Review cover Dynasty Warriors: Origins GBAtemp review
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Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): January 17, 2025
  • Release Date (EU): January 17, 2025
  • Release Date (JP): January 17, 2025
  • Publisher: Koei Tecmo Games
  • Developer: Koei Tecmo Games
  • Genres: Dynasty Warriors
  • Also For: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

Review Approach:

Game code provided by the publisher for the purpose of review.
A fresh take on the Three Kingdoms, we look at the latest in Koei Tecmo’s famous line of hackery and slashery!

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I really like Warriors games. I need to be in a certain mood to play one, I’ll admit, but when that mood hits nothing feels quite as good as slashing through hordes of enemies by the hundreds. Despite my enjoyment of what is basically its own genre at this point, I rarely touch the series that started it all. Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, Pirate Warriors, even Samurai Warriors have all been big hits with me, but the last time I touched base in ancient China was back in 2019 as Dynasty Warriors 8 hit the Switch. With Origins aiming to breath a genuinely fresh breath of air into a story long-since told, I was excited to get stuck in and get slashing.

A Story of Three Kingdoms

Now thanks to my limited experience with Ancient China, I’m not going to be the person who will give you a full rundown of how this game is different to the other eight mainline Dynasty Warriors games before it, and that extends to the plot too. To give a basic rundown, your average Dynasty Warriors game will give you a glimpse of this original era of chaos, before fast forwarding a bit to the part of the story where the Three Kingdoms have actually gained influence, with you picking it up from there and following it through to the end. Origins, as the name might suggest, takes you right back to the start, and actually stays there.

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The game is broken up into five chapters, with the first three following something of a set path for you, and the later chapters requiring you to have picked a faction to back having had time to see what they stand for and how they align with your own personal philosophies. Five chapters might not sound like a lot, but you do end up with around 40 major battles to fight through, with a good number of them offering multiple different strategies to explore. It’s a surprising amount of content for what feels like such a condensed storyline, and it really gives you an opportunity to get to know not only the your headliners like Cao Cao and Liu Bei, but also random officers that serve under them.

As you progress you’ll almost stumble into small scenarios and cutscenes that do a great job of building up the world for those like me who might be unfamiliar. The cast feel diverse and interesting, and with each encounter being fully voiced, I had a great time just sitting and listening after a big battle. Learning about the world and hearing various perspectives on the few big names I did recognise helped me in engaging with the larger world of the game, and sit next to the combat well. I'm the kind of person who tends to skip through support dialogues to just get back to business, but here I really felt compelled to dive deeper as events gained more clarity and names I never recognised soon became encounters to look forward to.

A Solitary Hero Rises

Though the cast is something I really came to appreciate, you can quite notably not play through the game using any of them. Unlike previous titles where you might unlock more characters as you progress, each with their own weapon, level, and skill tree, here you get one. The protagonist for this game, and the character you’ll find yourself controlling through each of its battles, is a nameless wanderer who’s conveniently lost their memory. The setup is about as generic as it gets, but there’s a reason we do see these tropes time and time again. You’re learning both about the world and the character themselves alongside them, which does a good job of keeping you invested and engaged with the both the larger plot and how your guy fits into it.

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For what few bits of Dynasty Warriors I remembered going into this, a new major character seemed a bold choice. After all, while the games do follow a somewhat romanticised version of history, they don’t tend to stray too far from it. At least not without explicitly marking diverging plot points as fictional what ifs. The way your character is brought in is, to me, smart. Early on they’re revealed to be a “Guardian of Peace”, a group operating from the shadows to prevent major calamity and steer the country in a largely positive direction. They avoid the limelight and, more importantly, the history books. Again we’re not exactly seeing anything revolutionary here, but it is a great fit for the context of the series. Working from the shadows, you’re given a sense of freedom to participate in events as an outsider. And while you do eventually pick the side you’ll stick with, that freedom follows you throughout the game.

