ONIMUSHA: WAY OF THE SWORD

Kinetic combat unlike I've ever seen before

- Morgan Park

The most disappointing thing about my demonstration of Onimusha: Way of the Sword is that I didn't play it: Capcom shuffled press into a room to watch a theatre demo of Onimusha. However, Onimusha was played live, and that point was the difference maker in my hype levels for this Samurai slasher.

Without the game being played live, I would have been nowhere near as impressed with the perfectly coordinated fights I witnessed, with a Capcom dev showcasing the swordplay of Miyamoto Musashi, Way of the Sword's protagonist, whose face was modelled after legendary Japanese cinema icon Toshiro Mifune.

Musashi's animations stood out immediately. His swings were measured, playing out much slower than most katana-wielding game heroes while blending smoothly from one slice to the next. His movements were dancelike, emphasising technique while letting every individual attack breathe.