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Controversy · comment analysis

Is Phantom Blade Zero or Onimusha: Way of the Sword a soulslike?

What YouTube comments actually reveal about the soulslike label, backed by numbers.

Updated: 01/08/2026
No, neither Phantom Blade Zero nor Onimusha: Way of the Sword are pitched as soulslikes by their studios, but a chunk of commenters keep measuring them against Sekiro. The debate makes up ~15% of PBZ discussion and ~22% of Onimusha's.

The context

Phantom Blade Zero, developed by Chinese studio S-GAME, was unveiled on May 24, 2023. Originally set for September 9, 2026 on PS5 and PC, it was pushed back to October 29, 2026, as CEO Soulframe Liang announced in June 2026.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword, developed by Capcom, was revealed on December 12, 2024 at The Game Awards. The title marks the series' return after roughly two decades and is scheduled for a 2026 release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

In a June 2025 letter, S-GAME CEO Soulframe Liang stated that Phantom Blade Zero is "neither a Soulslike game nor a traditional action game," describing it instead as a "Wuxia Action Game."

Onimusha: Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei told GameSpot the game "isn't a punishing die-and-retry (soulslike) game," also confirming it would not be open-world.

Sources: S-GAME : Phantom Blade Zero n'est pas un Soulslike (lettre du CEO) · Onimusha: Way of the Sword n'est ni un Soulslike ni un open world (interview du directeur) · Onimusha: Way of the Sword annoncé aux Game Awards 2024 · Phantom Blade Zero repoussé au 29 octobre 2026 (annonce officielle)

Factual background compiled from public sources — the debate analysis below relies exclusively on the comments.

How we got here

as told by the comments
Dec 19, 2025

Early reactions to Phantom Blade Zero already bring up difficulty and a possible easy mode, showing the audience projecting Souls-style expectations from the start.

Jan 7, 2026

A comment coins "to hell with soulslike, we need phantomlike," an early sign that part of the Phantom Blade Zero audience rejects the label.

Apr 19-21, 2026

A wave of highly liked comments insists PBZ is a Ninja Gaiden/DMC-style hack'n'slash, not a soulslike, some even thanking the devs for the choice.

Jun 2, 2026

The Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo drops and crystallizes the opposite debate: several players complain the game isn't "hard enough" like Sekiro.

Jun 4-6, 2026

Commenters point out Sekiro drew from Tenchu, not Onimusha, and that the series was always more accessible, reigniting debate over the comparison's legitimacy.

Jun 14-25, 2026

On Phantom Blade Zero, the debate settles into a majority consensus of "not a soulslike," while on Onimusha the discussion shifts toward the difficulty being seen as too low rather than the genre label itself.

Phantom Blade Zero

~15% of the discussion on this game

On Phantom Blade Zero, the controversy mostly revolves around a majority of commenters rejecting the soulslike label, claiming kinship with Ninja Gaiden or DMC-style hack'n'slash instead. A minority still sees a Sekiro cousin because of the parry system and tough enemies.

Reject the label 70 %

Many insist that before soulslikes, character-action games like Ninja Gaiden or DMC already existed, and PBZ belongs to that lineage, not Dark Souls'.
« Before Souls-like games, we had Action/Character-Action games like Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Shinobi and others, evolved from 3D beat-em-ups. Now, anyone seeing a 3rd-person action game thinks it's another soulslike. I'm all for variety and want more fast-paced games like Ninja Gaiden 4, and this Phantom Blade Zero. »
— @QuantumSpaceOrca · ♥ 42 · translated · see original ↗
Some explicitly thank the studio for clarifying it's not a soulslike, seeing it as relief rather than disappointment.
« You had me at "not souls-like" THANK GOD. »
— @TheOneTrueNoName · ♥ 30 · translated · see original ↗
A highly liked comment sums up the frustration: people now have to explain what character action gameplay is to players who see soulslikes everywhere.
« It's crazy what souls-likes have done to people that we have to explain what character hack-and-slash action is. »
— @soknheith3259 · ♥ 377 · translated · see original ↗

