Ahead of the release of Onimusha: Way of the Sword next year, Capcom has graciously remastered the second installment in their Onimusha series, Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny — and I’m happy to say I’ve played the first few hours.
READ MORE: Onimusha: Way of the Sword unveiled alongside Samurai’s Destiny remaster
Onimusha 2 has you playing as Jubei Yaguya, an expert swordsman who’s village is attacked by Genma (demons) lead by Nobunaga Oda. Jubei swears revenge and it’s from here that our story sets off.
Before long, Jubei unlocks dormant powers which allow him to absorb enemy souls and turn into a powerful Oni. Unlike our hero Samanosuke from the first game, who uses a gauntlet to absorb souls, Jubei (like a boss) uses his hand.
Minor Changes, Big Improvements!
First thing I noticed was the controls, which Capcom have made slight improvements to which make a world of difference. You can use the thumb sticks to move with a modern style, bye-bye tank controls! (Although, if you’re a masochist you can use the d-pad for this.)
Capcom has also added the ability to switch weapons by holding L2 and pressing left or right; no more going into menus just to swap weapons mid fight for a full Oni magic meter — tiny change, but a massive quality-of-life improvement.
They’ve also change how to activate Oni mode, rather than it happening automatically once five purple souls are collected, you can now activate Oni mode when you choose — game changer!
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The game’s pre-rendered backgrounds also look amazing in widescreen HD. There is something special about this style of gaming; despite all the years that have passed, the environments still look slick. The character models also look crisp and Jubei’s chin has never looked so good!
You can also change the game back to the original 4:3 aspect ratio in the menu if you wish too!
Outside of controls and graphics, the remaster also adds more content to the gallery and a brand new ‘Hell’ difficulty — more on this demoralising mode later.
Hack and Slash Fun!
Onimusha, being a hack and slash action game, has plenty of sword fights, and while two hours in the story isn’t super deep, I’m happy to say the combat is still satisfying and rewarding all these years later.
Jubei can simply attack, block and dodge, but it’s the critical strikes where things get interesting.
Like in the first game, time your attack just before an enemy strikes — instant kill! Pulling these attacks off is super satisfying, especially when chaining them together!
Hell of a Time!
Back to Onimusha 2’s new “Hell” difficulty mode. I gotta’ say, even as a Souls game fan, this mode is tough! Hell difficulty is a mode where you cannot take a single hit, but enemies still have regular health.
I saw the “You Died” screen A LOT.
After roughly 30 minutes of just trying this mode, I got past the first two encounters — that’s not even unlocking the ability to absorb souls yet! Though with perseverance, the dopamine hit when clearing the encounters is euphoric.
I’m sure once the game drops on May 23rd we’ll see some die-hard streamers absolutely crushing this mode (making me feel wildly inadequate in the process).
In the meantime, the remaster is shaping up to be the best way to play the game in 2025. Here’s hoping the rest of the game holds up!
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny releases May 29th on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Look out for my full review soon.
Access to Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny was provided to Quest Daily for the purpose of this article.
