Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny (2025) Reviews
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, like an old katana, draws its blade once more, carving a path to modern consoles. Its age undoubtedly shows in places, but beneath the wear is a razor-sharp, thrilling demon-slaying adventure that still outclasses many of today’s flashier games.
A faithful but flawed remaster that polishes a PS2 cult classic without fixing its dated design. While the upscaled visuals and refined combat shine, stubborn fixed cameras and archaic progression hold it back. For fans, it's a nostalgic trip worth taking—but newcomers may find its clunkiness harder to swallow than a demon soul.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Remaster brings back a PS2 classic with cleaner visuals, smoother controls, and light quality-of-life tweaks. Its branching companion system and rewarding combat still stand out, even if some camera issues and story elements haven’t aged well. The remaster stays faithful to the original, for better and worse. Fans of the series will find something to enjoy, but it’s a tougher sell for newcomers.
“There’s something sacred about revisiting an old-school PS2 title and finding it not only intact but enhanced only where needed. The remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny pulls off that rare feat — retaining the original’s quirky charm and soul. Capcom has tweaked the game in just enough places that it doesn’t ruin the nostalgia.”
Onimusha 2 Samurai’s Destiny doesn’t reinvent the wheel or dramatically modernize every aspect of the original game. However, with its stylish action, welcome updates, and nostalgic charm, the remaster proves that even a 20-year-old game can still cut deep.
The Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny remaster is a valuable one, especially with Way of the Sword on the horizon.
Capcom delivered another successful remaster. Although Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is the least beloved of the original trilogy, it remains a major classic of the sixth console generation and one of the most ambitious titles of its time. With quality-of-life improvements and a beautiful adaptation of its pre-rendered backgrounds to HD, this is the definitive version of Jubei Yagyu's revenge.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is an excellent remaster and a clear step up from Onimusha: Warlords. While it still has its innate jank, the new additions and QoL features make this game feel up to current-day standards.
Despite it being released in 2002, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny has some cool new features, and is still enjoyable to play in the current gaming climate.
Overall, it’s a faithful remaster that longtime fans will likely appreciate. However, newcomers might be put off by its pre-rendered environments, frequent camera angle changes, overly cheesy and bad voice acting and a combat system that clearly shows its age when compared to more modern titles such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, or Ghost of Tsushima. This is a game best approached with an open mind and a willingness to experience a retro Capcom title from a very different era in game design.
A lot of fans consider Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny to be the best game in the series, and while that may be the case, like Onimusha Warlords before it, it hasn’t aged well.
A smart remaster that retains the core of the original while improving graphics and adding quality of life improvements, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is great for both fans and newcomers.
Onimusha 2 might have some odd pacing and distances itself from its predecessor's survival horror trappings, but it's a great game with a lot to offer, and the remaster further improves it with some nice bonus features and quality-of-life improvements. I couldn't be more excited for the future of Onimusha, and Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny further proves this series deserves its revival.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny is a relic of its time—visually upgraded and still atmospheric, but ultimately too dated and uneven to shine beyond its niche appeal.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Which leads me to my final thoughts. As a remaster, it’s well done if basic; some upspuffed visuals, a few QoL improvements, and an easier way to revisit the game. But unfortunately the game itself is showing its age, with obtuse objectives and maps and combat that rarely feels fun or exciting to engage in. One for old fans, and cautious new players looking to see what the series is all about before the new Onimusha: Way of the Sword next year.
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is an improvement over Warlords and is easily a highlight for the series.
There is something to be said about cherishing the classics, and for what it's worth, I did enjoy my time with this remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. It provides a lens back to when things were much more simpler and straightforward, where being able to complete a run in 6 hours and still having a good time was more the norm than the exception. Capcom could have made more significant changes to bring the game up to modern standards. Yet, in this form, we get to see how far games have come, albeit with a tinge of sadness at the missed opportunity to build even more hype ahead of Onimusha: Way of the Sword.
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, one of Capcom's timeless classics, returns in a superb remastered version that brings modern performance to the gameplay while offering excellent and polished Arabic language support. It delivers an action-adventure experience that beautifully blends drama with ancient Japanese mythology. Without a doubt, this version is the perfect choice to dive into the experience, whether you're a longtime fan of the series or a newcomer.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
“A glorious return of a legendary classic” The remastered Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny doesn’t aim to reinvent the classic, but rather presents it as it was—but more smoothly and elegantly. The experience retains its challenging, uniquely Japanese feel, and cinematic atmosphere, while adding thoughtful technical touches that open the door to a new audience without disappointing longtime fans.
Review in Arabic | Read full review