Just rolled credits on Onimusha: Way of the Sword and staring at the "New Game+" prompt wondering what you'll actually keep? You're asking the same question filling up r/Onimusha this week — players trading notes on whether to grind side content before jumping in, and whether their upgrades survive the switch to Carnage. The short answer: your skills, charms and Oni Armaments carry over, but every gear upgrade and every unspent Red Soul is wiped. That single distinction changes how you should spend the back half of your first playthrough. This guide breaks down exactly what transfers, what resets, how to unlock the brutal Carnage difficulty, and how to prep for it — verified against IGN's official post-game guide, PC Gamer, GameRant and community trackers as of September 28, 2026.
Quick answer: In Onimusha: Way of the Sword, New Game+ is tied to Carnage difficulty, which unlocks after you beat the game once on Story or Action. Starting it carries over your skill tree, Oni Armaments, the Awakening meter, all Charms and charm enhancements, upgraded Hozuki Pouches, unlocked outfits, and every collectible. It resets your gear upgrades (health, damage, Oni Armament gauge), upgrade materials, Red Souls, the shop's stock, the Oni Bow and story progress. Carnage is locked in once chosen — you can't drop back to Story or Action. Before the final boss, dump leftover Red Souls into charm and pouch enhancements (those carry) rather than sword or gauntlet levels (those don't).
How do you unlock New Game Plus and Carnage in Onimusha: Way of the Sword?
New Game+ isn't a menu toggle you flip from the start — it's fused to the game's hardest difficulty, Carnage, and it only appears after you complete the campaign once. You can clear that first run on either of the two starting difficulties, Story or Action (Carnage is greyed out until then). If you need a refresher on the base modes, our difficulty settings guide covers how Story and Action differ.
Once the credits roll, loading a completed save lets you begin a fresh run with Carnage selected. As egamersworld sums it up: "Carnage waits behind your first clear, gets chosen at the start of New Game Plus, and once you lock it in, that's it." That last part is the trap — Carnage cannot be switched back to Story or Action mid-run. PC Gamer confirms it bluntly: "If you choose this difficulty, it's locked in. You can't change to Story or Action."
Carnage isn't just a stat sponge, either. It rebalances the whole encounter design:
- Enemies hit dramatically harder — closer to one-hit-kill territory, which is why prep matters.
- Certain bosses gain new moves. Per IGN, "Ganryu now has his own Issen that he'll occasionally use to counter your attacks" — so patterns you memorized on Action won't be safe.
- Standard enemies parry and counter far more often, meaning your deflect timing has to be sharp even in trash fights.
If you're rusty on the core counter that makes Carnage survivable, the Issen parry guide is the single best thing to drill before you start.
What carries over to New Game Plus?
This is where a lot of players get it wrong — they assume NG+ is a clean slate or, conversely, that everything transfers. Neither is true. Here's the confirmed carry-over list from IGN's official Post-Game Guide, corroborated by bo3.gg, onimushaguide and retrogems.fr:
| Carries over ✅ | What it means for Carnage |
|---|---|
| Skill tree (every purchased skill) | You keep all Basic and Special Skills — a huge head start |
| Oni Armaments | Your special elemental weapons transfer |
| Awakening meter | The Oni Awakening form carries over |
| Charms + charm enhancements | All charms (retrogems reports all 21) and their upgrades |
| Hozuki Pouches | Upgraded healing capacity survives |
| Outfits & cosmetics | Every skin/haori you unlocked stays available |
| Collectibles | Genma Notes, Lion Dogs and other collectibles carry — so you don't re-hunt them |
The collectibles point matters more than it sounds: because exploration finds transfer, you do not need to re-100% the map on your Carnage run. That directly answers the "should I do all the side quests again?" worry going around the subreddit — you don't.
What resets in New Game Plus?
The flip side is that your raw power gets stripped back to base, which is what makes Carnage genuinely dangerous even with a full skill tree. IGN is explicit: "What doesn't carry over, however, are your gear upgrades, so you'll be starting the new playthrough fresh in terms of your health, Oni armament gauge, and damage stats."
| Resets ❌ | Detail |
|---|---|
| Gear upgrades | Health, damage and Oni Armament gauge revert to base levels |
| Upgrade materials | You lose the crafting materials tied to those upgrades |
| Red Souls | The upgrade currency is wiped — any unspent souls are gone |
| Shop stock | The merchant's available items reset |
| Oni Bow | Not unlocked from the start; re-acquired through normal progression |
| Story progress | You start the campaign from the beginning |
GameRant reinforces the equipment point: "Sword and gauntlet enhancements do not carry over, and the materials needed to rebuild them" reset too. So while your skills make Musashi feel capable immediately, his survivability and burst damage start from zero — a deliberate design choice that keeps Carnage from being trivialized by a maxed first-run character. For how those upgrade tracks work in the first place, see the upgrade materials guide.
