Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
Upcoming PS5 games for 2026 showing Lucia from GTA 6, Wolverine from Marvel's Wolverine, Arjun from Saros, and Grace from Resident Evil Requiem
Adventure Games Upcoming PS5 games: New PS5 games for 2026 and beyond
Best Ps5 games
Games Best PS5 games: The 25 greatest PlayStation 5 games in 2026, ranked
Up close shot of a character from Echoes of Aincrad
Action RPGs New Bandai Namco Sword Art Online action RPG is "not a Soulslike," dev says, but it's still "very easy to die"
A close-up shot of Pinhead from Hellraiser
Horror Games Upcoming horror games for 2026 and beyond
Upcoming PC games for 2026 showing Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem, marines in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4, Coen in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and a woman's face in Control Resonant
PC Gaming Upcoming PC games: New PC games for 2026 and beyond
Key art for Control Resonant showing Dylan with The Aberrant in its axe form standing on a ruined taxi as he faces shadowy figures across a twisted Manhattan
Action RPGs Control Resonant trades shooting for a shapeshifting sword because "melee is cool", its creative director tells me
A close-up of Leon, frowning in a big black coat, in Resident Evil Requiem
Horror Games The 25 best horror games worth playing in 2026
Resident Evil 4 Remake screenshot of Leon holding a pistol
Horror Games 10 games like Resident Evil to scare you silly in 2026
Two-headed dragon spewing fire in Sword Hero
RPGs Solo dev's Kickstarter proves there's a huge appetite for open-world RPGs inspired by early '00s classics like Gothic
Key art for Zero Parades: For Dead Spies showing Cascade in a red jacket against a backdrop of grey faces
RPGs Zero Parades proves itself a worthy Disco Elysium successor in this free Steam demo, and I shouldn't have doubted it
Best action games - God of War screenshot of Kratos facing off with a giant white dragon, holding a human head in one hand
Action Games The 25 Best Action Games to Play in 2026
Elden Ring
Games The 10 best FromSoftware games for those craving crushing defeats
Ghost of Yotei Legends
Open World Games "Mark my words. You cannot win without 4 players," Ghost of Yotei multiplayer lead warns of Legends' "hardcore content"
Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly 2 remake screenshot showing protagonist twins Mio and Mayu Amakura who both have shoulder length dark hair
Fatal Frame It was niche and nearly forgotten, but horror fans begged devs for a Fatal Frame 2 remake and got it
In a first person view a character wields a knife and sword while facing a skeleton.
Action RPGs King's Field-inspired fantasy action RPG gets 50,000 wishlists in one week
  1. Games
  2. Action Games

This PS1-style action horror game went straight on my Steam wishlist when I saw a ghostly samurai come out to parry the boss instead of just a dodge roll

News
By Issy van der Velde published 27 December 2024

Oh yeah, it's got the sauce

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

a person with a pistol is possesed by a sword-weilding samurai
(Image credit: Its Got Stealth)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

I love Sekiro for making everyone hungry for parrying, and this PS1-style action horror game has it in spades.

Samurai Unicorn is an upcoming game that combines elements of Resident Evil, Sekiro, and Shadow of Mordor. In a clip posted to Twitter, we see the protagonist shoot a creature with a pistol. Fairly normal stuff. That is, until the creature goes in for an attack and a sword-wielding ghost erupts from the main character and parries the blow away. It's amazing.

I can't prove it, but it feels like since Sekrio came out more and more games are focused on parrying and rhythmic combat over just dodge rolling. There's a game coming out that lets you parry nukes and even the ground itself.

You may like
  • Phantom Blade Zero Game Awards trailer Phantom Blade Zero devs want their kung-fu game to shake up the action genre, and I'm already spellbound
  • Samurai Miyamoto Musashi raises his sword to guard in key art for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, with enemies in a montage behind him - with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 "What we wanted to depict was the figure of a young, rough-edged Musashi": Onimusha: Way of the Sword's protagonist melds a historical figure with a cinematic legend
  • Key art for Nioh 3, showing the hero standing on a rocky cliff outcrop with sword in hand surrounded by spider lilies, while looking ahead at a feudal Japan castle covered in a red energy from the sky, dark growths overtaking the nearby landscape, with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame Nioh 3 is already locked in as my favorite Soulslike of 2026, feeling like Team Ninja's response to Elden Ring with its open exploration and intense yokai clashes

another horror faux PS1 game? looks good, but-*a ghostly samurai comes out to parry the boss instead of just a dodge roll*....huh https://t.co/7BOPGAgyh3December 2, 2024

Of course, the Shadow of Mordor influence is clear in Samurai Unicorn, too. A ghostly apparition aiding you in combat is the main fighting mechanic of that game, and it works brilliantly.

