At the outset of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Miyamoto Musashi is fixated on freeing himself from the Oni Gauntlet. This mystical artifact, through a strange twist of fate, has become bound to our hero. But the stubborn young samurai doesn’t want the gauntlet’s powers. Musashi’s sole desire is to prove himself by his hands alone. However, as the journey unfolds, Musashi’s views gradually shift and expand. He begins to embrace the path he’s found himself on, becoming more open to his new place in the world.
The action game starts to open up after the early moments. Missions with tighter scopes flow into a wider location that offers new challenges to overcome and more room to explore our growing arsenal of abilities.
This final gameplay preview picks up right where the Onimusha: Way of the Sword Demo leaves off. After Musashi duels rival swordsman Sasaki Ganryu on the stage of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, he’s transported to an otherworldly dimension, the “Oni Refuge.” It’s a surreal landscape where gravity is a suggestion. Islands float in the sky, and we conjure ruins from thin air.
Then the Genma barge in. Invading from the depths of hell, these demons clash with the sacred scenery, but they’ll soon meet Musashi’s blade. We swiftly cut them to shreds. When our katana connects with Genma, they’re carved apart at the angles our sword travels through their twisted forms. We call it dynamic dismemberment. This system splits them in two across the torso, hacks them from head to toe, and… well, you get the picture.
Before long, Musashi plucks an Oni Bow from the wreckage of this realm. Finally, we can return fire against Genma archers. The bow also allows us to solve environmental puzzles that require range. Our arrows can trigger traps, too. Eventually, they’ll even come in handy during a duel, severing a boss from its power source, once Musashi returns to Kyoto.
After excising the Genma from the Oni Refuge, the clouds of Malice looming above Kyoto begin to lift. Yet darkness still lingers here. Our next stop in Japan’s ancient capital is Rokudo Chinno-ji Temple. It’s one of many real-life locations in the game. Legends say it exists at the crossroads between our world and the gates of hell. For Musashi and his allies, this sanctuary becomes home. It’s their base of operations in the fight to save the city.
Kyoto is a vast location far larger than anywhere we’ve seen in the game. However, our ability to wander and explore its streets has bounds at the moment. Hellish structures erupt from the earth and a toxic fog sweeps through town, forming blockades that imprison any locals who haven’t yet fled the demonic corruption.
Our quest to liberate Kyoto begins by sealing rifts where Genma manifest in our dimension. These creatures spawn in all shapes and sizes, but Musashi slays them and absorbs their souls all the same. We’ll make use of these. Alongside treasures we discover, souls help us upgrade gear and unlock new abilities to face what awaits on the path ahead.
This trail eventually leads to Kiyomizu-zaka slope, a pilgrim road that climbs up the hillside to the temple where we started this journey. Here lies the key to unlocking much of Kyoto. But to even enter this place we must first face some truly formidable foes.
Back in the Oni Refuge, we had a run-in with Daidara, a towering Genma with a hulking frame and bottomless appetite. The gluttonous giant’s hunger even extends to devouring our hard-earned souls. We’re forced to make tactical decisions in the heat of battle about when to absorb souls, or risk losing them to Daidara’s ravenous maw.
This isn’t the only Genma after something of ours. Another offers to free Musashi from his gauntlet… at the cost of his entire arm. Our hero considers this deal, if only for a moment. Though Musashi has warmed up to his Oni Gauntlet, he still hopes to remove it.
It’s a wish Rasho-gan is only too glad to grant. This multi-armed monster has been posing as a deity at Yasui Konpiragu Shrine. Here, he fulfills worshipers’ desires in the worst possible ways. Constructed from the body parts of his victims (like the leg of a man who longed to be rid of knee pain), Rasho-gan wields his extra limbs to throw everything he has at us, including uprooting trees, boulders, and even entire buildings to crush Musashi.
Escaping Rasho-gan’s clutches with our lives drives us to make full use of the game’s deep arsenal of combat techniques. For our efforts, the shrine guardians reward us with Oni Strength. Musashi accepts this new power, and we can now tear down the demonic barriers around Kyoto. Now it’s time to take down the source of the toxic fog choking the city.
This life-sapping mist emerges from eerie plants, and it clears when we chop them down. However, Byakue stands in the way of our gardening. Before we can fell the final tree, this animalistic Genma charges in. As we brawl, the brute gets coated in its own blood and grows wilder. Skill alone may allow Musashi to outlast this creature, but another strategy proves wise. Delivering fewer but more devastating blows soon tames the beast.
After completing the mission, the evil haze over much of Kyoto clears. The townsfolk come out and rejoice. Now, more of the city is open for us to explore. This is just the start of our action-packed adventure. It’s one that players can look forward to experiencing for themselves when Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches for PlayStation 5 on September 4. Pre-orders for the game are available now at PlayStation Store.