Twenty years since the lastOnimushaentry, Capcom’s beloved series is returning withOnimusha: Way of the Sword. The game has a confirmedrelease window for 2026, making it one of the biggest releases confirmed for next year. Capcom recently unveiled a new tray for Way of the Sword, highlighting its intensive combat visuals, at Summer Game Fest.
Onimusha: Way of the Swordfeatures the franchise’s signature Issen System, a mechanic where players can trigger critical hits when timing their attack to an enemy’s. According to the development team, Chain Issen can be performed as well, and players can enter a powered-up state after successfully deflecting enough attacks. Additionally,Way of the Swordintroduces a mechanic called Break Issen. At Summer Game Fest, Game Rant spoke with director Satoru Nihei and game producer Akihito Kadowaki about the Break Issen system and its influence on combat.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s Break Issen System Explained
When asked about whatOnimusha: Way of the Swordaccomplishes that wasn’t possible before, Nihei explained that the upgraded Issen System was a crowning achievement. Aside fromOnimusha: Way of the Sword’s standard Issen mechanics, boss battles feature Break Issen where players target specific body parts in battle. In short, deflecting enough attacks will stagger the boss and allow players to perform a Break Issen attack on specific body parts.
Nihei also revealed that the Break Issen system will be an element that evolves throughouttheOnimushagame. Some bosses, like the Genma Byakue, will have only two body parts to target. However, other bosses will have around three or four. What’s unique about the Break Issen is that each body part will have its own animation and reaction from enemies. Kadowaki elaborated on this, adding thatWay of the Sworddoes not repeat its Break Issen animations throughout the campaign:
“For the Break Issen, we have some really cool animations for each body part. We’re not using canned animations that repeat for different bosses. Instead, each animation has been designed specifically for that boss so that nothing will look the same when you fight boss after boss. They’re all going to look different.”
As Nihei said, Break Issen will play a major role in boss fight strategies because fans can choose which body part to strike and in which order. While Break Issen is mainly for boss fights,Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s core combatbenefits from something similar, with Nihei adding that a new dismemberment system was added for Issen. To Nihei, the dismemberment system accentuatesOnimusha:Way of the Sword’sgameplay, giving players a more satisfying experience that won’t “feel like just cutting through paper.” He also explained that,
“That’s something that we put a lot of effort into. It uses vector technology so that, wherever Musashi actually strikes his opponent, it’s going to accurately cut through them. It won’t be a canned animation that happens the same every time. It’s going to be different every single time, depending on where Musashi hits the enemy.”
Onimusha: Way of the Swordwill be “a pretty standard linear action title,” according to the director, but there will be areas where players can accept side missions and unlock bonus content. It’s worth noting that Capcom previously confirmed thatOnimusha:Way of the Sword’s campaign is 20 hours long, so fans can easily imagine how all of this comes together.
