{"id":46497,"date":"2025-03-31T18:20:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T09:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=46497"},"modified":"2025-03-31T18:20:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T09:20:05","slug":"onimusha-way-of-the-sword-confirms-linear-progression-about-20-hours-of-play-time-and-enough-bloodshed-for-an-18-rating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-confirms-linear-progression-about-20-hours-of-play-time-and-enough-bloodshed-for-an-18-rating\/","title":{"rendered":"Onimusha: Way of the Sword confirms linear progression, about 20 hours of play time, and enough bloodshed for an 18+ rating\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In a recent interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.famitsu.com\/article\/202503\/37453\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Famitsu<\/a>, Capcom revealed new details about <strong>Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/strong>, the Onimusha franchise\u2019s first new mainline entry in 20 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki confirmed that the new Onimusha will stick to the series\u2019 roots with linear story\/stage progression, rather than opting for an open-world approach.&nbsp; They give a rough estimate of about 20 hours to clear the game, while confirming that the game will include not only action, but some gameplay elements that will force players to use their heads (although, they do not clarify if this will expand upon previous entries\u2019 puzzles).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Onimusha: Way of the Sword - 1st Trailer: Protagonist | PS5 Games\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W9Ct29FeMak?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Also true to the Onimusha IP\u2019s spirit, Way of the Sword emphasizes satisfying sword action with realistic feedback. So much so that the producer is pretty sure the game will fetch a CERO Z (ages 18 and over) rating in Japan. This is largely due to the game including depictions of dismemberment and bloodshed (although players will be able to toggle whether this is displayed or not via settings).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of gameplay, the newest entry will inherit existing mechanics like Deadly Strikes (Criticals) and the Issen system. Successfully parrying several times will temporarily power up your sword, giving you the upper hand against enemies, Nihei explains. In terms of difficulty, Capcom is not sure yet whether it will implement difficulty selection, but is aiming for a level that\u2019s balanced and will be neither too easy nor too punishing for the average player.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1074\" height=\"600\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1074px) 100vw, 1074px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-header.jpg\" alt=\"Onimusha Way of the Sword\" class=\"wp-image-46499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-header.jpg 1074w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-header-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-header-768x429.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1075\" height=\"598\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1075px) 100vw, 1075px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-001.jpg\" alt=\"Onimusha Way of the Sword\" class=\"wp-image-46500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-001.jpg 1075w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-001-380x211.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-001-768x427.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This could be a divisive point for hardcore fans of the series, but story-wise, Onimusha: Way of the Sword will basically be a reboot, meaning it will have few connections to previous titles. This is meant to assure that newcomers can ease right into the latest entry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Onimusha: Way of the Sword is scheduled to release in 2026 for the PC (Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series X\u2758S.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Onimusha: Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki talk about the game&#8217;s system and gameplay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":46503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-46497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Onimusha: Way of the Sword confirms linear progression, about 20 hours of play time, and enough bloodshed for an 18+ rating\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Onimusha: Way of the Blade director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki talk about the game&#039;s system and gameplay.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-confirms-linear-progression-about-20-hours-of-play-time-and-enough-bloodshed-for-an-18-rating\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Onimusha: Way of the Sword confirms linear progression, about 20 hours of play time, and enough bloodshed for an 18+ rating\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Onimusha: Way of the Blade director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki talk about the game&#039;s system and gameplay.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/onimusha-way-of-the-sword-confirms-linear-progression-about-20-hours-of-play-time-and-enough-bloodshed-for-an-18-rating\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T09:20:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T09:20:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/20250331-46497-002.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1075\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"601\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Onimusha: Way of the Sword confirms linear progression, about 20 hours of play time, and enough bloodshed for an 18+ rating\u00a0 - 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