Onimusha: Way of the Sword Gameplay Guide

Despite the comparisons, Capcom has explicitly said Onimusha: Way of the Sword is not a Soulslike. It is a character action title focused on sword combat and parries rather than stamina-draining dodges and corpse runs.

The game is more forgiving to approach than a Souls game, but its depth comes from timing. Developers described the philosophy as accessibility on the surface with depth hiding underneath the parry system.

The core moves are strikes, parries, deflects and a technique the game calls steer, which causes an enemy to fall toward a certain direction. Landing a deflect opens the enemy for a counterattack.

There is also a guard stance that blocks attacks from all directions. The loop is read the attack, steer or deflect it, then punish with a counter or a full combo.

Issen is a precision counter. Instead of blocking or dodging, you attack right before the enemy's strike connects — timing it correctly makes Musashi counter with a devastating attack. The common early mistake is attacking as soon as the enemy winds up; instead, watch the enemy's weapon and wait for the actual attack to come toward you.

Some enemies show a white glow on their weapon to indicate the Issen timing window. Chain Issen chains these counters together, and it is high risk, high reward: practice the timing against slow, predictable enemies first.

Break Issen is different: you deplete an enemy's stamina, then use a highly damaging attack while they are stunned, which will typically kill them outright. Against bosses, Break Issen gives you a choice of which body part to target, with a different animation and effect for each.

A red-marked part deals heavy damage but drops few orbs; a purple-marked part drops a large number of orbs but deals less direct damage. The choice depends on your state — if your health is rough, the extra orbs from a purple target can restore you, while an empty Oni Armament gauge also favors the purple target.

Musashi's cursed Oni Gauntlet absorbs souls from fallen enemies. There are three soul types: yellow souls for health, red souls used for upgrades, and blue souls that power Oni Armaments.

Managing which souls you absorb and when to spend them is the economic backbone of the game. Absorbing blue souls builds toward Oni Armament uptime, while red souls are spent on progression.

Oni Vision is a sight mode that reveals hidden threats and weak points in the environment. It helps you read encounters before they start.

Oni Armaments are powerful weapons tied to the gauntlet, fueled by the blue souls you collect. They act as a limited-use power spike for difficult fights and bosses.

At the start of a new game you choose between two layouts. The aggressive layout puts all combat buttons on the face of the controller, while the defensive layout moves guard to the left bumper — a scheme that feels more natural to Souls-like players. The defensive layout puts one-handed attack on Square/X, two-handed attack on Triangle/Y, and evade on Circle/B.

You can swap styles at any time from the options menu, so try both and keep whichever stops you tripping over the buttons.

Gear is upgraded by collecting materials and turning them in at a shrine, where you can upgrade clothing for health and stamina, your sword for different damage types, and the gauntlet to increase the Oni Armament gauge.

Clothing and sword materials come from treasure chests around Kyoto and the mission levels. Gauntlet materials are different — malachite and malachite masses are rewards for closing rifts, while Byakko's Talismans and Dohatsu-ten's Horns drop from the mini-bosses Byakko and Dohatsu-ten, who emerge from rifts repeatedly. Rifts not yet closed are marked by red streaks bleeding down from the sky.

You can hold six consumables at a time, and empty slots are automatically filled by whatever you pick up. To swap them deliberately, visit a shrine and use the storehouse option. As you progress you find stronger versions of each consumable, so always equip the strongest one you have.

Prayer beads are the key consumable for traversing malice, the red mist that drains your life every second. Pop prayer beads before entering a malice area to gain substantial protection from it.

The practice grounds are a risk-free space to drill the tougher mechanics. The Issen and Chain Issen drills teach the timing of the high-risk counter, and the blade barrage drill helps you break the habit of mashing attack. You can also run practice fights against Byakko and Dohatsu-ten, since you will meet them repeatedly across the campaign.

Completing the game unlocks Carnage difficulty, which doubles as both a hard mode and New Game+. It carries over your Oni Armaments, the awakening meter, purchased skills, charms and enhancements, outfits and collectibles — but not your gear upgrades, upgrade materials, red souls, shop items or the Oni bow, which must all be re-earned.

In Carnage mode enemies hit much harder and some bosses gain new moves; Ganryu, for example, gains his own Issen to counter you, and standard enemies are more likely to parry and counter. Completing Carnage mode unlocks further rewards including new sword skins, a Haori coat and outfits.