In a lot of previous games, battles have followed a largely scripted sequence of events. Move to this outpost, defeat these generals, save this person. You follow small breadcrumbs working towards your larger target for the map. To be clear, I don’t dislike this kind of structure, and I do feel it’s a satisfying presentation for a Warriors game. Origins still has this, but it doesn’t necessarily force it upon you. At the start of a large battle you’ll sit in a briefing as the officers at play lay out who can’t die and who needs to die, your lose condition and your win condition basically. From there you’ll hear how each of the other major characters are going to act, with most briefings ending along the lines of “you do as you please”. You want to abandon everybody and rush the objective? It’s entirely possible. You want to follow your allies through each roadblock, methodically clearing a path for a coordinated attack? That’s an option. On the harder difficulties you’ll more naturally be falling into the scripted events as enemies hit harder and push you back far easier, but it’s certainly not impossible to fight on regardless.

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Combat as a whole in Origins feels like a step up, and manages to find surprising depth from a few small additions. The biggest ones on show are perfect dodges and parries, these executed by dodging and blocking respectively just as you’re about to be attacked. For the first few hours of play I shrugged them off, bullheadedly playing as I’d played any Warriors game before it. Mash the buttons and watch everybody gradually disappear. It worked to an extent, but officers were giving me much more push back than what I’d come to expect. And it really did seem like there were a lot of officers floating around. As somebody who more often than not likes to properly clear a path, the game felt slower paced and more methodical than usual, which eventually drew me back to parries. The system just feels great, with a dramatic knock back of the officer being followed by a remarkably satisfying counterattack. It’s a small rush that once I got a taste of, I would constantly go back to chase again and again.

Beyond parries and dodges though, you get access to four slots to assign skills to. These skills consume bravery points, with these points being replenished by defeating enemies. What they do will vary from skill to skill, with some being generic ones that will work with every weapon type, and others making use of the more unique aspects of each play style. The weapons themselves, while again limited in scope, each feel really fun to use. You start out only being able to use a sword, but gradually unlock more as you progress through the story. Each weapon has its own proficiency level that will increase through use, unlocking more combos or giving bonuses, with every one of these weapon levels added up for your rank. You can think of the rank as a more generic character level, and the system in place works really well. As you hit certain rank milestones you gain access to a number of useful passive skills, and with lower-level weapons being easier to level up, you’re encouraged to swap between different styles of play incredibly naturally. Your unused weapons to still gain some experience when not being used, similar to an Exp Share in Pokemon, so you can still stick to one without too many issues if that happens to be your preference. By the end of the game you’ll have ten to choose from, and while that doesn’t come close to the 29 unique weapons in a game like Hyrule Warriors, I do think each one here manages to feel well defined and satisfying in their own way.

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This larger single-character approach is something that drew me into Origins to begin with, and addresses what is to me a Warriors game’s greatest flaw: grinding. More often than not in previous games I would find a character I like and just try to play through the entire game with them. With Hyrule Warriors it was Linkle, in Fire Emblem Warriors in was Lianna, in Three Hopes Shez. I would always pump all my resources into this one favourite and everybody else would be playing catch up with whatever scraps were left, something that would usually come back to bite me as specific missions needed specific characters. Here all my investment feels meaningful, knowing this one character is going to be the one to carry me through the game, and I really love that.

As something of an aside, you do get brief moments of being able to play as other characters, with certain battles allowing you to pick an ally to fight alongside you. As you defeat enemies a meter will fill, and maxing it out will allow you to take control of them for a limited amount of time. They’re always well-levelled and powerful companions, and do a good job of mixing up the gameplay if like me you end up sticking to one weapon more than most. With ten companions available in the game, and this number being more limited by the faction you ultimately side with, it’s not quite the colourful roster you might have had in previous titles. Having said that, I still ended up enjoying this system as a whole.

A Living, Breathing China

As you might have picked up on by this point, Origins does a lot differently to what I’ve become familiar with in a Warriors game, and that even extends to the world map and how you engage with battles. It’s not unusual for a Warriors game to just be a series of menus where you’ll move from one scenario to the next, maybe with a cutscene here and there. It’s not something I’ve personally disliked in the past, but being presented with a world map as we have here has somewhat opened my eyes.