How should you prep your first playthrough for Carnage?
Because charm and pouch enhancements carry but weapon and gauntlet levels don't, there's a clear spend priority in the final hours of your first run. As the community trackers put it, the move is to "put remaining Red Souls into charm and pouch enhancements, not weapon or gauntlet levels." Here's the checklist:
- Spend down your Red Souls before the final boss. Unspent souls are deleted on NG+, so a stockpile is wasted potential. Convert them into things that transfer.
- Prioritize charm enhancements. Charms are not purely cosmetic in this game — Capcom states equipping them strengthens Musashi's abilities — and both the charms and their upgrades carry into Carnage.
- Max your Hozuki Pouches (healing). Extra healing capacity is one of the few survivability boosts that survives the reset, and it's exactly what you'll want against one-hit Carnage enemies.
- Finish collectible and side content on your first save. They carry over, so there's no reason to redo them — and IGN confirms you can even reload before the final boss to mop up.
- Don't over-invest in sword/gauntlet levels late. They reset, so late-run material dumps into gear are largely wasted if NG+ is your plan.
That last nuance is the whole reason this guide exists: the optimal first-playthrough finish looks different once you know what disappears.
Can you keep playing your completed save?
Yes — and it's the smart play. IGN confirms you can reload your finished file to the point right before the final boss to wrap up any remaining sidequests, collectibles or upgrades before committing to Carnage. GameRant adds that you can "keep a separate completed save if [you] want to return to the first playthrough for cleanup." So you're never forced to choose between a clean Carnage start and finishing your first run — do both.
What rewards does Carnage and post-game unlock?
Beating the game and clearing Carnage both open cosmetic rewards, several of which are classic Onimusha callbacks:
- On your first clear: the Panda Costume, a Panda Sword and a bamboo scabbard — an Onimusha series staple dating back to Warlords — plus the Wataru-kun costume (a real-life mascot of Arashiyama's retail district, complete with a bridge on its back).
- On completing Carnage: a new sword skin, another haori coat and another outfit.
- The final costume unlocks by beating all bosses in Boss Replay on Carnage mode — the true completionist flex.
If you're chasing 100%, these tie directly into the trophy hunt covered in the Platinum trophy guide.
FAQ
Is New Game Plus the same as Carnage in Onimusha: Way of the Sword? Effectively yes. Carnage difficulty is the New Game+ mode — starting it loads your completed save's carried-over progress into a fresh, much harder run. There's no separate "NG+ on Action" option; the post-game replay is bundled with the Carnage difficulty.
Do my upgrades carry over to Carnage? Partly. Your skill tree, Oni Armaments, Awakening meter, charms (and charm enhancements), Hozuki Pouch upgrades, outfits and collectibles carry over. Your gear upgrades — health, damage and Oni Armament gauge — do not, and neither do upgrade materials, the shop's stock or the Oni Bow. (Source: IGN Post-Game Guide.)
Are Red Souls lost when I start New Game Plus? Yes. Red Souls are wiped on NG+, so any you're holding when the credits roll are gone. Spend them before the final boss — ideally on charm and pouch enhancements, which carry over, rather than on sword or gauntlet levels, which reset.
Can I switch out of Carnage once I start it? No. Carnage is locked in the moment you select it. As PC Gamer notes, "you can't change to Story or Action." If you want a more relaxed replay, stick with Action rather than committing to Carnage.
Do I have to redo all the side quests and collectibles in New Game Plus? No. Collectibles you found carry over, so you don't need to re-hunt the map. Finish side content on your first playthrough — you can even reload before the final boss to clean it up — and it'll already be done when you move to Carnage.
What actually changes in Carnage difficulty besides higher damage? Enemies hit far harder (near one-hit-kill), standard foes parry and counter much more aggressively, and some bosses gain new attacks — IGN highlights that Ganryu gains his own Issen counter. Your carried-over skills help, but your reset gear stats mean you're fragile early.
| *All facts verified as of September 28, 2026 against IGN's official Onimusha: Way of the Sword Post-Game Guide, PC Gamer, GameRant, bo3.gg, egamersworld, onimushaguide and retrogems.fr. Onimusha: Way of the Sword released September 4, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X | S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.* |
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