Capcom Addresses Onimusha Difficulty Concerns, Says Final Game Will Be Satisfying

A week after the Summer Game Fest, one of the demos that continues to resonate is Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The behind-closed-doors experience offered a glimpse into a later portion of the game, showcasing one of its expansive open areas in Kyoto. While the visual style, precise movement mechanics, and the presence of sword-wielding zombies are impressive, the most striking element was the melee combat.

The combat in Onimusha feels distinct from the FromSoftware approach that has defined recent action games. Instead of relying on floaty, repetitive swordplay, Capcom has opted for a more grounded and deliberate style. Each strike connects with slow, impactful follow-through, and clashes between blades are accompanied by dramatic animations and effects. This shift in direction emphasizes extravagant animations, feedback, and cleaving limbs, creating a unique and immersive combat experience.

Despite the impressive gameplay, the demo felt too easy for what the final game might offer. This was after deliberately choosing the "Action" mode instead of the "Story" mode, as advised against by the demoist. Even with the powerful abilities of Musashi Miyamoto and his Oni Gauntlet, the regular Genma troops were not challenging. They fell quickly, attacked infrequently, and rarely forced the player into counterattacks. The real challenge came during the final boss of the demo—a multi-armed monstrosity that initially overwhelmed the player.

It's worth noting that I'm not particularly skilled in this genre, so I wanted to know if this was a common sentiment. I asked game director Satoru Nihei directly after my hands-on experience.

"Both the demo and the version you've tried today are early in the game," Nihei explained to PC Gamer through an interpreter. "That's why a lot of basic enemies are going to be easier just because of where it sits in the game. But with the demo that we released, Musashi comes fitted with a lot of skills and abilities that are not going to be accessible at the beginning of the game."

Nihei also pointed out that the demo build played in Los Angeles had button reminders above enemy heads, which are not present in the full game. These prompts made the final boss easier to understand and defeat. Capcom included these features in the demo to give players a sense of the full range of action available in the final product. However, this caused some balance issues.

"We're quite confident that with the release version, especially with the progression, because abilities will be given gradually to Musashi and enemies will scale up in difficulty," Nihei said. "For the [full] game, we feel more confident fans will be satisfied with the difficulty."

What About Difficulty Options?

Despite the concerns about the difficulty, Capcom has confirmed that Onimusha: Way of the Sword will only offer two difficulty presets at launch: "Story" and "Action." There won't be a range of difficulty settings available, which could be a point of contention for some players. However, the team seems confident that the final game will deliver a satisfying experience.

The game is set to release on September 24, joining a wave of highly anticipated titles before the arrival of GTA6. Fans of the series and action-adventure games alike are eagerly waiting for the full release to see if Capcom has successfully revived the Onimusha legacy with a modern twist.