Onimusha: Way of the Sword Demo Impressions

The June 3, 2026 State of Play has concluded, and one of the big reveals was not only the release date for Capcom's Onimusha: Way of the Sword (September 25, 2026), but they also dropped a playable demo on the PlayStation 5, and that's pretty much the first thing I did the moment the show was over. Here are my thoughts.

Timing is everything

The demo was short but sweet, showing that it's not a flashy action adventure where you chain multiple hits like in Devil May Cry, or even a grounded methodical one seen in Soulslikes. What we have is a game with simple button inputs that reward careful timing.

Almost everything in combat requires precision to be good at the game, as deflecting, parrying, and dodging all reward players with counters and opportunities. The nice addition is blade clashing, where an enemy's attack and your attack connect and trigger a clash that requires you to quickly do a follow-up attack. Do the same attack input again and you could lose. To win a clash, you need to press the other attack input. This addition prevented me from spamming attacks and kept me on my toes.

The demo was pretty much focused on the feel of the gameplay, as any form of upgrades or progression was locked out. All I could do was look at the in-game map or fiddle with the game’s settings. The demo only gives you access to a narrow location with normal fodder and a few yokai enemies that were slightly tougher than the grunts you meet in the first few minutes.

The real challenge was the boss at the very end.

Bosses can go hard

Well, not entirely a challenge. It was done before I could really get things going, but I did die on my first attempt since I was trying to force different openings through parrying, blocking, or dodging. It's not overly challenging to rival soulslike difficulty, but fun enough to come across as a spectacle rather than a wall you bash your head against for hours. It felt intentionally over-tuned: both the boss and I were dealing chunky damage to each other, making the fight end faster than you'd normally expect from what felt like a significant encounter. But then, this wasn't a monstrous yokai to overcome, it’s a clash between two Onimushas wielding similar gauntlets that grant them supernatural abilities, and they knew each other.

It's a big tease of how boss fights in Way of the Sword can go, as it ends abruptly with a "Thanks for Playing" splash screen and a note that pre-orders are now available.

Nothing too outrageous as based on free demos from Capcom in the past, they tend to be this short, but it felt effective, as it clearly distinguishes the type of combat you can expect from this game. With action RPGs everywhere thanks to the success of Dark Souls and its descendants, releasing a demo that focuses squarely on that and nothing else is a win.

Another clear win for me was Musashi himself. Despite spending only a short time with the guy, he showed a lot of facial animation as he was expressing annoyance, confusion, frustration through face and body language. This added to my excitement for the game, which was also built on Capcom's in-house RE Engine, what I believe is one of the best engines in the industry thanks to its flexibility and optimization (minus Monster Hunter Wilds on PC).

I'm left impressed and eager to know and play more. With how good Pragmata and Resident Evil: Requiem are, this gave me the confidence that 2026 could very well be Capcom's best year in a long time. If Way of the Sword comes out great, the company will have nailed delivering a new IP, a once-dormant one, and a mainline entry in a beloved series during a single year. That's a hat trick that could happen this September.

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About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.