- Difficulty
- 6.5/10.
- Time
- 60–70 hours to the platinum.
- Trophies
- 52 — 1 platinum, 2 gold, 9 silver, 40 bronze.
- Missable
- 0.
- Playthroughs
- 2 — Action or Story, then Carnage in New Game+.
- Free roam
- Until the point of no return before The Clash at Rendaino; "Continue" reopens it after the credits.
The five steps
Step 1 — Play the story on Action, up to the final mission
Complete the game on Action difficulty up to the final mission, The Clash at Rendaino. Play through freely, collecting as you go. Nothing is missable and a prompt warns you before the point of no return, so there is no need to sweep an area twice.
Step 2 — Collectible cleanup and upgrades before the final mission
The free-roam window. Finish the remaining Chance Encounters and Mysteries of Kyoto, sweep the Lion Dogs and Genma Notes, and spend the materials: skills with Power and Oni Stones, equipment with Fine Silk Cloth and Tamahagane. This is the step where Dressed to Kill belongs, because equipment enhancement is the one upgrade that does not carry into New Game+.
Step 3 — Complete the game
Cross the point of no return and finish the story. Carnage difficulty unlocks on completion. After the credits, "Continue" in the main menu returns you to before the final mission — which is also the only way to reach the twenty-third Genma Note, Yoshitsune's, which is post-game.
Step 4 — Carnage difficulty in New Game+
Start New Game+ on Carnage for True Onimusha, one of the two golds. What survives: Awakened Oni Abilities, enhanced skills, pouches with upgrades, items (not enhancement materials), Charms with enhancements, Genma Notes and Lion Dogs. What does not: Mysteries of Kyoto, Chance Encounters, clothing, sword and gauntlet enhancements, Red Souls, and Spirit Mirror unlock progress. Carnage removes action prompts and sharply raises enemy damage and boss aggression.
Step 5 — Boss Rematch
Go to Emma's Hall and ring the bell for the Practice Grounds, where Takamura runs Boss Rematch. Beating one opponent is Second Helping; beating all of them on all difficulties is Glutton for Punishment, the last gold. One warning matters here: you cannot use items or consumables from the item wheel in Boss Rematch.
Zero missable, but two playthroughs — those are different promises
The collection trophies
| Trophy | Grade | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Demystified | Silver | All 8 Mysteries of Kyoto. Does not carry into New Game+. |
| No Job Too Small | Silver | All 18 Chance Encounters. Does not carry into New Game+. |
| For the Love of Dog | Silver | All 36 Lion Dogs. Locked until chapter 11. |
| Oni Armory | Silver | All 7 Oni Armaments; two are given by the story. |
| Medical Marvel | Silver | All 9 Hozuki Pouches enhanced to maximum. The ninth is inside Hidden Treasure No. 5. |
| Charmed Life | Silver | All 15 Charms enhanced to maximum, at Emma's Hall. |
| Well-Rounded | Silver | All basic AND special skills — 54 Power Stones and 55 Oni Stones, though the Special Skill prices add up to 56. Skills carry over. |
| Dressed to Kill | Silver | All equipment at maximum — 23 Fine Silk Cloths and 23 Tamahagane. Does NOT carry over. |
| Genma-ologist | Bronze | All 23 Genma Notes; the last is post-game. Graded bronze, which is the odd one out on this table. |
The counters, and where they come from
- Deadeye — 100 headshots with the bow. The longest counter on the list, and the reason to use the Oni Bow in ordinary fights rather than saving it for the boss gimmicks that require it.
- Wielder of Oni Armaments — 100 kills with the seven special weapons. The Oni Strength Charm adds 6% to their power.
- Helm Splitter — 100 shields or armour pieces broken. Benkei's two fights are built on stripping armour with red souls.
- Brutalist — 50 Issen attacks, and the only silver among the counters. Burning Blade wants 50 kills in Blazing State, Oni's Oni 50 while Awakened, Flow State 50 with Chain Issens.
- Coming Through! — 50 guard breaks, triangle and circle together. Winning Is What Matters — 50 environmental attacks. Untouchable — 50 Grab Reversals. Pinch Hitter — 50 projectiles deflected. Stop Motion — 50 Reflex Combos.
- Silent Violence — 20 assassinations from behind, undetected. Citizen Savior — 30 townspeople rescued from random Genma attacks around Kyoto, speaking to each one afterwards.
- All of them have two playthroughs of runway, which is the practical upside of the Carnage requirement: nothing on this list needs farming if the Carnage run is played normally.