It was a long time coming, but Capcom is finally bringing back Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. They brought the first game in the still-running series to PC a while ago, as PC Gamer recounts, but Onimusha 2 is where the series truly hit its stride to become one of the greats from the Japanese developer and punisher.
For the publisher, the release of this remaster couldn’t be better. Right now, people are going crazy for samurai stories. We’ve been on such a good run of releases exploring different aspects of these ancient warriors that bringing back a classic in the theme will surely be welcomed by gamers.
Prime Time to Bring Back a Samurai Classic
Feudal Japan and stories of the samurai have long been popular from the Far East to the most Western markets for decades, but it does feel like there’s even more of an obsession for the setting nowadays. Helping this was certainly the superb multi-award-winning show Shōgun from FX.
The samurai are hailed as noble, powerful warriors, so their setting always offers intrigue when used in entertainment. You only have to look as far as the success of Samurai Split to see this in action. The slot game found on Dunder Casino, remains among its hit games despite all of the newer entries. Not only is the theme on the tile eye-catching, but the range of features therein makes for a uniquely samurai-like game. Every player has the chance to trigger the Split feature, which sees a samurai walk onto the reels and cut a symbol in half to add more multipliers.
For gamers looking for more samurai-themed games, the classic Onimusha 2 could fill a void left by the lack of a big-game announcement.During the February 2025 State of Play, the publisher didn’t offer more information or a release date for the highly-anticipated follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima. Ghost of Yōtei, it seems, won’t arrive until late 2025, making way for Onimusha 2 to satisfy the samurai sword-swinging needs of gamers with its classic gameplay mechanics.
Not Long Before the Legendary Game Returns
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny offered a huge step up from its predecessor despite being released just a year later. It retained the ability to upgrade weapons and special abilities by harvesting souls as well as the main action focus of the game, but it also infused more adventure, RPG, and replayability elements.
For example, the player’s choices as Jubei Yagyu will decide if each of the four secondary characters will join the team and help him on his path of vengeance. It’s a game that blends both a grounded story set in ancient Japan with elements of Japanese myth and folklore – such as with Jubei – a real-life samurai of the feudal era – getting powers from his oni heritage.
The remaster was announced at the start of February by Gematsu, but a launch date wasn’t forthcoming at the time. When Sony put out its State of Play in mid-February, it was revealed that the remaster of the legendary Onimusha 2 would arrive on May 23, 2025.
Gamers and wider audiences crave samurai stuff right now. Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is a very strong game that will only help to feed this obsession when its remaster arrives. After that, all eyes will turn to Ghost of Yōtei and, beyond gaming, whatever A24 is cooking up for the big screen with Bushido.
