When you're not swinging around your chosen instrument of martial mayhem, Onimusha has the feel of the Resident Evil series that Capcom is famous for. You'll search out keys and various other items that will help you get closer to the heart of the problem. You'll also need to occasionally solve a straightforward box puzzle in order to gain said items. It's obvious that Onimusha is based on the RE formula, and sometimes the similarities are a bit annoying. It's not a big deal, but a little more creativity on this end would have been nice.
Some similarities are a good thing, though.
Controlling Samanosuke is a breeze thanks to the Resident Evil style control scheme. It's been tweaked to be a bit more responsive for the faster paced action of Onimusha and it won't take long for players to slash like a pro. Dodging and slashing at the correct instance can bring about a sweet one-hit kill. Very satisfying, indeed. To further augment the solid show of gameplay, Onimusha gives gamers an awesome visual treat.