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The way it works here is that you have a shrunken down, almost diorama style, version of China. You can move your character through this map, with towns and key locations being easy to spot, and major battles being visible from a good distance away. As you move through the world, you’re able to interact with officers you’ve encountered in previous battles, hear the chatter from towns and villages as you pass by, and collect a number of minor resources, which can themselves be refined for small boosts in battles. The world is small, but feels so delicately crafted. I thoroughly enjoyed just moving from point A to point B, with more opening up as I progressed, and really putting the larger story into a context I could digest.

What actually surprised me the most was just how much I enjoyed jumping into the small extra battles that popped up as I moved through a region. You see each of the game’s provinces has its own rating for how peaceful it is. Obviously with the country as it is at the start of the game, most places are pretty chaotic out of the gate. Major battles in a region will help make it more peaceful, but if you want to go above and beyond, you can hop into these small extra battles too. Usually I’d shrug something like this off as more hassle than it’s worth, but the game really goes above and beyond in making them as frictionless as possible. You select the battle as you’re walking by, the map zooms into your location, and you’re already running into battle. I accept this might not be such a revolutionary thing for everybody, but it pulled me into the game in a way I’ve genuinely not experienced before. It’s a small thing, but something finally clicked with all the boasting Sony and Microsoft did about their system’s SSDs as they were releasing. I ran the game off a random M.2 NVMe SSD on my PC and it was stellar, though your mileage will naturally vary here. I would hope the PS5 and Xbox releases are just as snappy as I got to experience though.

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Outside of my bewilderment at the smaller details, these battles do also serve a great role in letting you try out new weapons, and in giving you a place to grind out side quests if you happen to find yourself with a lot. The low stakes gave me a really nice entrypoint to just hop on for ten minutes between other activities and get just a slice of the action I come to a Warriors game for.

PC Performance

With this being a review for the PC version of the game, I did want to take a moment before finishing up to touch on the systems I’ve been playing the game on, and how they handled it. I’ve mainly been switching between a desktop PC with a 12600K and 3070 Ti, and a gaming laptop that has a 6800H and 3070 Ti Mobile. With my desktop I had no issues hitting a consistent 4K/60 on the highest settings, and the game really did both look and play great. Though the laptop is obviously the weaker system, I was still able to enjoy the 165Hz 1200p display to some extent. By capping the framerate to 120fps in-game, I would typically see somewhere around 100fps on medium settings. With VRR in play it was just as good a way to play. I will note here that I did get a few crashes when playing on my desktop, but with the nature of PC gaming and every system being entirely unique, I can’t say with any certainty that it was the game at fault. I did report these crashes to the PR team however, and the game has seemed to run well enough on my desktop lately.

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One final thing I will touch on is the fact the game has settings specifically for the Steam Deck, including a graphics preset and a unique texture detail option. I don’t have a Deck myself to tell you how the game runs, but if you are curious there is a free demo you can try for yourself. It’s something great to see all the same, and I do appreciate that developers are making the effort to cater to lower end systems in this way.

One for the Ages?

Dynasty Warriors Origins has been a game I’ve thoroughly enjoyed from start to end, and a little more after. Delivering on a more focused experience that strips the experience down to its most essential form, and executes them brilliantly, this might actually be a game I recommend previous deniers of the series check out. With some luck we might yet see this formula come to other notable Warriors series in a not so distant future too!

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Really enjoyable overworld to traverse
  • Incredibly refined and fun combat
  • Fully voiced cutscenes and officer interactions
  • Great amount of freedom as to how you approach a battle
  • Limited grinding due to only having one character
What We Didn't Like ...
  • One playable character can be a downgrade for some
  • Somewhat clichéd amnesiac origin story
10
Gameplay
This is the most fun I've had with a Warriors game full stop. A refined 1vs1000 experience, it felt satisfying to play from start to end.
8
Presentation
The game looks great in your large battles, but I really do want to shine a light on how much having an overworld to traverse enhances the larger experience. The diorama-esque China was a joy to explore, with minor interactions constantly popping up between each major conflict to engage with.
8
Lasting Appeal
Warriors games are rarely lacking in content to play and replay, and Origins certainly isn't any different. You've got a great assortment of battles to be approached with any number of different strategies and at a number of different difficulty settings. If you beat the game and find yourself wanting more, there's really enough to keep you here for a good while.
9.6
out of 10

Overall

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is without a doubt the best Warriors game I've played to date. Taking the core Warriors experience and stripping it down to its essentials, you have a refined and remarkably fun experience that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
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Thanks for this. I've had it on pre-order for a while and forgot it released today, but I've also been quite sick and had a 101.5 temp this morning. Glad it's getting quite favorable reviews. Can't wait to start playing, but it's going to have to wait until I feel better so I can fully enjoy it.
 
