Dynasty Warriors: Origins review

Stagnancy is a frequent ailment for many quarter-century-old gaming franchises. Undoubtedly, it’s been a predicament for Ashikaga-based Omega Force, who has been developing Dynasty Warriors sequels and spin-offs since the property’s introduction as a one-on-one PlayStation One fighter.

Over the years, their abundant adaptations of Luo Guanzhong’s larger-than-life retelling of Chinese history has occasionally struggled to innovate. This has been most evident in rosters padded with scarcely relevant characters and the lifeless open world of 2018’s Warriors 9. Like underhanded allies Sun Quan and Liu Bei at the famed Battle of Red Cliffs, Omega Force found themselves in a decisive junction.

Seven Years on, A Sinewy Swordsman

Mirroring the shrewdness of a master tactician, Dynasty Warriors: Origins pushes the property in an unexpected direction. Instead of augmenting its armies with legions of new playables and movesets, Omega Force opts for leanness and precision. While long-standing problems like ally AI and abrupt losses in battle linger, these blemishes are counter-balanced by a far-reaching renovation of musou mechanics.

Undoubtedly, the biggest single modification is the abandonment of multiple historical figures. Across the last few mainline entries, playable officer quantities had hovered around the nineties. In its place, Origins provides a single protagonist, who is an amnesiac wanderer. Although this might initially seem disappointing given the property’s practice of providing semi-distinctive movesets for its notable characters, in execution it’s more of a lateral shift for Warriors.

Rushing into Battle is a Tireless Thrill

The new approach provides players with an advantageous perspective. Instead of just viewing selected events from the standpoint of a single, selected officer, Origins broadens its scope, providing you with plenty of opportunities to mingle with its cast before their rise to power. When they do age and develop into renowned figures, they tend to give platitudes about things like ‘the glory of battle’.

But Omega Force balances this with the perspective of ordinary folks, offering reminders of the late Han period, where death, famine, and political corruption were rampant. Here, there’s an impetus for all the furious fighting. As such, when you’re storming down a hillside with a battalion of allies, there’s emotion behind the thundering charge.

That said, Origins’ storytelling can be a bit dissonant. Sporadically, the dialog can feel a bit too much like synopsis. But other times, Origins channels the playfulness of an isekai harem romp, as Three Kingdoms vixens like Diaochan and Lady Sun become unreasonably smitten by the game’s lead. Even with boy band looks and selfless ambitions, your second-century rizz isn’t that strong. And while you can’t romance anyone, the game has a bond system with rewards for building rapport with fellow officers.

Goodbye Similar Movesets, Hello Focused Mastery

Much of the online discourse for musou enthusiasts often centers around the movesets for each character. While Origins narrows your arsenal to nine standard weapon types (plus the unlockable halberd after beating the campaign), there’s far more distinction with each tool. Instead of just tapping out combos with two buttons, there are holds, charges, and timed attacks, spawning different styles of play. And since your character’s level is based on the aggregate of your weapon levels, you’re encouraged to utilize your entire armory.

The popularity of Soulslikes, shows up when well-timed defensive dodges, parries, and guard breaks become essential during battles against elevated officers. Beyond equipped items, there are also seven skill trees that unlock passive and active skills, permitting flexibility in play style. However, don’t expect to bowl over the equivalent of bosses with mindless button mashing on anything but the Origins’ easiest three difficulty settings (a fourth one opens after beating the campaign). Instead, you’ll have to wear down their fortitude meters if you hope to humble them on the battlefield.

Read the Winds and Let the Arrows Fly

Pleasingly, Origins surges the number of onscreen opponents, making encounters showcase events. Despite the franchise’s reputation for being a mindless combo-a-thon, you’ll normally have to supervise each conflict. That means capturing key bases to reduce enemy morale and dealing with the consequences when enemies use formidable musou attacks against your forces. While infrequent, you get to occasionally order a calvary charge or a torrent of flaming arrows. That feels rousing, especially when you’re able to turn the tide of a critical fight.

Traditionally, there’s been little sense of geographical layout in the Dynasty Warriors series as you’re whisked away to different maps. But Origins incorporates an RPG-style overworld map that provides a more palpable perspective of events. Beyond the showcase battles, you’ll also be able to gather resources, speak to NPCs, and even perform some grinding by undertaking smaller-scale clashes. One downside is that these skirmishes don’t demonstrate the variability found in the main events and grow tedious. Another issue is that there’s little guidance as you wander across ten different providences.

Typically, the reduction of key elements like character rosters and masses of maps would signal a deficiency for more game franchises. But for every component that’s been confiscated, Dynasty Warriors: Origins provides a cool new feature. From environments like battle-scarred villages that convey a sense of exigence to storytelling that provides purpose for many members of its prolific cast, Origins makes amends for the disappointment of the last mainline outing.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.