{"id":51704,"date":"2025-09-06T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=51704"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:02:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T06:02:04","slug":"we-didnt-want-to-just-nerf-the-enemies-and-call-it-a-day-onimusha-way-of-the-sword-devs-on-designing-a-story-mode-that-isnt-trivially-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/we-didnt-want-to-just-nerf-the-enemies-and-call-it-a-day-onimusha-way-of-the-sword-devs-on-designing-a-story-mode-that-isnt-trivially-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to just nerf the enemies and call it a day.\u201d Onimusha: Way of the Sword devs on designing a story mode that isn\u2019t trivially easy\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Onimusha games are often associated with a high learning curve, but they’re not envisioned to be as punishing as soulslike titles<\/a> either. The next mainline installment in the franchise, Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/a>, strives for a deep and challenging difficulty level, but not in a way that will make you give up halfway. To this end, the game introduces two distinct difficulty settings, with one being a more accessible story mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Denfaminicogamer<\/a>, game director Satoru Nihei revealed a little more information about how Onimusha: Way of the Sword\u2019s supposed \u201ceasier\u201d mode was designed. In addition to decreasing values like the strength of enemy attacks, the story mode adds more obvious displays to the game\u2019s UI (including on-screen button prompts), as well as more forgiving input timings. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producer Akihito Kadowaki comments that his team didn\u2019t just want to lower enemy parameters and call it a day. The story-focused mode was created to make moves such as deflecting and the franchise\u2019s trademark Issen<\/a> easier to execute.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Onimusha:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Capcom isn\u2019t trying to make the game as difficult as a soulslike, they don\u2019t want to make Onimusha: Way of the Sword too easy to complete. The developers explain that there is no such thing as avoiding death entirely in this game, as players will \u201cdie, learn, and move forward.\u201d However, they have built systems to help players rebound even after being defeated several times. These include soul-based progression that enhances attack power, unlocks new action options, extends the duration of techniques, and broadens the player\u2019s overall capabilities. This is meant to encourage perseverance and give players a feeling of accomplishment no matter their skill level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is scheduled to release in 2026 for PC (Steam<\/a>), PS5, and Xbox Series X\u2758S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related articles:\u00a0\u00a0Onimusha: Way of The Sword will launch without differences between regions. \u201cWe want everyone to have the same experience,\u201d director says<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capcom spent 2 years trying to get permission to use Toshiro Mifune\u2019s likeness in Onimusha: Way of the Sword<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Onimusha: Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki on the game’s easier difficulty mode.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":51706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-51704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to just nerf the enemies and call it a day.\u201d Onimusha: Way of the Sword devs on designing a story mode that isn\u2019t trivially easy\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Onimusha: Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki on the game's easier difficulty mode.\" \/>\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\/we-didnt-want-to-just-nerf-the-enemies-and-call-it-a-day-onimusha-way-of-the-sword-devs-on-designing-a-story-mode-that-isnt-trivially-easy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to just nerf the enemies and call it a day.\u201d Onimusha: Way of the Sword devs on designing a story mode that isn\u2019t trivially easy\u00a0 - 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