The 5 BEST Samurai Games and 5 That Bring DISHONOR

5 Best Samurai Games & 5 That Bring Dishonor

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re taking a look at 5 of the BEST samurai games, and 5 that dishonor the Bushidō code!

Dishonorable: “Samurai Warriors 3” (2009)

“Samurai Warriors” is typically a beloved game series, at least when it comes to the ‘musou’ genre, but one of them offers a less-than-stellar experience. Enter “Samurai Warriors 3” on the Wii. It’s been criticized by fans for its poor presentation and sluggish gameplay, which feels more like trudging through knee-high snow rather than smoothly carving through armies of enemies. The AI was a step backwards, sometimes just staring at you rather than fighting. The level design isn’t going to redeem it either, as it manages to both look bland and feel frustrating. Unfortunately, the game just isn’t optimized well for Wii, resulting in a massive graphical downgrade. Even then, it still lags more than on PS3.

Honorable: “Onimusha: Warlords” (2001)

“Onimusha: Warlords” is undeniably a 2001 game, sporting tank-like controls, a fixed camera that works against you, and numerous mechanical quirks that might confuse gamers of today. Beneath that rough exterior lies a true classic, brimming with atmosphere and sporting an engaging blend of action and survival horror. Its legacy is perhaps best exemplified by the fact that a bug in the game during its development allowed enemies to be juggled in the air, which would go on to directly inspire Hideki Kamiya to create the iconic aerial combat seen in “Devil May Cry.” It’s no wonder “Onimusha: Warlords” still gets updates and support two decades later, as with 2025’s ‘Hell Mode’ update.

Dishonorable: “Samurai Western” (2005)

You’d think dropping samurai into the wild west would be a recipe for success, but this one isn’t! Released in 2005, “Samurai Western” is so close to being great. Alas, it falls short with gameplay that’s just a bit too repetitive and unpolished, a plot that is just too weak, and difficulty that’s more frustrating than fun. Feeling like you’re wading through quicksand is one thing, but having to also deal with the abysmal camera system makes it so much worse. The game uses a concept with a lot of potential, although it executes the idea poorly.

Honorable: “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows” (2025)

Set during the Sengoku period, “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows” offers an authentic samurai experience, from how it teaches you their history, to its visual aesthetic, to its sound design. It perfectly delivers the fantasy of both playing as a samurai in Yasuke and as a shinobi in Naoe. It’s a dual protagonist approach that Ubisoft has run with before, but this time, it’s interwoven better with narrative and gameplay systems in a way their previous attempts weren’t. Even if you separate it completely from the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise, “Shadows” stands on its own as a great samurai game!

Dishonorable: “Die by the Blade” (2024)

“Die by the Blade” is a fighting game that’s best described as a modern take on “Bushido Blade.” Unfortunately, it fell victim to many of the common pitfalls that come with being underdeveloped. While the goal was to craft a precision-based, skill-heavy sword-fighting game, the product came out with a slew of technical issues. Poor performance, bugs and glitches, and a clear lack of polish right from the get-go. Even after a successful Kickstarter campaign, the game was delayed multiple times, only for a half-baked result to come out, leading many players to complain about a lack of content.

Honorable: “Katana Zero” (2019)

“Katana Zero” isn’t just one of the highest-rated indie games ever. It’s got near-perfect puzzle-platforming and shows some of the most masterful use of distilled action in video games. It nails the feeling of being a lightning-fast ronin with its gameplay loop, where you’ll be using trial and error to experiment with each part of a given level in an attempt to find the perfect path. Once you’ve got it, you’ll be chaining kills, dodging bullets, and deflecting projectiles! In a world where games typically think you’re stupid and that they need to hold your hand, “Katana Zero” respects your intelligence. It rewards your patience in an unforgettably stylish and brutal experience.

Dishonorable: “Seven Samurai 20XX” (2004)

When you take the name of legendary film director Akira Kurosawa’s cinematic masterpiece, “Seven Samurai,” you set an incredibly high, perhaps too high, bar. “Seven Samurai 20XX,” while stylish at times, not only failed to clear that bar, it ran face-first into it and lost its front teeth! It’s a pretty generic brawler, but it was universally criticized for its unresponsive, repetitive, and awkward gameplay. The story, while only loosely based on the movie, isn’t adapted very well and makes a futuristic twist on the original, which doesn’t do it any favors.

Honorable: “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” (2019)

If there’s one samurai game with incredible combat, it’s “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.” FromSoftware’s 2019 masterpiece redefines what a rhythm game can be, with its deflection system and otherwise insanely fast-paced combat. It generally feels good when you master combat in FromSoftware’s games, but Sekiro’s is special. It’s got arguably the most demanding, satisfying, and spectacularly choreographed combat system in the whole industry. It’s a lot more than just its katana gameplay, however. The player character ‘Wolf’ undertakes a very soulful and symbolic journey through a fantastical Sengoku Japan that could only have been helmed by the master of mythos and mythology himself, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Dishonorable: “Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma” (2015)

“Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma” brought such profound dishonor that it practically set itself on fire! This 2015 sequel was initially planned as an episodic series, but the first episode was so catastrophically broken and poorly received that subsequent episodes were canceled. It was then delisted from stores, and the developers were so self-aware that they offered full refunds to everyone who purchased it, which almost never happens otherwise! The game is a horribly buggy and unfinished mess that sadly stains the legacy of its predecessor, the first “Afro Samurai” game.

Honorable: “Ghost of Tsushima” (2020)

“Ghost of Tsushima” stands as the absolute pinnacle of video game samurai experiences. It immerses players in a world so deeply inspired by classic samurai cinema that it feels like stepping into a Kurosawa film, a fact that’s accentuated by the game’s actual Kurosawa visual mode. The game steers away from its typically more fantastical peers and banks more on the beauty of nature, from swaying golden fields to snowy mountains. The game lives and dies by its believability. As such, it’s relatively grounded, and the combat is mostly realistic. The narrative is compelling, and the game’s events are based on the real Mongol invasion of Tsushima in 1274. All in all, it’s the perfect samurai game!

Which game was your least and most favorite? Tell us in the comments below whether you agree with our picks or not!