SGF Preview | Capcom's String Of Big Hitters Seems To Be Continuing With Onimusha: Way Of The Sword And Resident Evil Veronica
Between showcases and hands-on appointments at SGF this year, I attended a one-hour presentation from Capcom that was split into two parts: a Q&A for Resident Evil Veronica and a hands-off demo of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, while making the section previously demoed at other shows available on public storefronts. It was a somewhat of an odd way to present things, considering people attending the show wouldn’t be able to speak to the gameplay experience, but with Gamescom and TGS coming up Capcom seems to have its reason.
Resident Evil Veronica
Capcom finally announced Resident Evil Veronica at Summer Game Fest after much anticipation. Notably, the word “Code” has been dropped from the title of this long-awaited remake. Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi (and his translator) sat down with the media to answer all of our questions during the Q&A for Resident Evil Veronica, while also walking us through the in-universe timeline for those less familiar with one of the series’ less popular entries.
The history lesson was mostly a recap of the story thus far. Three months after the Raccoon City disaster (Resident Evil 2 and 3), Claire Redfield sets off to France in search of her brother, Chris. Instead, Umbrella units capture and whisk Claire away to Rockfort Island, a mysterious island devastated by a biological disaster.
One of the first questions asked was why remake this game? Why now? Hirabayashi responded that there is no set process in choosing which game to remake, but the team decides which makes the most sense and which the team wants to work on. Responding to another question regarding the development team, he further explained that this is the same team behind the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes – establishing something of a loose logic of remaking the respective follow-up games for each of RE2’s protagonists.
When asked about why the title no longer contains “Code”, Hirabayashi explained that they are treating Resident Evil Veronica as a mainline numbered Resident Evil game. There is a certain style to the naming of the modern Resident Evil titles, and they aimed to align the remake’s title to better fit the contemporary naming conventions, which involve keeping the title to a single-word subtitle. This is also noteworthy as when the trailer was shown at Geoff Keighley’s showcase this year, the first part of the logo that appeared was “V”, mirroring the roman numeral “5” and perhaps implying a loose bit of revisionist history that could allow Capcom to sidestep remaking the poorly aged Resident Evil 5.
This process of modernising an older game carried over to the gameplay, too. Hirabayashi stated that they view this as a remake as opposed to a reimagining. There will be quality of life updates to the game, but they did not want to strip away the core identity of the original Code Veronica. He explained that he hopes to bring to life the original vision of the game and implement modern updates or features that might have been impossible back when the original was released. With the confirmation that this game will remain in third-person (despite the first-person viewing angle in the trailer), Hirabayashi believes one major technical upgrade to the game will be the camera, given its static positions in the original game.
Lastly and most importantly, one media member discussed how the past few Resident Evil main characters have iconic watches, and wondered if Claire Redfield will don an iconic watch of her own in this game. Currently, in the trailers, Claire’s wrist is bare of any accessories. Hirabayashi asked the media what watch they think Claire should wear. The question-asker responded with a specific brand, color, and band , but I was unable to discern their exact responses. Hirabayashi responded by saying he will take this information back to the character design artists.
Resident Evil Veronica is currently slated for a 2027 release, and when pressed on a potential timeframe for that release date, Hirabayashi gave an expected response stating, “we are working on it and want you all to play it as soon as possible”.
The game will launch in 2027 on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
The behind-closed-doors presentation of Onimusha: Way of the Sword showed off a bit more than the currently playable demo, including a new location: a town built around a temple. This temple acts as a main hub connecting zones throughout Onimusha, allowing players to recover before setting off to cleanse an area that’s been desecrated by the Malice.
In Onimusha, you play as Musashi Miyamoto, a young samurai equipped with an Oni Gauntlet, which grants him the power to slay Genma, ancient fiends that are usually found in the depths of hell. Musashi must utilise the full power of the Oni Gauntlet to vanquish the Genma and cleanse the towns of the ominous Malice throughout Kyoto. From the few cutscenes in the demo, you get a glimpse of Musashi’s character: a determined and fearless warrior who is sometimes a bit of a slapstick buffoon.
This presentation, while containing some narrative elements, was meant to display the combat with new enemies and Oni Armaments.
During our hands-off demo, the gameplay featured a new type of Genma called the Ningyo that appeared as a young woman, only to lure in unsuspecting victims before transforming into a flesh-eating fish — like a reverse mermaid. These creatures shot a ranged attack from their mouth while in water. But as soon as you get within range, they launch themselves at you, closing in with melee attacks. This quick shift from water to land made their attack pattern fast and unpredictable, but with a few swift strikes and some blocking, they were taken down quickly.
Each defeated enemy releases blue and red souls. The red souls seem to be a currency that can be spent in the temple hub. The blue souls help increase the Oni Armament meter. Once the meter is full, you are able to summon an Oni Armament and unleash a powerful attack. In the hands-off preview, the types of armaments varied from dual daggers, a flute that summons a phoenix-like bird, and a pair of hammers called Earth Shakers.
The difficulty of the fights indicated that all combat techniques will need to be utilised in order to successfully defeat the high-end enemies, such as bosses. The breadth of weapons, skills, and items used by Musashi results in beautiful and stylistic fights, like a dance between two swordsmen. When the player of the demo fought the final boss, the combat reminded me of a breakneck anime battle that any normal human could not keep up. This created a cinematic experience that left me a bit more excited for Onimusha than I was before the preview.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword releases on September 24, 2026, on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.