Thanks for this. I've had it on pre-order for a while and forgot it released today, but I've also been quite sick and had a 101.5 temp this morning. Glad it's getting quite favorable reviews. Can't wait to start playing, but it's going to have to wait until I feel better so I can fully enjoy it.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did once you're better! Think of it as motivation for your immune system to move quicker lol
 
Lost interest in other Warriors games quickly, but the demo for this one was quite fun. Was also surprised at how well it performed for the level of detail presented. I'll happily pick it up when it's around half off, since I obviously don't love the $70 base price.
 
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I wish Koei Tecmo would stop trying to reimagine the Musou games.

Disagree. Haven't played it yet, but I completed the demo and it was awesome. The majority are saying it's the best in years and it's receiving pretty high praises. If they didn't try to reinvent we'd have gotten another mediocre game like DW 7, 8, 9.
 
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From that review, I guess this one I should pirate it until it's on sale.
Musou's draw to me is the huge roster + weapon variety.
Doubly so for Dynasty Warriors, which gets the characters and plot added on top of it.

I wish Koei Tecmo would stop trying to reimagine the Musou games.
While I agree, companies do need to shake up the formula a bit or a game series become stale.
Graphics improvement alone can only get you so far.

However, many drastic changes in any consolidated IP should be relegated to spinoffs, or it loses its identity, as seen with Final Fantasy, which is now pretty much dead to me, hype-wise, since FF11/12.

Disagree. Haven't played it yet, but I completed the demo and it was awesome. The majority are saying it's the best in years and it's receiving pretty high praises. If they didn't try to reinvent we'd have gotten another mediocre game like DW 7, 8, 9.

DW7 and 8 are amazing, DW8XL CE is still the definite way to play the ROTK saga in Musou form, and WO3 Ultimate is the definite Musou experience.

DW9 was their huge miss.

Origin looks like it's solid fun, but without the character/weapon variety I'm used to, it will not have the staying power I crave.
Many thanks for the review!
 
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Disagree. Haven't played it yet, but I completed the demo and it was awesome. The majority are saying it's the best in years and it's receiving pretty high praises. If they didn't try to reinvent we'd have gotten another mediocre game like DW 7, 8, 9.
DW8 is considered one of the best more recent ones because it fixed a lot of the issue DW6 and 7 had.

The issue with reimagining games like this, and SW5 has the same problem, is that by focusing on one or two characters and trying to make the game more story driven, you're cutting out a lot of the period (SW5 stops at Honno-Ji), and taking focus away from, or cutting a lot of beloved characters.
 
DW8 is considered one of the best more recent ones because it fixed a lot of the issue DW6 and 7 had.

The overall reviews do not reflect that 7, 8, 9 were above the bar. Lower scores than 2, 3, 4 but higher than 5 & 6. Imo 7, 8, 9 absolutely do not hold up to the best titles in the Dynasty/Samurai/Orochi series. I have started playing Origins and imo it already blows 7, 8, 9 out of the water easily.
 
Is it historically accurate though because ultimately that’s ALL that matters in a game 😂
 
It's so damn good. I'm in the middle of clearing every story mission on Ultimate Warrior difficulty and it's been a blast! I just got Lu Bu's horse, Red Hare! :D
 
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Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): January 17, 2025
  • Release Date (EU): January 17, 2025
  • Release Date (JP): January 17, 2025
  • Publisher: Koei Tecmo Games
  • Developer: Koei Tecmo Games
  • Genres: Dynasty Warriors
  • Also For: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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