Capcom is reviving the classic Onimusha and Okami series. What does the future hold?

Dozens of new games were announced at The Game Awards 2024. Many of us were expecting Capcom to reveal the next Resident Evil title . Instead, the Japanese publisher announced that Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Okami Sequel are in development . Sequels to other iconic series were also hinted at. In this article, we'll tell you what to expect from Capcom in the coming years.

In a nutshell about Capcom

Capcom was founded in 1979. Over the years, it has become one of the largest publishers in the world. Its projects have changed the entire industry several times and laid the foundations for new genres. For example, this was the case with Resident Evil , the first full-fledged survival horror in history. Many classic Capcom series are actively developing today. In addition to Resident Evil, we can note Street Fighter and Monster Hunter .

At the same time, the Japanese giant has many franchises that are in a kind of freeze. Bright examples are Mega Man , Dino Crisis , Devil May Cry , Ace Attorney , Lost Planet and Darkstalkers . However, the latest The Game Awards showed that the company is ready to return the classics to modern consoles and PCs.

Okami Sequel

The original Okami was and remains a very unusual game. It features a colorful picture, as if painted with watercolors, and non-trivial controls. To attack enemies with magic, you need to draw certain symbols on the screen yourself. Moreover, the Wii console uses gamepads with a motion detector for this, and the Switch uses a touch screen. On this portable console, Okami plays great even today. I have personally tested it.

The combination of a dense atmosphere, an interesting plot, non-trivial gameplay and bright graphics delighted critics. The project received high marks from the press, and some publications even declared it the game of the year. Unfortunately, due to modest sales, Capcom did not dare to finance a sequel for many years. The announcement of the sequel took place only in 2024, 18 years after the release of the original.

Hideki Kamiya, who led the development of the first Okami, was brought in to work on the second part. He was also responsible for Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry . In 2007, he had to leave the company to found Platinum Games with Shinji Mikami and Atsushi Inaba. Hideki released the Bayonetta trilogy for it . Last year, due to creative differences, Kamiya had to leave the studio, after which rumors appeared that he would return to Capcom to make a new Devil May Cry. But instead, he was assigned to work on the sequel to Okami.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Many Japanese anime series retell real-life events in their own way and combine them with fantasy elements. The plots of the Onimusha series of games are built in a similar way . For example, the action of the first part takes place during the Sengoku period (the second half of the 15th - early 17th centuries), and the famous samurai Nobunaga Oda (1534-1582) appears in the script. The third part takes place in modern France, and the role of the main character Jacques Blanc is played by actor Jean Reno, known for the film Leon.

But players loved the series not for the plot, but for the high-quality gameplay, which is sometimes compared to Devil May Cry. The main characters of Onimusha wield cold weapons and destructive magic. The combat system is simple but exciting. Local enemies motivate you to use the block and parry wisely, use spells in time and deliver critical hits. If you want to play the first part today, we highly recommend the 2018 remaster. In it, the developers not only improved the graphics, but also brought the controls up to modern standards.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword will be released in 2026. Its action will be transferred to the beginning of the 17th century. Kyoto, the capital of Japan, has fallen under the power of demonic creatures, and only a lone samurai with the Oni glove can stop them. As before, you will have to use a sharp katana and powerful spells. There are no other details about the game yet.

What other series could Capcom resurrect?

In addition to the two announcements, Capcom representatives said they wanted to bring back other famous series. The most obvious option is Dino Crisis . Fans have been dreaming about a remake of this horror for a long time. Even by today's standards, the game looks unusual, because dinosaurs are almost never found in horror films.

Mega Man also comes to mind . The first parts of the series were released back in the 80s, and the latest one at the moment was released in 2018. 2D action platformers are still relevant today, especially on portable consoles. There is a chance that Capcom will release a sequel.

However, in our opinion, the most interesting option is Devil May Cry 6. New parts of Bayonetta and God of War , if they come out, will not be soon, so the project will have practically no competitors. And slashers are still in demand by the audience. For example, sales of the fifth DMC amounted to 8.1 million copies.