Souls comparison 30 %

Several commenters, including in Portuguese and Spanish, describe the combat as clearly soulslike despite official denials, citing pacing and dodges.
« I've played a lot of hack and slash games. And I can clearly say this is a souls-like. »
— @CarlosGaMaMusica · ♥ 0 · translated · see original ↗
Others directly link PBZ to Sekiro and Dark Souls in the same breath, describing an assumed blend of inspirations despite the label's rejection.
« Ninja Gaiden + Sekiro + Dark Souls combined = ABSOLUTE CINEMA. »
— @jaker004 · ♥ 105 · translated · see original ↗
One comment jokes about the gap between developers denying the label and players who still shout "new soulslike!" at the sight of a sword.
« Developers: IT'S NOT A SOULSLIKE. Gamers: OMG NEW SOULSLIKE! lool. »
— @raulpozos5090 · ♥ 34 · translated · see original ↗

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

~22% of the discussion on this game

On Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the debate shifts: after the demo dropped, some players criticize the game for NOT being close enough to Sekiro in difficulty, while others point out the series was always more accessible and never aimed for that niche. The topic makes up ~22% of discussion, fueled by comparisons to FromSoftware's title across several videos.

Reject the label 55 %

Several commenters point out Onimusha was never a hard series, and comparing it to Sekiro reflects a misunderstanding of its history.
« Onimusha has never been, at any point, a difficult series. »
— @CliffSovereign · ♥ 51 · translated · see original ↗
One comment clarifies Sekiro drew from Tenchu, not Onimusha, and that games like Nioh actually blended both Souls and Onimusha influences.
« Bruh that title is an abomination my guy. Games like Nioh were openly inspired by Onimusha and souls games. Sekiro was based on Tenchu however, not Onimusha. »
— @jonaswest6993 · ♥ 5 · translated · see original ↗
Others insist the game feels like "an Onimusha game," not a Souls, through its own parry system and pacing.
« It didn't feel like souls at all to me, it felt like an Onimusha game. »
— @oluas85 · ♥ 108 · translated · see original ↗

Souls comparison 45 %

One commenter jokes that content creators call Onimusha a "Sekiro-like," sparking outrage from older players who know the series since the PS2 era.
« Onimusha gets called a "Sekiro-like" by content creators. Everyone born before 2010 evaporates. Akira Kurosawa's ghost laughs and asks if it's our first time. »
— @greenhowie · ♥ 79 · translated · see original ↗
Several players, disappointed by the demo's ease, explicitly hope for "Sekiro-like" or "Dark Souls-like" difficulty in the final version.
« I liked this demo, but I really hope we can crank the difficulty. A lot. Love the sound design for the sword, Musashi seems like a fun protagonist. »
— @colbyboucher6391 · ♥ 1 · translated · see original ↗
A lengthy comment directly compares the parry system to Souls games, judging it better for not forcing dodge-rolling, showing the Souls reference remains the implicit benchmark.
« I hate in games like this you always have to roll. That's why I don't like the Souls games so much. You are always having to roll instead of just trying to parry and you can't block all the time. It sucks. This is something this game has over it. »
— @handsomedubbledee · ♥ 34 · translated · see original ↗
Where the debate standsOn both games, most commenters reject the soulslike label in favor of a distinct identity (hack'n'slash for PBZ, historical samurai action for Onimusha). The debate stays livelier on Onimusha, though, where disappointment centers less on the label itself than on difficulty seen as too low compared to the Sekiro benchmark.

Frequently asked questions

Is Phantom Blade Zero a soulslike?
No, according to most commenters and the studio's own positioning: the game is described as a Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry-style hack'n'slash, though a minority still compares it to Sekiro for its parry system.
Does Onimusha: Way of the Sword resemble Sekiro?
Commenters are split: some see the comparison as unfair since the Onimusha series was always more accessible, while others, disappointed by the demo's ease, actually hope for Sekiro-like difficulty.
Which games are involved in this soulslike debate?
The debate spans Phantom Blade Zero and Onimusha: Way of the Sword, two third-person action games repeatedly compared to Dark Souls and Sekiro in YouTube comments despite their own positioning.
Why do some players want these games closer to Sekiro?
On Onimusha especially, several players find the demo too easy and want higher difficulty, citing Sekiro as a benchmark for demanding challenge rather than a gameplay template to copy.
Analysis built from 360 public YouTube comments on the tracked videos — updated on 01/08/2026. Our methodology