Dynasty Warriors: Origins Review – EPIC MUSOU BATTLES?!

Man, doesn’t your brain go full lizard mode whenever those huge K.O. numbers appear on screen? It’s so spicy! Of all the Warriors titles I’ve played, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is easily the most satisfying entry in the series—hands down. With brand-new systems, mechanics and graphics that don’t look like a PS3 knockoff, this reboot is ready to kick some much-needed backside!

A True Warrior of The Three Kingdoms!

Just like its predecessors, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is all about taking down enemy officers and covering the battlefield with big ‘stuff you’ attacks in the most anime of ways possible. You’ll have a ripper of a day sweeping across the map with some bangin’ electronic guitar tracks, as you plan out who to attack while horse-backin’ it to defend key points or teammates that might need assistance. You see, tactics are very important and well-balanced in this game, as a mindless charge into enemy territory will usually only get you so far—often a one-way trip to the game over screen.

Thankfully, the game clearly conveys vital information before story battles start, while you’re actively fighting and through a detailed zoomed-out view that also lets our super special awesome protag see things that others can’t. Concealed objects like hidden doors and magical items encourage players to carefully assess the situation for an advantage, accompanied by your daily dose of hackin’ and slashin’ dudes to death. To supplement this, the ability to command your own troops means that you can strategically destroy military devices, guard an area while a door’s being rammed or send forth an angry mob of soldiers to help break an enemy, leaving them wide open for some serious spankin’.

As the tides shift in your favour by winning 1-vs-1 duels, killing enemies and joining in on ambushes and charges, the morale and confidence of your allies will grow. On the flip side, the same also applies to your opponents. This makes them more aggressive and tougher to take down, especially if they pull off what the game calls Grand Tactics. Essentially, all hell breaks loose and you have to go full Super Saiyan to stop a devastating assault from happening. A few of these segments are absolutely bonkers and will have you busting out all your fancy-schmancy moves to bite back. Particularly ones that have invincibility frames, as the number of soldiers on-screen might start to fry your brainbox.

Wait! Come Again?

If anything, I’m honestly surprised that the PS5 can keep up with all this stuff happening on screen! Believe it or not, Dynasty Warriors: Origins has one of the most stable frame rates I’ve seen in a long time. Now, I don’t have a PS5 Pro, but my peasant Slim Digital console was consistently hitting 60FPS on both of the graphics and performance modes, with only barely noticeable drops when the larger scale battles began popping off. Impressive stuff here, I must say!

But on the other hand, where’s the multiplayer at? Making a Dynasty Warriors game without 2-player co-op is like Jak being without Daxter—it’s just not the same, man! What’s more, there’s only one character that you control throughout the entire campaign. Whereas the famous Three Kingdoms warriors are relegated to very brief tag-alongs that you can swap out for only a minute or so, once or twice per battle—and that’s on average. Don’t expect a massive lineup of guest characters either.

Gather ‘Round the Table, Men!

The story—as you would expect from a Dynasty Warriors game—isn’t particularly exciting either. It’s just a lot of prattling about achieving peace and battle tactics, as well as
“Wow! Isn’t the main character character so strong? They’re really strong, ey? He’s so mysterious!” I mean, I don’t know why all the characters think so, but we have to make it seem as if he’s important. Because if we don’t, the audience will turn off the TV! And we can’t have that!

Sure, you can talk to them around the overworld map as you buy your new gear and take on smaller side battles to earn skill points, money and other goodies. However, a fair few of them aren’t directly controllable, which is a real shame.

While the silent protag can wield 10 unique weapons and does have a pretty slick design, during cutscenes, it almost looks like he’s watching paint dry. A pretty accurate depiction of my face as I watched. While the English voice acting is half decent, the lack of lip-syncing is very awkward here, especially since the graphics are of such a high quality. Also, for some strange reason, the cast can’t quite figure out how to say Lord Cao Cao’s name properly. Can you?

Decision

At the end of the day, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a mighty satisfying reboot that improves upon almost every aspect of its predecessors. Remixing its highly addictive musou gameplay with an increased focus on strategy has resulted in the best game in the series to date. Commanding your own set of troops and then charging into a battle with 1,000 other soldiers is a sight to behold. There’s just so much cool stuff going on, and it runs so silky smooth; sitting around 60 FPS on a regular PS5. Even though the storyline is rather forgettable and the lack of any multiplayer functionality feels like a sin, this new formula of the series has been a triumphant return.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PlayStation 5

Excellent

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the most refined entry in the series, blending hyper-musou gameplay with strong strategic depth and a solid 60 FPS on PlayStation 5. While the story and lack of multiplayer hold it back from legendary status, the game shines with its impressive fighting mechanics and exhilarating grand-scale battles.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by KOEI TECMO. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.