A game for those who truly wish to master the blade.
Miyamoto Musashi, the legend goes, had his first duel at age 13, bludgeoning a grown-ass samurai to death with a stick. Over the next several decades he killed dozens more men in duels, fought in several large-scale battles, and wrote a book about swordfighting that may or may not be entirely honest about his many victories. Even if half of it’s bullshit, I don’t think anyone in history could more truthfully look someone in the eye and tell them that while they were partying, he was studying the blade.
The same goes for Capcom’s new Onimusha: Way of the Sword, an action game that seems to be aiming for authenticity down to the hilt. First up is using the likeness of legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, who played Musashi in four samurai films in the 1950s. Second is the way that it slows combat back to human speed at a time when most action games are going faster and flashier, making just a couple deliberate swings enough to cut an enemy down.
When Morgan saw a hands-off demo of Onimusha at Summer Game Fest in June, he said it was the highlight of the show. Now that I’ve put my hands on it alongside Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem, I can say that it’s easily the most exciting game Capcom’s got coming out next year.
Despite a magical gauntlet that lets him suck up the souls of fallen enemies, Musashi largely moves like a human instead of a videogame hero. He’s not dishing out lightning fast seven hit combo chains, teleporting behind a boss’s back after a parry, or launching enemies into air juggles, at least not in the demo I played (I wouldn’t be surprised if some later gauntlet powers lean into superpower territory).
