2001’s Onimusha: Warlords is finally getting remastered.
This news comes straight from Capcom who have gone so far as to give this remaster a firm release date (January 15, 2019, for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch). While not a fully-fledged remake (which means it won’t be on the same production level as the Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2 remakes) this remaster does feature an HD upgrade, new songs, widescreen options, optional analog controls (big yay for that one), and an easy mode for those who just want to experience the game’s story as quickly as possible.
This announcement isn’t quite as anticipated as the reveal of the Resident Evil 2 Remake, it has been a talking point amongst the Capcom faithful for quite some time. Credible rumors of an Onimusha comeback date back to 2016 (at the very least), and Onimusha was certainly on the minds of fans everywhere when Capcom started talking about resurrecting some of their dormant franchises.
So what’s the big deal with Onimusha? Well, the game itself is a blend of mythical Samurai action with Resident Evil-esque horror elements. Essentially, it’s a samurai adventure with RE controls (mostly) and more of an emphasis on atmosphere, puzzles and plot than action. While some may argue that the game suffered somewhat from the decision to have it stick so close to certain Resident Evil tropes, Onimusha did become the first PS2 game to reach a million sales.
All in all, there aren’t many games that offer what Onimusha offers in terms of style and execution. It’s going to be interesting to see how a new generation of gamers responds to this remaster.