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From Resident Evil Requiem to Pragmata, Capcom has been having a banner year of delivering top-tier games that have been well-received by fans and critics alike. Now Capcom is looking to extend this trend with its next major title of the year, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, out this September for all major modern gaming platforms and the first brand-new title in the franchise in 20 years. While attending Summer Game Fest 2026, we got to play a new build of Way of the Sword three months ahead of the game’s launch and speak to director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki.
This hands-on experience came shortly after Capcom released the public demo for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, which mirrored versions of the build that we saw and played at Summer Game Fest and Tokyo Game Show last year. The SGF 2026 build provided a much more extensive look at how the final game is shaping up, with a wide linear stage that let us explore this haunted vision of Kyoto as samurai Musashi Miyamoto, defeating enemies and discovering relics that helped him continue his quest. Last year’s build was one of the best-looking games at SGF 2025 and this year’s SGF build maintains that detailed visual fidelity and fast-paced swordplay.
This hands-on build culminated in a fierce boss battle against a hulking monster Rasho-gan, where we got to use combat mechanics, like the Break Issen technique allowing us to cleave through our opponents guard and inflict massive damage. Parrying and dodging incoming attacks required attention to timing but the difficulty wasn’t nearly as unforgivable as a soulslike title like Elden Ring or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, by design to make the experience fun and challenging, but still accessible. For the developers, it was important to reflect and recognize how action games have evolved since 2006’s Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, while retaining the core elements, both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay, from the series.
“It’s been a long time since the last Onimusha game and the action genre has changed,” observes Nihei. “We really wanted to focus on something that would appeal to fans, with that classic feel, but that would also appeal to a new audience as well. We wanted to make this not just a new game in the Onimusha series but for the action game genre overall. To help it stand out and keep the core elements of the series, the Issen mechanic and soul absorption give it that Onimusha feel. But we’re also introducing things like clashing blades, a parry mechanic, and the new blade system.”
With players worldwide trying out Way of the Sword for themselves in the first public demo since the game was announced in December 2024 at The Game Awards. In reviewing player feedback, Capcom has noticed fans are enjoying the game’s combat system well, particularly its parrying and deflecting mechanics. Capcom has also taken note that some players feel the demo is much easier than fans were anticipating, especially compared to more difficult action titles, with Capcom noting that this early build was to make the demo more accessible to casual players than the final game itself.
“The demo is taken from a very early portion of the game and the demo has been custom-made,” explains Kadowaki. “We wanted to introduce all of Musashi’s abilities within the demo. There are actually abilities in the demo that you don’t get until much later in the game. When the real game comes out, those elements will be introduced gradually once you play through the game with more progressive care and provide more of a challenge to people who are core action game players.”
Reportedly in development since early 2020, Onimusha: Way of the Sword is finally poised to revive the long-dormant Capcom franchise for a new generation while providing fresh thrills to returning players. Kadowaki notes that much of the development time has been spent revamping and refining the game’s combat system and that’s what he’s most excited for players to experience for themselves when the final version of the game finally comes out. Having seen and played multiple early builds of the game for the better part of the past 12 months, I can confirm that, on top of the cinematic presentation, the precise combat is a clear highlight for Way of the Sword, something that Capcom put a lot of time and energy into.
“There was a lot of trial and error that went into making the system for this. Players can experience that in the demo and a lot of people have been enjoying that. I’m also excited for people to get their hands on the real game,” adds Nihei with one last tease. “There are a lot of really exciting bosses because that’s when the combat really feels like it’s coming alive.”
Developed and published by Capcom, Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches September 4 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
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