Capcom has undergone a formidable interval of rejuvenation over the past decade. The upside of successes with Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Avenue Fighter, and Satan Might Cry is that the developer is now reviving extra legacy franchises for brand spanking new initiatives. One such revival is Onimusha: Approach of the Sword, the upcoming reboot for the samurai action-horror sequence that made Capcom’s first step into the next-gen period of the early 2000s a memorable one.
At Summer season Sport Fest 2025, we acquired an early take a look at the primary gameplay for Approach of the Sword and interviewed sport director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki about their creation, which ended up being probably the most talked about video games from the showcase. Seeing the reboot’s new fight and visible model in motion, we talked about how the newest know-how from Capcom was instrumental in bringing the sequence again to life.
A New Samurai’s Future
“We began serious about this new sport in 2020, and one of many issues that we actually wished was to have a deep deal with extra cinematic and satisfying swordplay for the sequence, and now we have higher know-how to make the most of for this contemporary model of Onimusha,” Nihei stated. “We additionally put lots of effort into the story, the setting, and characters as nicely—we’re constructing one thing totally new for the sequence.”
The unique Onimusha was initially conceived as a PlayStation 1 spin-off for the Resident Evil sequence, aiming to take the survival horror expertise to Sengoku-era Japan. It will definitely turned its personal mission and went on to turn into certainly one of Capcom’s early technical showpieces for the PS2 in 2001. With its trendy fight, sturdy environmental design, and reasonable facial and efficiency seize—that includes actor Takeshi Kaneshiro because the protagonist, Samanosuke Akechi—the unique sport turned one of many PS2’s early breakout hits.
The reboot for Onimusha carries an identical promise of a rousing samurai motion fantasy boasting spectacular character and environmental visuals. Seeing the prolonged demo at SGF, the mission seems to be an worthy showcase for the RE Engine, which has powered current video games like Monster Hunter Wilds, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem.
Within the reboot, the story is centered round historic Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto (modeled after late actor Toshiro Mifune with approval from the Mifune property), who turns into an unwitting proprietor of the Oni gauntlet that grants him the energy to face off in opposition to invading demons and soak up their souls for extra energy. Armed along with his trusty sword, a demonic gauntlet, and a mysterious companion guiding him via Oni-infested Feudal Japan, Miyamoto will tackle harmful monsters and even rival swordsmen who search to stake declare to a rustic in chaos.
There’s a formidable degree of element throughout the design of the setting evident within the demo, which takes place in a crumbling village earlier than transferring in the direction of a citadel overrun. The builders at Capcom labored extensively to recreate Feudal Japan, together with real-world places equivalent to Kiyomizu-dera temple—which was crafted from enter from native historians.
In response to Nihei, one specific space of focus for constructing a brand new Onimusha motion sport was to convey a way of realism and cinematic shine. This was current within the authentic, however the reboot leans into this additional, with the protagonist being each a exceptional and emotive swordsman in addition to a reluctant hero who navigates encounters with a resolve that is nonetheless being hardened.
“By way of the cinematic really feel and the whole lot, we put lots of effort into the facial seize for the characters,” stated the sport director. “We paid lots of consideration to the wrinkles on the faces and totally different options of those characters, like after they scrunch up their faces and emotive particulars, [especially] throughout fight encounters. We actually centered on the animation of fight and character expression, and the several types of terrain within the surroundings that the characters are in.”
RE-defining Samurai action-horror
The fight and common construction of Approach of the Sword go for a extra story-driven development, which is an attention-grabbing departure from the sequence’ Resident Evil roots. The devs acknowledged that it is primarily a linear expertise, however the sport will nonetheless supply alternatives to discover, work together with townspeople, and tackle non-compulsory actions.
Fight is much extra deliberate and methodical with its swordplay than it was in earlier sequence entries. It is much less about utilizing combo assaults to whittle down enemy well being and extra about being environment friendly, cleaving foes in half with one or two strikes. Nonetheless, one factor that the builders had been clear in stating was that the fight was not impressed by Soulslike video games, which have had a big influence on the motion style over the last decade.
“We did not actually take note of different motion video games like Darkish Souls and Sekiro once we had been growing our tackle an Onimusha sport,” the director stated. “What was most vital for us was how we introduced the sequence and its concepts again in a compelling method. What really makes an Onimusha sport, and how are you going to make the most of the newest know-how to convey the attraction and enchantment of the sequence to trendy avid gamers? These questions had been what was most vital for us once we had been constructing the sport.”
The overall move of fight focuses closely on participating a number of enemies and anticipating their actions to reveal their weaknesses. Parrying enemy assaults will open up their protection, permitting you to launch a counterattack. In case you use an Issen approach to strike an enemy proper earlier than their assault hits, you’ll deal an instantaneous dying blow.
Miyamoto can also be a scrappy fighter and may use grabs and contextual expertise to counter enemies. In a single amusing encounter, Miyamoto snatched up a desk to make use of as a defend from enemies firing arrows and instantly tossed it again at them when a gap got here.
Witnessing fight unfold with beautifully designed animations was spectacular—particularly Musahsi’s particular demonic weapons that pierce the veil between realms. Capcom’s RE Engine tech continues to be an incredible showcase for detailed character animations and conveying sheer scope.
In response to Nihei, the crew’s specific imaginative and prescient for Onimusha: Approach of the Sword would solely have been doable with the present know-how on the developer’s disposal.
“With the brand new know-how now we have, we had been capable of type of convey out the very best of our particular results and character definition within the sport, particularly through the battle scenes that you just noticed from the presentation,” he stated. “We even have a boss encounter that can do assaults that can cut up the bottom. These sorts of particulars and degree of high quality that now we have for this sport was one thing that we are able to solely do with the engine know-how that now we have now, and that is what’s going to make this entry [of] Onimusha really feel actually particular.”
