Onimusha returns after 20 years with Musashi, sword duels and a free demo

Musashi leads the return to Kyoto

Onimusha: Way of the Sword launched on September 4 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, three weeks earlier than initially planned. It arrives twenty years after Dawn of Dreams, the last main instalment of the PS2 era. Capcom has released a free demo to try its combat before buying.

Capcom has not chosen another fictional samurai to open the door. Its protagonist is Miyamoto Musashi, bearing Toshiro Mifune's likeness, and its city is an Edo-period Kyoto twisted by Malice. Genma stalk temples and historic streets while the Oni Gauntlet absorbs their souls and turns them into power.

Capcom describes it as a single-player sword-fighting adventure. It brings back Onimusha's Genma and soul absorption with a new protagonist and encounters built around clashing blades.

Deflecting attacks and using souls

Capcom's footage shows Musashi blocking and deflecting attacks, breaking enemy posture and delivering Issen strikes. The Oni Gauntlet absorbs souls to restore health or power techniques. Those are the tools available within an encounter, not yet evidence of the full game's difficulty or variety.

Violence serves the mechanics. Severing a limb creates another way to control a fight, environmental objects stop every encounter becoming an empty arena and the Gauntlet turns a defeated enemy into the next decision. Capcom has released a free demo, which is the most useful way to learn whether that weight reaches the controller.

It already sits among our September games, sharing a crowded month with Dawnwalker, Wolverine and Control Resonant.

What to check in the demo

The demo lets you check whether alternating defence, deflections and attacks feels comfortable before committing to a campaign. On PC, it also provides a way to try controls and graphics settings on your hardware, without assuming one scene represents every area's performance.

Our most anticipated games of 2026 and 2027 calendar included it as the return of a series without a main instalment for two decades. If you missed the originals, the demo provides a way to try its duels without buying a remaster first.