Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Isn’t A Horror Game, But It Definitely Has Its Horror Moments

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Onimusha: Way Of The Sword Isn’t A Horror Game, But There Are Definitely Moments Of Horror

Capcom’s legendary samurai franchise, Onimusha, boasts a legacy spanning over two decades. Following the triumphant debut of Onimusha: Warlords in 2001, the studio rapidly expanded the series with three additional mainline entries. However, after the fourth installment launched in 2006, the franchise slipped into a prolonged 20-year hiatus. That silence is finally breaking with the upcoming release of Onimusha: Way of the Sword next month—an eagerly anticipated return that proudly claims the latest cover story for Game Informer, available now for subscribers to read today.

During a recent visit to Capcom’s headquarters in Osaka, Japan, I spent hours experiencing unreleased segments of the game and speaking directly with the developers. As a lifelong admirer of the series, I found that the signature dark fantasy aesthetic of the original quadrilogy is alive and well in Way of the Sword. This grim atmosphere reaches a fever pitch in one specific area, where protagonist Miyamoto Musashi infiltrates the subterranean laboratory of a depraved Genma named Dokyo. Here, the atmospheric dread crosses the threshold into genuine survival horror. Yet, despite delivering an hour or two of pulse-pounding, fear-inducing gameplay, Capcom insists that Way of the Sword remains strictly an action title at its core.

As showcased in the Game Informer feature video above, Dokyo is a profoundly sadistic adversary. She abducts innocent citizens—including children—and subjects them to grotesque anatomical fusions with animals to engineer new strains of Genma. In one particularly chilling moment, she effortlessly hoists a man hybridized with swine into the air before discarding him in a brutal display of violence. Because such atrocities cannot be performed openly in the sunlit beauty of early Edo-period Kyoto, the developers wisely constructed a hidden, subterranean layer tailored to her monstrous nature.

“We didn’t set out to build a conventional horror game […], but in shaping Dokyo’s persona, we wanted to emphasize her profoundly warped psychology, her unsettling aura, and blend it with the eerie, occult undertones of Kyoto folklore,” lead writer Hiroshi Yamashita explains. He notes that the lab’s terrifying encounters—complete with a few well-placed jump scares that genuinely caught me off guard—are isolated to this specific sequence rather than defining the entire experience.

Director Satoru Nihei characterizes this phase as one of the darkest sequences within the overarching dark-fantasy framework, comparing the environment to a “classic Japanese haunted house.” The inspiration is unmistakable: silhouettes cast across shoji screens reveal unnatural anatomical mutations, slick corridors gleam with fresh blood under flickering torchlight, and tattered kimonos dangle from the ceiling like grim testaments to the agonized screams echoing through the chambers. Even Dokyo herself embodies pure nightmare fuel, featuring elongated limbs, a shrill, arrogant disposition, and the cunning malice of a mastermind luring prey through her labyrinthine lair.

Nihei points out that this environment successfully amplifies the psychological tension weighing upon Musashi and Shizuka—the ethereal, enigmatic companion bound within his Oni Gauntlet. Utilizing a horror-tinged setting offered an ideal canvas to explore these conflicting emotional states. This duality is further mirrored in Dokyo herself: despite her grotesque, inhuman physiology, she maintains an elegant veneer through refined speech and traditional garments.

My hands-on time with Way of the Sword left me utterly fascinated by Dokyo. She is deeply disturbing, yet utterly magnetic and effortlessly steals every scene she inhabits. I am eager to uncover more of the terror hidden within her stage, as well as the other instances where the dark fantasy leans closer to Capcom’s legendary Resident Evil pedigree. Fortunately, the wait is almost over, as Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches on September 4.

Stay tuned as I continue exploring Capcom’s triumphant revival throughout Game Informer’s dedicated month of coverage. We will be releasing exclusive gameplay walkthroughs and behind-the-scenes features, such as our Rapid-Fire Interview, directly on the Game Informer YouTube channel. Keep a close eye on the Onimusha: Way of the Sword coverage hub so you never miss an update.