00:00Have you ever hosted a big party and been so worried about having enough to eat and drink that
00:04at the end of the night you're out like a thousand bucks and wind up with a fridge crammed full
00:07of
00:08leftover beer and charcuterie? That might have been going through the minds of Capcom when they
00:12made their first new Onimusha in 20 years because I spent nearly 40 hours slicing and parrying my
00:18way through this samurai action game for review. The combat is sublime but I could have done without
00:22some of the same bosses being reheated from the fridge the second or third time around.
00:26Onimusha Way of the Sword stars legendary actor Toshiro Mufune as legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi,
00:32summoning a magical gauntlet to defend Kyoto from an invading army of demons. It's an act of digital
00:38necromancy that could feel pretty icky if it wasn't handled so deftly. I loved the lavishly animated
00:44cutscenes in this game. Musashi is brash, fiery, and incredibly expressive contorting his face in
00:50ways that reminded me of the real man. They got me hyped for every showdown with a massive boss
00:55and the game ends up feeling like a true homage to the best actor to ever pick up a katana.
01:00And the sword fights in Onimusha are more exhilarating than they ever were in Mufune's
01:04films. Sekiro is now in good company for a feudal Japanese game with stunning bosses and a whole lot
01:09of parrying. And what Onimusha does differently is really embrace the physicality of the fight.
01:14You feel the weight of an enemy's blade when you redirect them and send them stumbling into a wall.
01:18The game toys with the idea of making these physics interactions its primary focus with the ability
01:23to send enemies careening into each other, but it never really commits, with boss fights mostly
01:29falling back on more straightforward, get good tests of patience and timing. The design and art
01:34direction behind these bosses is phenomenal across the board, but it does repeat some of them a few
01:39too many times. And the hub world of Kyoto is unfortunately a bit drab and peppered with crafting
01:45materials to run around and pick up, padding out the runtime. A shorter, more linear Onimusha with
01:50less time spent picking up iron and cotton to upgrade my sword and armor would have truly been
01:54all killer, no filler. But honestly, even with the filler, it's going to be a strong contender for the
01:59best combat of the year. Follow PC Gamer for more news, reviews, and previews like this.
