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As expected, The Game Awards was a slick if self-congratulatory affair this year. It was chock full of game reveals and updates, if predictably brisk with the actual award-giving. One of my personal highlights was the announcement of a new game in the Onimusha series, entitled Onimusha: Way of the Sword. I adored this franchise back on the PlayStation 2, and it’s fantastic to see it finally making a proper return. But I can’t help but wonder if a sufficient audience remains for the Japan-set action-adventure series.
A Tale of Samurai and Demons
If you’re not as old as I am, you probably don’t know much about the Onimusha series. The action-adventure franchise takes place in the Sengoku period of feudal Japan, and tells the stories of warriors using supernatural abilities to thwart a demon force known as the Genma. The series began development in 1997, with creator Yoshiki Okamoto’s idea to create a “ninja” version of Resident Evil.
The first game in the series, Onimusha: Warlords, was eventually released in 2001 as a PlayStation 2 title. It had painful tank controls and some bizarrely obtuse puzzles, and I absolutely loved it. For all its foibles, it truly felt like Resident-Evil-in-Feudal-Japan, with creative creature designs, rich atmosphere, and a great villain in Nobunaga Oda.
Three mainline sequels followed, with 2004’s Onimusha 3: Demon Siege a particular high-point in the series. Eschewing the tank controls in favor of, well, something approximating movement, Onimusha 3 also featured time travel shenanigans and the brilliant Jean Reno of Léon: The Professional fame.
A fourth entry – Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams – emerged in 2006. But since then? Not a lot, really. The series pretty much lay dormant until a HD remaster of the original Onimusha Warlords released in 2018 to sadly little fanfare. We’ve spoken before about publishers using remasters to test the waters for potential new entries in a series. Well, based on the Onimusha: Warlords remaster’s reported less than 400,000 sales, it was hard to imagine the series returning.
And yet it is. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming.
Reasons To Be Fearful
According to the announcement trailer, Onimusha: Way of the Sword will release in 2026. That’s fully 20 years after the last mainline entry, Dawn of Dreams. So the niggling question dampening my enthusiasm is whether the franchise can find an audience so long after its heyday.
There are reasons to be optimistic and pessimistic alike. On the negative side, only those of us with at least 30 birthdays on the clock will likely have any experience of the series. Nostalgia plays a big part in securing series’ comebacks. Onimusha is such an old series, and I never hear it mentioned in conversations about the best games of yesteryear, like classics such as Soul Reaver are.
In addition, there’s a lot more competition in the action-adventure genre these days, with the whole Souls sub-genre arising and evolving after the last new Onimusha entry. Modern gamers won’t accept dated control schemes and sub-par voice acting, so Onimusha: Way of the Sword will have to bring itself in line with titles like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. No pressure there, then.
It’s also hard not to grimace at the disappointing Onimusha: Warlords HD Remaster figures. Capcom reportedly planned to remaster Onimusha 2 and Onimusha 3 but decided against it due to Onimusha: Warlords‘ disappointing sales.
Dawn of Dreams?
Despite the HD remaster’s flop, Capcom obviously still sees something in the Onimusha series. So, if they have faith, perhaps so should we. After all, the franchise is actually surprisingly successful. Whilst not a patch on series such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, both of which continue to receive new releases, the Onimusha games have sold a very respectable 8.7 million lifetime units. It isn’t just a franchise with a cult following, it was genuinely successful back in the day.
This is also Capcom we’re talking about who, more than many developers in recent times, are on a roll. As the industry reels, Capcom is investing in talent and producing hit after hit. Who can see Monster Hunter: Wilds being anything other than a runaway success, for example?
But there’s one particularly esoteric Capcom series which gives me the most hope for Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Dragon’s Dogma is a very strange RPG series. The games are as janky as Eurojank and intentionally awkward, but with a unique charm that has captivated millions. The first game is the definition of a cult classic, but sold reasonably well. Dragon’s Dogma 2, however, exceeded even Capcom’s expectations, shifting a remarkable 2.5 million copies in just 11 days. The franchise itself now has 12 million sales. If such an idiosyncratic series as Dragon’s Dogma can do so well, perhaps there is hope for Onimusha.
Oni One Way to Find Out
At the end of the day, there’s only one way to find out whether Onimusha: Way of the Sword will successfully revitalize the long-dormant series. Credit where credit’s due, Capcom are taking a risk by resurrecting the franchise. Frankly, they should be applauded for doing so.
I can only hope that, when it releases in 2026, Capcom gives Onimusha: Way of the Sword the marketing it deserves to get it in front of a new audience. The publisher cannot rely on legacy Onimusha fans, since we’re old and crotchety and struggling to stay afloat.
Ah, just me? Okay then.But in all seriousness, I hope the series stays true to its narrative roots, once again having us fight against the Genma in a supernatural quasi-historical setting. It was a compelling, effortlessly cool setting 20 years ago, and it remains so today.Just give us that, some awesome boss fights and slick sword combat, and we Onimusha fans will be happy. I hope that isn’t too much to ask, Capcom.
