REVIEW: ‘Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny’ Is A Refined Blade That Cuts Deep

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny was first released in 2002. As expected, following the success of the first game’s remaster, Capcom has given the sequel the same treatment. The result is a remaster that mostly delivers, offering a blend of nostalgic action and great modern updates.

Set during the tumultuous period of feudal Japan, Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny presents an alternate history where the legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga is reimagined as an overlord ravaging the country with demons. The game puts players in the shoes of a different protagonist from the first game. Jubei Yagyu is a warrior on a mission to avenge the destruction of his clan at the hands of Nobunaga’s demonic forces. Along the way, he discovers he carries Oni heritage and must collect five mystical orbs to awaken his demon powers and stop Nobunaga once and for all.

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny’s story is quite short and relatively straightforward, but it keeps players invested, thanks to its eccentric cast of characters. Despite the game’s serious tone, most characters feel endearing and offbeat, which is incredibly entertaining. Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny has several amusing moments, from a bald but unbothered drunk warrior to a kunoichi who shifts between capable and damsel-like depending on the situation. Though the narrative lacks significant depth and doesn’t do anything new, it still succeeds at being interesting.

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny’s remaster brings several technical and quality-of-life improvements that help the game feel fresh without sacrificing its original identity. The most notable upgrade is the visual overhaul. Character models look cleaner, more detailed, and noticeably improved in high definition. The textures, lighting, and environmental detail all make the experience feel like a more modern game. Load times are almost nonexistent on PC, and new elements like auto-save and quick weapon switching drastically improve the experience.

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny’s combat provides balanced difficulty.

The game sports responsive melee attacks, challenging enemy encounters, and limited healing items that force you to think on your feet when fighting large waves of enemies. These elements make the moment-to-moment gameplay more enjoyable and fluid without simplifying the game’s original design.

That said, the remaster still lacks some things most remasters strive for. It retains fixed camera angles, a common trait of early 2000s games, but one that can be jarring today. A modernized camera system or, at the very least, a lock-on button would have significantly improved combat. Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny also lacks a dodge button, so avoiding enemy attacks can be very annoying.

Blocking and parrying remain satisfying, but not enough to ignore the tedious parts of combat. It’s clear that by excluding these additions, Capcom aimed to preserve the original feel rather than overhaul the core gameplay. While hardcore fans may appreciate this, it hurts the overall experience, especially as this is meant to be a remaster tailored to a newer audience.

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny remaster also includes new bonuses that some hardcore fans will appreciate. This consists of the game’s full, excellent soundtrack, all of the minigames, which are now accessible from the start, and the new Gallery mode. These minigames offer a nice break from the usual game and provide puzzles, a game mode that allows you to avoid enemies and traps while searching for items, and a standard survival mode with multiple playable characters.

The Gallery mode in Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny is genuinely impressive.

The new gallery includes over 100 concept sketches from the game’s original character designer, Keita Amemiya. These sketches offer a rare look at the artistic process. Some sketches show the characters’ early concepts, while many show rough designs of several levels and environments. They’re all incredibly detailed, especially sketches from Amemiya, which show cartoony and highly stylized versions of the main characters and some bosses in their simplest forms.

Along with a new easy mode, Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny also adds the Hell difficulty mode, which lives up to its name. It’s a brutal, punishing option for players who want to see how far their skills can take them, or those with encyclopedic knowledge of the original game. Lastly, the remaster adds two new goofy but stylish alternate outfits for Jubei and Oyu, though it admittedly makes them look out of place in the game’s feudal setting. Performance-wise, the game runs smoothly on PC with no noticeable bugs, stuttering, or crashes. The experience is stable and consistent from start to finish.

In short, Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny doesn’t reinvent the wheel or dramatically modernize every aspect of the original game. However, with its stylish action, welcome updates, and nostalgic charm, the remaster proves that even a 20-year-old game can still cut deep. It’s not perfect, but it provides enough content and new changes to make the overall experience worth the price.

Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny will be released on May 23, 2025, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One.