PS Plus Premium is bringing back Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams in August.
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams came out on PlayStation 2. Capcom’s new Onimusha game, Way of the Sword, arrives on September 4. This gives players time to try the last old Onimusha game first. You can find more PlayStation news on Insider Saga.
Sony confirmed Dawn of Dreams for the Classics Catalog during June’s State of Play. It will be available to PS Plus Premium members on PS4 and PS5. Sony’s announcement only gives the month, not a release day.
That matters because Dawn of Dreams was not a small side game. It was the last new main Onimusha game for more than 20 years.
Way of the Sword is also not a remake of that game. It is a new start for the series. So this PS Plus release gives newer players a chance to try a very different version of Onimusha first.
Why PS Plus Premium is bringing back Onimusha
Dawn of Dreams came out on PlayStation 2 in 2006. It moved away from the story of Samanosuke, the hero of the first three games.
Its new lead was Soki. He has Oni powers and fights the Genma, the demon enemies that appear across the series.
The game also changed how Onimusha played. Earlier games mainly followed one hero. Dawn of Dreams let players switch between several characters.
Each character had different weapons and skills. Players could improve their weapons, return to old areas and fight with an AI partner. This made it a much bigger game than the earlier entries.
It also made Dawn of Dreams feel less like the short, fixed-camera action games that many players remember. Capcom was clearly trying new ideas, even if the game did not become as famous as Onimusha: Warlords or Onimusha 3.
That is what makes the new PS Plus version worth playing. It shows the last time Capcom tried to change the series before it went quiet.
Capcom says the Onimusha series has sold more than 9.1 million copies since the first game released in 2001. The company also calls Way of the Sword the first new game in the series in more than 20 years.
Way of the Sword is taking Onimusha in a new direction
Way of the Sword has a new hero too. Players control Miyamoto Musashi in a dark version of early Edo-era Kyoto.
Capcom says the game keeps the series’ sword fighting and Oni powers. It also gives the combat a newer feel with moves such as parries, deflects and Issen attacks.
Capcom originally announced a September 25 release. It later moved the game forward to September 4. The new game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.
That makes the timing of Dawn of Dreams more interesting. PS Plus Premium members can play the last major old Onimusha game in August, then see Capcom’s new version of the series in September.
The two games do not need to look alike for the older one to matter. Dawn of Dreams shows how Capcom once tried to make Onimusha bigger. Way of the Sword will show what the company thinks Onimusha should be now.
For players who only know the name, the Classics Catalog release is an easy place to start. It is a chance to see an older Onimusha game that many people missed before the series returns.
It also gives players time to learn the old series before the new game arrives.
Capcom’s latest release update confirms the September 4 date for Way of the Sword.
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