September 2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Reviews
Embargoes lifted on 31 August 2026, four days before the street date. The first wave is generally favorable: Metacritic 86, OpenCritic 86 with about 95 percent of critics recommending, IGN 10/10. The shared sentence is that the sword is special. The shared reservation is that the campaign around it sometimes pads. This page lists named outlets, not a wiki score.
The numbers, with sources
| Outlet | Score | What they actually said |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic (multi-platform) | 86 | Generally favorable. PS5 ~86, PC ~83, Switch 2 ~89 on a smaller sample. |
| OpenCritic | 86 | Top Critic average; about 95% of critics recommend. |
| IGN (Will Borger) | 10/10 | Combat and story; Mifune’s mannerisms handled with care. |
| Nintendo Life | 9/10 | Successful revival; Switch 2 version met expectations, including handheld. |
| PC Gamer (Wes Fenlon) | 83/100 | Sublime swordfighting; the enemy it cannot beat is its own pacing. |
| Eurogamer | 4/5 | About 20 hours rushing, closer to 30 if you linger; connective tissue is thinner than the fights. |
| TheGamer | 4.5/5 | Series fans should be excited about the future. |
| Forbes | 9/10 | May be the best game in the series by a large margin. |
| VGC | 3/5 | Combat sublime; dated missions and open-world-style fluff drag the rest. |
Aggregator numbers move in the first week. Treat the table as a snapshot from early September 2026, not a forever grade. Polygon’s roundup placed the Metacritic next to Capcom’s other 2026 scores (Resident Evil Requiem 89, Pragmata 85). TheGamer noted the 85–86 band ties Onimusha 3: Demon Siege as the series high on Metacritic.
What the reviews actually agree on
The blade is the reason to buy. IGN wrote about wanting to be perfect for ten seconds and getting that from Issen and deflects. Nintendo Life called successive deflections before a cut “glorious.” PC Gamer called it a mix of classic Capcom action and weighty physical swordfighting. That is the same sentence the summer previews already had; the full-game reviews did not take it back.
Musashi works. Using Toshiro Mifune’s likeness could have soured the room; IGN and PC Gamer both say Capcom landed the walk, the head-scratch, the swagger. The Oni Lady is a character, not a tooltip. Gore and dismemberment are features. Director Satoru Nihei’s “not a Soulslike” line survives contact with finished copies: missed defences still collapse into blocks more often than into deaths, and Story mode exists. See combat and difficulty for the verbs those reviews are describing.
gamescom 2026 gave the game Best Gameplay and Best Sony PlayStation Game before reviews existed. That is a show award, not a Metacritic. It matches the review emphasis on the duel rather than on the map.
The knocks: pacing, padding, late hours
PC Gamer, Eurogamer and VGC all like the fights and then spend paragraphs on the tissue between them. Eurogamer: connective tissue is a bit weak. VGC: dated missions, overlong, focused on the wrong modern lessons, “open-world fluff.” PC Gamer: pacing is the enemy the sword cannot cut. If you bounced off modern Capcom campaigns that wander between set pieces, read those three before you pre-order Premium Deluxe.
Length: Capcom said ~20 hours; Eurogamer’s review is ~20 if you rush and closer to 30 if you “become acquainted with every art.” That range is now a review fact, not a trailer claim. Switch 2 reviewers (Nintendo Life 9/10, Hobby Consolas positive on the port) did not treat handheld as a compromise SKU. Digital Foundry’s June demo pass still stands as the technical mood for Quality 4K30 and Performance 60; full-game tech analyses will replace it after launch.
How this wiki will use the scores
We will not invent a wiki rating. We will keep the table dated and sourced. Day-one patches, user-score dumps, and a PSNProfiles trophy list belong on their own pages when they exist — the trophies page currently refuses to reprint a fake 50-trophy sheet. If you still have not played, the demo is the honest sample of the thing reviewers are praising. If you are buying tonight, the launch-times page is the clock; the editions page is still cosmetics-only.
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions
What is the Metacritic score?
86 overall in the first days of reviews, generally favorable. Platform splits differ (Switch 2 sampled higher on fewer reviews; PC a little lower). Numbers move.
Did IGN really give it a 10?
Yes. Will Borger’s IGN review is 10/10, dated 31 August 2026. Other outlets are not unanimous tens — VGC is 3/5.
Is it worth it on Switch 2?
Nintendo Life’s full review is 9/10 and treats the Switch 2 version as a successful port, including handheld. That is stronger than the preview-era “wait and see.”
Is the campaign as good as the combat?
Not according to PC Gamer, Eurogamer or VGC. They praise the sword and criticise pacing and padding. Read those if the 20-hour spine matters more to you than the duel.