Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s Switch 2 hands-on: another impressive Capcom feat

Published Aug 6, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

I went hands-on with the Switch 2 version of the game for the first time, directly after playing two hours on PS5. As is the case with Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata, Way of the Sword is perfectly playable on Switch 2, though there are some clear technical concessions. Whether you’ll actually take advantage of its motion controls, though, will depend on your Wii-waggling nostalgia.

For my Switch 2 demo, I was able to pop into a training area and replay some boss fights I had just tried on PS5, including thrilling battles against Daidara and Rasho-gan. Being able to see an immediate comparison made it clear where the Switch 2 version lags behind more powerful consoles. The 30fps framerate dip is more noticeable in a fast-paced action game than Resident Evil Requiem. The image quality is notably more washed out in handheld mode, too. Both are to be expected from a Switch 2 port of a game like this, but it does end up feeling more visually compromised than Capcom’s more successful ports this year. As far as ports go, it feels more on par with how Split Fiction performed on Switch 2.

That’s not to diminish what’s still an impressive feat. Being able to play a game like Way of the Sword, filled with fast action and dazzling effects, on a Nintendo handheld remains a miracle. I can’t imagine I’ll opt to play on Switch 2, but for those who value flexible play over everything, it seems to be in a good enough state to satiate that desire.

How does Capcom keep pulling this off? Even the people working on these games don’t really seem to know. When I asked producer Akihito Kadowaki what the team’s secret was in a video interview following my demo, he just laughed. “Even I’m surprised by how we’re doing!” he said, with the room full of Capcom employees erupting into giggles. “There may be some secret sauce, but in terms of the technical side, there’s not really much you can say on that front!” The mystery continues.

Image: Polygon

What’s bound to be more niche is the Switch 2 version’s motion controls. If you so desire, you can waggle your Joy-con to swing your sword and shoot arrows. You can swing vertically and horizontally to pull off attacks, and swing both at once to pull off a special maneuver. It’s a fun idea for a gimmick, calling back to the old days of playing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on Wii, but I can’t imagine any human being playing the entire game like that. Combat in Way of the Sword is precise and requires you to time your blocks carefully. It’s hard to nail that timing when you’re also trying to swing your arms to activate attacks. Even after getting practice on PS5 for over two hours, I had to dial down the difficulty to its easiest setting on Switch 2 just to hold my own against Rasho-gan.

The motion controls may be little more than a party trick, but the Switch 2 port mostly feels like a success, based on my quick look at it. So long as you’re prepared for some washed-out visuals, Way of the Sword should once again prove that the Switch 2 is a capable piece of hardware for third-party games.