chew on a healing item (which, without being upgraded, is a small help). But merely conceding ground to do so can be just as brutal as being sliced open, allowing a boss to restore their break meter or gain their own advantage with a new barrage of attacks. If I stop to heal too many times, the fight is over before it's really begun.

Which doesn't mean you can't set your own pace. Some of my best attempts to defeat Rasho-gan come both from diving in with an onslaught of my own, completing forgoing healing and refusing to let up; and from circling him slowly and enforcing my own control, focusing on responding and countering his attacks to make him vulnerable before unleashing light and heavy attacks. My only victory comes from mixing together those approaches, learning when to push in, when to lean back – but always paying attention to the steps of the dance. Much like the push-pull of a fighting game, it's all in the footwork. And, of course, executing counter-grabs – Rasho-gan's devastating blue-glow throw can only be avoided with a well-timed evade, causing Musashi to deliver a devastating reversal which feels great to nail (and horrible to fail).

Pondering the orb

There's a tremendous sense of physicality to Musashi's parries, deflections, and blade clashes – and it makes Onimusha: Way of the Sword one of few games where the distinction between these types of counters feels additive rather than overly complex.

Parries have trickier timing, and allow Musashi to reposition an enemy, opening them up for strikes in response as he leaves them off balance. Deflections, on the other hand, bounce enemies back, dealing break damage that can add up to making them vulnerable over time, but otherwise allow enemies to bounce back and continue their attack (and yes, you can deflect arrows and other projectiles). Clashes, meanwhile, arise from swinging your sword at the exact same time as an enemy, giving you both an opportunity to respond with a light or heavy attack – answer with the opposite from your foe, and you cut into them, meaning sometimes offense can become a solid defense. It's a dynamic system that's core to Onimusha's series identity, and feels much evolved here.

Staying on top of countering also charges Musashi's blaze meter, amping up damage to the extent that they can become vital to these decisive duels. Likewise, the gauntlet doesn't just suck up souls to be used as upgrade currency. Different orbs scatter during every major blow in battle, and can be sucked up with a squeeze of the trigger during any defensive posture.

Bank blue orbs, and you can unleash a powerful special attack with one of several demon weapons. A flurry of slashes from my twin daggers, for instance, doesn't just deal damage, but guarantees yellow orbs will spill out of enemies, which in turn can be absorbed to restore health. Pushing the attack at the right time means you can still heal without even having to stop to gobble items. Wait too long, though, and enemies can absorb them as well – and Musashi will scatter some of his own while taking hits.

Crucially, each death against Rasho-gan gives me the option to either retry right away, or to go back to a checkpoint to consider my upgrades. This battle gets tough, but never feels overly punishing to the point I want to put down the controller. Being forced to learn the game properly and put myself to the test is exhilarating. Notably, there's an easier mode as well, and various gameplay tweaks that can make fights friendlier, such as how often button prompts will nudge you towards how to respond.

Other boss fights throughout my hands-on session give me less trouble. But the next foe, a paper talisman-covered brute, fought after navigating a gauntlet of poison-gas-spewing flowers, challenges me in different ways. Sequences of heavy strikes force me to dodge out of the way at the last second to push my advantage. By this point, thanks to Rasho-gan, I can finally see the flow of the battle in front of me, and joyously take it by the horns.

If Onimusha: Way of the Sword can keep that up, it might offer some of the finest swordplay in gaming to date – and I shouldn't have expected less from the samurai series. Just, don't get too cocky when you play the demo. It's been humbling.

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