Updated daily · 29 Oct 2026
Player reception, side by side
Phantom Blade Zero vs Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Players rank the sword fighting first in both games. Onimusha’s complaints are about padded side quests and returning bosses, and Phantom Blade Zero’s about a challenge many find too low and a rough start on PC.
In short
As of 29 October, 79% of 3,373 player reviews recommend Phantom Blade Zero, and 90% of 16,933 recommend Onimusha. Players put the fighting first in both. Onimusha’s parry-based combat and its bosses carry it past side quests that pad out the hub and bosses that come back too often, and it runs well on most PCs. Phantom Blade Zero’s fights are faster and more cinematic, and players split over whether they ask enough of them. Its PC version also opens with a long shader compilation, and some players hit glitches and crashes.
Phantom Blade Zero: recommend it
79%of 3,373 reviews, as of 29 October182
Onimusha: recommend it
90%of 16,933 reviews, as of 29 October47
Side by side
The two games at a glance.
- Game
- Phantom Blade Zero
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword
- Price at launch
- $59.99
- $69.99
- Developer
- S-GAME Studio
- Capcom
- Publisher
- S-GAME Publishing
- Capcom
- Players recommend it
- 79% of 3,373 reviews
- 90% of 16,933 reviews
- Our reading
- 80 most helpful and 40 latest reviews, read 29 October
- 80 most helpful and 40 latest reviews, read 10 October
What players praise
What players like most.
Phantom Blade Zero
The fights look like a martial arts film.
Fast, fluid combos, parries that flow into counters and boss attacks with their own animations make every fight a show.
Bosses and weapons keep it fresh.
Players praise bosses that make them adapt and a wide range of weapons, each with its own moves.
Many PCs run it smoothly.
Players report steady frame rates from older cards such as the RTX 2060 up to high-end machines.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
The sword fighting carries the game.
Parries, deflects and Issen counters feel fluid and rewarding.
The bosses are the high point.
Players praise their movesets and their challenge.
It runs well on most PCs.
Players report smooth frame rates on a wide range of hardware, handhelds included.
What players criticise
What players complain about.
Phantom Blade Zero
Many find it too easy.
Long combos seem to play themselves and parries come easily, and some find little risk even on Hellwalker, the harder mode.
Shader compilation takes a long time.
The first launch spends 20 minutes or more compiling shaders for several players, and some had to sit through it twice.
Some PCs hit glitches and crashes.
Players report stutter, broken sky and hair textures and crashes, and several turn off ray tracing to stop light flickering.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword
Bosses come back too often.
Players meet the same bosses and mini-bosses again and again.
The side content is weak.
Most side quests are fetch or kill tasks in a padded hub.
The hand-holding grates.
The companion talks through fights and gives away puzzle answers, and players want a way to turn it off.
Which to pick
Which one is for you.
Phantom Blade Zero
Pick Phantom Blade Zero if you want the most spectacular sword fights of the two and don’t need them to be hard.
More on Phantom Blade ZeroOnimusha: Way of the Sword
Pick Onimusha if you want parry-based sword fighting and great bosses, and you can skip the side quests.
More on OnimushaQuestions
Phantom Blade Zero vs Onimusha: Way of the Sword, in short.
Is Phantom Blade Zero better than Onimusha: Way of the Sword?
Players like both, and Onimusha has the higher figure so far. As of 29 October 2026, 79% of Phantom Blade Zero’s 3,373 reviews recommend it and 90% of Onimusha’s 16,933. Both are praised first for their sword fighting. Phantom Blade Zero’s complaints are about its challenge and its PC launch, and Onimusha’s about padded side quests.18247
Which is harder, Phantom Blade Zero or Onimusha?
Players find both gentle at first. Many find Onimusha’s early hours easy on the normal setting, with harder bosses later and a hardest mode, Carnage, after one clear. Many find Phantom Blade Zero easy too, some even on Hellwalker, its harder mode, while others say its bosses take several tries.18247
Which runs better on PC, Phantom Blade Zero or Onimusha?
How much do Phantom Blade Zero and Onimusha cost?
Each game’s figure is the share of all its player reviews that recommend it, counted daily. Praise and complaints come from our own reading of its reviews, each judged from what the player wrote.
Sources
- 47Steam: Onimusha: Way of the Sword, store page and user reviews (opens in a new tab) Accessed 10 Oct 2026
- 48Capcom on Steam: Onimusha: Way of the Sword release date moved to 4 September, 2 July (opens in a new tab) Accessed 10 Oct 2026
- 182Steam: Phantom Blade Zero, store page and user reviews (opens in a new tab) Accessed 29 Oct 2026