Kinda Funny Gamescast Summary

Episode: We Played Onimusha: Way of the Sword!
Date: August 20, 2025
Hosts: Greg Miller, Tim Gettys, Blessing Adeoye, Andy Cortez
Theme: In-depth hands-on impressions and analysis of the upcoming game Onimusha: Way of the Sword, with a candid mix of fan nostalgia, gameplay breakdown, and team banter.

Episode Overview

This episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast focuses on first impressions from a hands-on demo of Onimusha: Way of the Sword. The Kinda Funny crew discusses gameplay mechanics, art direction, the Soulslike debate, comparisons to classic and modern action games, and their individual expectations going forward.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Big Return of Onimusha (02:04–06:12)

• Tim Gettys shares excitement as a mega-fan who's replayed the classic entries recently:

  "This is one of those games I can't believe exists... a new Onimusha that is trying to be an actual modern game and compete with what we have now." (04:19)

• Acknowledges the classic "samurai Resident Evil" DNA but notes the new demo is "way closer to just a straight up action game," incorporating modern mechanics like stagger and parry systems often seen in Soulslike games.

2. Soulslike Influences vs. Classic Onimusha (06:12–09:55)

• Blessing Adeoye draws direct parallels to Soulslike games while noting it's leaning more toward "Souls-adjacent" titles like Jedi Fallen Order:

  "This game is souls, like, adjacent in the way that like a Jedi Fallen Order is souls like adjacent right where there are those influences. But it doesn't lean all the way into it." (06:44)

• The team remarks on the game's fluid parry and deflect systems, but also touches on series traditions, such as "sucking up souls" via L2, and how combat now involves managing stagger meters with tactical decision-making in boss fights.

3. What’s Missing: Tension, Visual Identity, and Classic Mechanics (09:55–11:21; 15:00–15:46; 21:35–23:58)

• Tim is conflicted about the smoothing out of some "cat and mouse, risk reward" aspects of classic Onimusha:

  "The new game, you can just hold L2 and just run around. You're sucking souls at all points. And it feels more like a Ratchet and Clank where the nuts and bolts are just kind of like flying at you." (10:56)

• Visual identity is a concern for both Tim and Blessing:

  "There's just something dull looking about the game and it's troublesome to me... Everything just seems so gray and I don't think it really does justice to what I, I feel like this game could look like." (19:55)

• Mechanically, Tim fears a shift from unique elemental weapons (in previous games) to temporary bonus abilities that lack distinct playstyles and that, in the demo, only one weapon was accessible.

4. Difficulty, Accessibility, and Audience (16:14–17:52; 18:25–18:53)

• The demo felt easy, with most enemies dispatched quickly, but the boss presented a notable difficulty spike.
• Multiple parry/deflect options create room for skill expression, leading Blessing to call this a “duck-like” (a play on Soulslike), suggesting it's approachable for newcomers as well as fans:

  “If it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck… At the very least, it’s duck-like. This is going to be what gets Tim in…” (18:42)

5. Story, Horror Elements, and Tone (24:08–26:58)

• There's less focus on horror than in the original games, with more emphasis on gory and disturbing imagery rather than scares.
• Notable disturbing moment involves a spirit vision of a father pushing his son off a ledge:

  "There's some disturbing elements there. Like you see a father wrap his kid up... and like push him off a deck to his death. And the kid's like begging him not to do it." (26:25)

• The “only vision” mechanic lets players see hidden threats or paths, introducing light puzzle/horror themes.

6. Comparing Onimusha: Way of the Sword with Ninja Gaiden 4 (27:28–28:01)

• Blessing is more hyped for Ninja Gaiden 4, citing faster pacing and more exciting trailers.
• Tim prefers Onimusha, despite reservations:

  "Undeniably Onomusha... I love Onimusha story. I'm with Bless that isn’t grabbing. I don’t really care. I've never really cared about the story of Onimusha anyways." (27:59)

7. The Voice Cast and Campy Vibe (28:01–29:33)

• Notably, the main character’s English voice actor has a British accent, which provokes mixed feedback.
• The game's rival character and "talking gauntlet" (for the first time in the series) inject campy, flamboyant energy:

  "When you face off against this boss, I’m so in… Incredibly flamboyant enemies… just straight up campy as hell." (19:54)

• The banter between the protagonist and his gauntlet brings a modern, self-aware tone reminiscent of Spider-Man’s suit AI.

8. Hopes and the Capcom 2026 Lineup (29:40–30:51)

• The hosts are hopeful for Onimusha: Way of the Sword and optimistic about Capcom's slate, with Blessing noting the publisher's strong trajectory:

  "Capcom 2026… bringing back old stuff, them trying new stuff… replaying the hits with the Resident Evil..." (30:01)

• They express curiosity about how well this new Onimusha will bridge classic fans and the modern action audience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Gettys, on Onimusha’s update:

  "A new Onimusha that is trying to be an actual modern game and compete with what we have now, right? In a world full of souls-likes…" (04:20)

• Blessing Adeoye, on gameplay loop:

  "The Perry stuff for me felt great. The deflects and combat animations in that regard I thought were cool." (08:41)

• Tim Gettys, on the soul-sucking mechanic:

  "You can just hold L2 and just run around. You're sucking souls at all points. It feels more like a Ratchet & Clank…" (10:56)

• Blessing Adeoye, on difficulty:

  "I gotta assume that there will be some rooms with a shit ton of enemies… maybe just this 20 minute presentation didn't give you a whole lot of that." (15:46)

• Tim Gettys, on the game's visuals:

  "Everything just seems so gray and I don't think it really does justice… It's a little washed out." (19:55)

• Blessing Adeoye, on the demo’s horror element:

  "You click like R2L2 and then you can kind of see, like, I'll just say spirit world shit… a big vine leading to… a hand spider thing." (24:33)

• Andy Cortez and Tim, on the protagonist’s vibe:

  "He's just like, 'Hey, Gauntlet Lady'... It's like, 'I'm not gonna respond to Gauntlet Lady'… I appreciate this. I like that for what this is." (29:03)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:12 | Tim’s first hands-on impressions, demo breakdown | | 06:44 | Blessing: Soulslike influences, Onimusha’s “cyclical DNA” | | 10:56 | Discussion of soul-sucking changes, “Ratchet & Clank” feel | | 15:04 | Visual identity and art direction criticism | | 18:25 | Accessibility & difficulty curve, "duck-like" comparison | | 21:35 | Only one weapon in demo, critiques of ability design | | 24:08 | Is there horror? Bloody, disturbing imagery | | 26:25 | Spirit vision and disturbing “father & son” flashback | | 27:28 | Onimusha vs. Ninja Gaiden 4 comparisons | | 28:01 | Campy villains, hero-gauntlet banter, voice cast opinions | | 30:01 | Optimism for Capcom’s 2026 lineup |

Closing Thoughts

• The crew remains cautiously optimistic:

  "At the very least, it's going to be an Onimusha game that Andy and Blessing play, and that's cool to be. I am more hopeful than not that I'm gonna end up really, really loving this game." – Tim Gettys (29:40)

• Speculation on whether Tim will be converted to a broader Soulslike fan:

  "Do you think that Tim will suffer through Onimusha power and then become the, 'I gotta play another Souls game'?" – Greg Miller (30:51)

• The hosts agree that while gameplay is promising, visuals and narrative didn’t wow them in the brief demo; the game’s place between tradition and modernity remains to be seen.

The episode wraps with excitement for both Onimusha and Capcom’s evolving approach to reviving and refreshing classic franchises, teasing the next review—Pragmata—up next in their podcast marathon.