Samurai Unicorn has a sci-fi setting, taking place within "the sprawling megacity of Sydney3," so I'm not sure why there's a samurai ghost, but hey, it looks awesome so I'm happy to go along with it. This is a video game and cool, weird things can happen in video games. "This is authentic PS1 weird," tweets uckema.

People on Twitter seem equally as impressed/confused too. "another horror faux PS1 game? looks good, but- *a ghostly samurai comes out to parry the boss instead of just a dodge roll* ....huh," writes SSStylishHuntr.

While you're here, check out our list of all the video game release dates for 2025 and beyond.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Platforms
Issy van der Velde
Issy van der Velde
Social Links Navigation
Contributor

I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

Read more
Phantom Blade Zero Game Awards trailer
Phantom Blade Zero devs want their kung-fu game to shake up the action genre, and I'm already spellbound
 
 
Samurai Miyamoto Musashi raises his sword to guard in key art for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, with enemies in a montage behind him - with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026
"What we wanted to depict was the figure of a young, rough-edged Musashi": Onimusha: Way of the Sword's protagonist melds a historical figure with a cinematic legend
 
 
Key art for Nioh 3, showing the hero standing on a rocky cliff outcrop with sword in hand surrounded by spider lilies, while looking ahead at a feudal Japan castle covered in a red energy from the sky, dark growths overtaking the nearby landscape, with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame
Nioh 3 is already locked in as my favorite Soulslike of 2026, feeling like Team Ninja's response to Elden Ring with its open exploration and intense yokai clashes
 
 
Vital Shell
The highest-rated new Steam game of 2026 is a $6 fantasy mech shooter that feels like a PS1 nod to Armored Core
 
 
A screenshot shows a young woman holding out a blue pouch
With potential to be the next Black Myth: Wukong breakout, Phantom Blade Zero gets September 2026 release date
 
 
Key art for No Vacation for an Executioner showing the Executioner, gun in hand, against a shadowy background - cropped for a header image
What if Bloodborne was on PS2? This horror is so old school even the dev insists you try the free Steam Next Fest demo
 
 
Latest in Action Games
Kratos approaches Aphrodite's bedchamber in God of War 3
"The God of War sex mini-games were designed by women," which is why Aphrodite's bed looks "like a labia"
 
 
GTA 6
Some of GTA 6's big ideas are likely hiding in GTA 5, ex-Rockstar dev predicts – and you can look at GTA 4 to see why
 
 
Screenshot from Ratcheteer DX, showing a GBC-style cave with four pixelated characters finding warmth around a fire.
The Legend of Zelda-esque game mimics the GameBoy to GameBoy Color transition, goes from retro handheld to PC and Switch
 
 
Musashi examines the oni gauntlet with a confused expression in Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Not content with stopping the avalanche of AAA games Capcom teases even more unannounced games before April 2027
 
 
A crop of the MindsEye key art for a review header
"Overwhelming evidence of organized espionage": MindsEye CEO blames launch on "corporate sabotage" amid more layoffs
 
 
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse "is not a roguelike or roguelite game" despite the developer's Dead Cells heritage
 
 
Latest in News
Battlefield 6
Battlefield 6 designers say developers have a "responsibility" to make games intuitive
 
 
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Gustave winces
"The first track spoils the whole game": Clair Obscur Expedition 33 dev confirms it was filling your ears with spoilers
 
 
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead Gustave faces a gommage
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 took inspiration from a surprising anime - Soul Eater creator's Fire Force
 
 
A close-up of Grace talking with someone through glass in Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem leads let actors re-do "technically" perfect scenes if it made them happy, says Grace actor
 
 
Alan Ritchson in Reacher season 3
Reacher star Alan Ritchson says season 4 is coming this year: "It's by far the best season we've had yet"
 
 
Spider-Noir aiming his webshooter
Spider-Noir is the "same character, different version": "It's not a continuation of Into The Spider-Verse"
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Gustave winces
    1
    "The first track spoils the whole game": Clair Obscur Expedition 33 devs confirm they were filling your ears with spoilers the entire time
  2. 2
    The Super Mario Galaxy Movie reveals Donald Glover as the voice of Yoshi and more new casting in a star-spanning trailer that sends the entire Mushroom Kingdom to another planet
  3. 3
    Reacher star Alan Ritchson says season 4 is coming this year: "It's by far the best season we've had yet"
  4. 4
    Clair Obscur Expedition 33 took inspiration from a surprising anime - Soul Eater creator's Fire Force: "Because it was a JRPG, we tried to find a mix"
  5. 5
    "The God of War sex mini-games were designed by women," former Sony Santa Monica writer says, which is why Aphrodite's bed looks "like a labia"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...