Onimusha: Way of the Sword - New Game Plus explained

The New Game Plus of Onimusha: Way of the Sword unlocks, as usual, once you've completed the game a first time. To access it, you need to start a new game in Carnage Mode, the game's Hard difficulty. There's no other way in.

Before you dive in, know that this new lap doesn't carry over your entire previous run. Some things carry over, others don't. Here's the full breakdown.

What you keep in NG+

• All your awakened Oni abilities
• All upgraded basic and special abilities
• All Hozuki Pouches and their upgrades
• All your Charms and their upgrades
• The majority of your items, offerings and materials
• All unlocked clothing, Haori Coats and sword appearances (including the Panda and Wataru-kun costumes)
• All unlocked Boss Rematch stages
• All rescued Lion Dogs
• All collected Genma Notes

A small detail that matters

Keeping these elements doesn't mean you have immediate access to them. Features like switching Haori Pouches remain locked until the story makes them available to you again. Makes sense, but good to know before panicking and thinking it's a bug.

What resets to zero

Unsurprisingly, all progress tied to side content is reset at the start of NG+. That also includes the levels of your Clothing, Weapons and Gauntlets. And your stock of red souls disappears completely - spend it before confirming the switch to Carnage, or it's lost for good.

Other elements don't carry over either:

• The Oni Bow
• All equipment upgrade materials
• All unlocked teleportation points

Difficulty options, and their limits

Bad news for those who'd like to ramp up the challenge on their very first playthrough along the way: Way of the Sword's difficulty settings only let you choose your path at the start. After that, you can only switch between Action Mode and Story Mode, and only at a Mirror.

Carnage Mode is the exception to the rule. Once selected, you can't go back down in difficulty. It's a one-way trip, so think it over before confirming.

Making your run harder (or easier)

If you want to add some spice to your first playthrough without waiting for NG+, a few ideas stand out from the game's community:

• Completely banning yourself from using items turns any boss into a real skill test.
• Disabling enemy health and stamina bars brings back that old-school feel that many series veterans are asking for.
• Conversely, enabling Action Prompts in Settings can save a tricky run, especially against large groups of enemies or end-game bosses in Carnage or Action mode.

In short, Onimusha: Way of the Sword's NG+ mainly rewards combat and collection progress, not resource farming or equipment upgrades. It's up to you to decide whether going for the Platinum is worth starting all over again in Carnage - for fans of old-school die and retry, the answer is probably yes...