Revisiting Onimusha: The Samurai Horror Classic

The action-combat survival horror masterpiece that deserves a resurgence

Irecently dove into Resident Evil for the first time. After years of playing through various popular entries in the iconic survival horror franchise, I was able to mesh with Resident Evil Remake in a way that was both satisfying and personally groundbreaking. I’ve long held an artistic appreciation for pre-rendered backgrounds, but fixed camera angles and tank controls have been something of a bafflement. REmake fixed one of these issues for me with its smart inclusion of more traditional analog controls, and after a few hours spent with the game I not only became used to the fixed camera but fell in love with the unique way it forced me to look at its world.

A Unique Take on Survival Horror

In 2001, during the wonder years of Capcom, they released the first game in what would become the Onimusha series. Settling itself somewhere between both Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, Onimusha is a survival horror game of fixed camera angles and terrifying monsters, but gives the player enormous agency by providing a surprisingly responsive action-combat system. As Samanosuke Akechi explores a castle town overrun with demons called the Genma, the player uncovers keys, finds useful…