PAX West 2025 has come and gone, and we were there all weekend checking out some of the hottest upcoming games. Of them are Capcom’s upcoming trio of heavy-hitters that, in my opinion, stole the show. I got to go hands-on with Pragmata, Resident Evil: Requiem, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword. I came away from each demo craving more, and I can’t wait for their official releases in 2026. For each game, I got to play roughly 30 minutes. Each demo was the perfect vertical slice to showcase their respective strengths, give a coherent tease at their stories, and teach you their mechanics in intuitive ways.

Pragmata

I first got hands-on with Pragmata during Summer Game Fest earlier this year. The PAX West demo is unchanged from that, save for one key aspect: I get to fight the boss. Check out our impressions video on the demo below, then come back to hear about the boss fight. I’ll wait.

Welcome back. The puzzle hacking mini-game in Pragmata still feels as cool as ever. I love how Hugh controls, and the boss fight is another highlight for an already extremely anticipated game. I fought a massive robot, who moves around the circular arena and attacks using a vast arsenal of weapons. Then I had to master the dodging mechanic by this point, since the boss is deceptively fast for its size. There are plenty of resources and replacement weapons strewn throughout the arena, so I wasn’t too worried if I used too much of my heavier-hitting guns.

During the initial demo, I used the Stasis Net on regular enemies a ton. It binds them in place, allowing me to set up, heal, or deal more damage. I did the same thing against the boss and it worked wonders. I hacked it, used the Stasis Net to slow it down, then blasted away. Once it broke free, I rinsed and repeated until I chipped away at its health enough to take it down. Demo done.

Resident Evil: Requiem

My game of the show for PAX West 2025, this is another I got to see behind-close-doors (although hands-off) during Summer Game Fest. This time around, I actually got to get my grubby little hands on it, and came away very impressed. One of gaming’s seminal survival horror franchises, Resident Evil has pioneered many staples we see in other titles. So it should come as no surprise that Requiem doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. But it iterates well on systems we’re familiar with that makes it feel fresh.

I played as Grace Ashcroft, the FBI agent shown in the trailers (and daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft). I’m thrust into a dark and claustrophobic hotel, scouring around in the dark until I find a lighter. After more exploration, I’m ambushed by a big, terrifying monster lady… thing. It chased me around relentlessly, but thankfully it’s vulnerable to light. There are a handful of safe rooms that she won’t enter, so it was a good place to take a breather.

Requiem gives players the option to play in both third and first-person perspectives, and I was able to try out both. First-person felt much scarier and immersive. Third-person allowed me to move the camera around in more dynamic ways, making it easier to peak around corners to plan my next move. This ability to change perspectives on the fly feels like Capcom creating a through-line for new fans of Resident Evil VII and Village, and those who have played the remakes of 2, 3, and 4.

I had to sneak around during my time with the demo. But since this is Resident Evil (and Grace is an FBI agent, for crying out loud), I would not be surprised to eventually use some firearms later on.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is another title we got to see as a hands-off preview during Summer Game Fest. I was immediately impressed by its visuals and the reinvention of the series it promises. You can check out our initial impressions on YouTube.

For PAX West, I got to play the hands-on demo twice (shoutout to media hour). Going in, I was expecting a brutally difficult Soulslike experience, where dodging, parrying and managing your resources were king. These elements are definitely present, but the difficulty was not, and I mean that in a good way. As someone who adores the art styles and aesthetics of Soulslikes but doesn’t quite jive with the difficulty, this is a breath of fresh air. Not to say the time I spent with the game was easy, but it’s more accessible to a wider audience.

I started out learning the basics of how to attack, dodge, and parry on regular enemies. The timing windows are forgiving, and swinging the sword for both regular and heavy attacks feels nice and fluid. Older entries in the franchise were played via a fixed-camera, tank control style similar to the original Resident Evil games, but Way of the Sword adopts a more dynamic over-the-shoulder point of view. This is a welcome change that helps facilitate the game’s action, and moving the camera doesn’t feel stiff or frustrating. In classic Onimusha fashion, you’ll absorb souls that restores health and builds up your special meter, and the gory dismemberment from previous games make its return.

The Boss Fight Was the Best Part of the Demo

My demo ended with a boss fight against Ganryu, a fellow swordsman that seems to have important story implications. This is where the combat shines, and where I died the most. Luckily, the checkpoints are pretty forgiving. You’ll likely die a lot when the final game releases, but you get thrust right back into the action, with little to no backtracking necessary. The fight itself was difficult, but once I learned Ganryu’s patterns and which attacks to dodge instead of parry, I came out on top in no time.

For example, he has a dropping kick that can’t be parried, so dodging is the right call. From what I could tell, there was no visual cue telling me what could and could not be parried, instead I took more of a trial and error approach. Fighting against another skilled swordsman was extremely cinematic and fun, and I felt like an absolute badass getting perfect parries and striking him down.