The PS2’s golden days were the era of the action-adventure game, with the likes ofGod of WarandResident Evil 4 (2023)elevating it in terms of pure action and series like Onimusha experimenting with qualities such as exploration and weapon variety. Well, it seems that era may be coming again, as Capcom has announced that a remaster for Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is on the way for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
Review: Onimusha: Warlords Remastered
Onimusha Warlords is still a solid experience with entertaining mechanics; just don’t go in expecting a whole lot.
The first Onimusha already saw an improved re-release back in 2019, but a single port does not a revival make. However, considering that Capcom has not only decided tobring back the sequelbut is also moving forward with the entirely newOnimusha: Way of the Sword,perhaps the series is finally getting its long-awaited second chance at becoming a major series. Only time will tell, of course, but, in the meantime, fans and newcomers will both soon have the chance to enjoy the original games.
Considering that Onimusha 2 is now over twenty years old, it’s likely that there are many who are completely unfamiliar with it. The scenario is this: it’s the era of Oda Nobunaga’s campaign to unite Japan under his banner. In the Onimusha universe, Nobunaga has enlisted an army ofdemonsto help realize his ambition, and he uses them to remorselessly crush everything in his path, both enemy and bystander alike.
Players must fight against his injustices as Jubei Yagyu, a powerful samurai warrior who is, perhaps, the only one capable of preventing Nobunaga’s iron-fisted reign. Of course, he’ll only be able to do so after gathering powerful artifacts, honing his skills, and convincing a few key figures to help him in his quest.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny builds on Onimusha: Warlords primarily by putting more focus on storytelling and adventure elements. Locations are more explorable, have more puzzle-solving mixed in, and offer more varied opportunities for combat. There are also four other playable characters with their own sub-stories to uncover, the conclusions of each determining whether those characters ultimately end up helping Jubei.
I wonder if it’s purely a story consequence if a character decides not to help or if it actually makes the game harder for the player. It would be an interesting way to handle difficulty, wouldn’t it?
Land “Issen” hits for insta-kills!
All that aside, combat is still a major part of the game, with players being given several different weapon classes to play around with and even chain into combos under the right circumstances. Comboing isn’t necessarily the goal, though, as the game greatly rewards players for pulling off “Issen” hits on enemies. Triggering one of these requires interrupting an enemy right when it’s about to attack, and landing them usually results in an instant kill. It’s basically just pulling off aparry in a modern soulslikesoul, but with an even greater reward for managing it.
Triggering an “Issen” hit requires interrupting an enemy right when it’s about to attack, and landing them usually results in an instant kill.
Even better, these hits can also be chained together to just outright delete even large groups of enemies. Jubei even has access to magic via scrolls and magical weapons, further increasing his options in combat. The Resident Evil-style fixed camera system is still present too, which one would think would hinder combat. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case, making both Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny and its predecessor an interesting fusion of action andsurvival horrordesign conventions.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Remastered releases in 2025 for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch.
Member Onimusha: Warlords?
Taking a look back on Onimusha: Warlords, the game that launched several Onimusha titles.
