‘Dynasty Warriors’, published by Koei and developed by Omega Force originally began as a fighting game on the original PlayStation, in 1997. The sequel, however, became a hack-and-slash action game and created the ‘Musou’ gameplay style, meaning ‘1 vs 1000’, with players taking on large hordes of enemies. It remained in that genre ever since for every game and its various spin-offs and related games going forward, making it a successful franchise with a dedicated fanbase.

Its unique gameplay style has also been used for multiple other gaming and anime franchises including ‘Gundam’, ‘One Piece’, ‘The Legend of Zelda’ and many more. It has been seven years since the last ‘Dynasty Warriors’ and the wait is finally over as the 9th game in the series, ‘Dynasty Warriors: Origins’ slashes its way onto Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC.

Just like other games in the series, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is based on the famous Chinese novel from the 14th century, ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. The latest game is a reboot of the series, featuring a fresh new take on the main series where the main focus will be on a new fictional hero that the players will name and use to follow the three kingdoms period in ancient China. This new warrior has lost his memories and wishes to regain them. He must form alliances with various real historical figures from ancient China and battle their way from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Battle of Chibi.

The biggest change in the latest instalment is that you only have a single character to play instead of a large roster of historical figures from ancient China. The new protagonist may not have a voice other than grunts and screams during gameplay and isn’t exactly brimming with personality, but he more than makes up for it with his gameplay. He can use different weapons that players acquire through progression and purchasing from shops. Weapons range from swords, spears, polearms and more, each with its unique move sets, special moves known as Battle Arts and Musou Attacks that in a way, feel like you’re playing as different characters like in previous games.

Of course, the gameplay is where Dynasty Warriors truly shines. The 1 vs 1000 gameplay design in earlier Dynasty Warriors games wasn’t in the literal sense, though it still gave that feeling with enemies constantly respawning, but with each console generation, it feels closer and closer to actually fighting 1000 enemies. In Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the amount of characters and general soldiers you see on screen at once on the large battlefields is extraordinary and eliminating them is incredibly satisfying. There are still some camera issues when getting too close to a wall, but it never takes away from any of the fun you’ll be having.

Taking down the common enemies isn’t too hard, but players still shouldn’t take them lightly and always be on guard, especially when a stronger enemy appears, which will require more strategy. Players will have all the tools they need at their disposal with their chosen weapon to attack, defend and counter either on foot or on horseback. With enough meters built up, players can use Battle Arts to take out a large number of enemies when they’re feeling overwhelmed or perform a more damaging attack to break down certain enemies’ armour. Musou Attacks are devastating moves that can clear out an even larger amount of enemies with higher damage. All the moves performed on-screen create an absolute spectacle to behold and create a rewarding experience.

There is more to the game than just wielding a weapon at whole armies, as players can also preplan their strategies before heading into battle and even give out commands during gameplay. The objectives in each main mission are straightforward following the map to where the next event is occurring and taking out the enemies, but other events can suddenly pop up that require urgent attention, keeping players on their toes. In most battles, players will have allies and general soldiers fighting alongside them and occasionally, will also play as those characters for a brief period and perform some epic moves to slay the enemy team. Boss battles will really put players through their paces, forcing them to think, strategise and plan their attacks and feel incredibly rewarding after successfully conquering them.

Different difficulty settings are available depending on how much of a challenge each player is comfortable with. Most Dynasty Warriors games and other games related to the franchise feature multiplayer, as they’re perfect to play with a friend, but unfortunately there is no multiplayer of any kind in the latest instalment at all. Hopefully multiplayer will be considered for future games since this is a fresh new start for the series.

The graphics do look a bit like they are from the previous generation of consoles, but it’s likely due to the Musou-style gameplay, having a large number of characters on screen at once. Even if it has to sacrifice graphics for gameplay, the game overall still looks fantastic, especially while in action. The sight of large-scale epic battles never gets old and being in the middle of it feels exhilarating.

The overall style and presentation feature true Chinese aesthetics from the menus, cutscenes, traversing between each mission, character’s outfits and of course, the martial arts spectacle during gameplay that feels like you’re watching a classic kung fu action film.

Seeing familiar faces from the Dynasty Warriors series is a nice touch of nostalgia for longtime fans, even if this game is a reboot. The cutscenes help tell the story of the main protagonist and provide context for the next mission in the style of a Chinese drama film. Three languages are available with English, Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin to be specific), the latter of which feels the most authentic with the game’s theme. The soundtrack features a nice mix of traditional Chinese folk music during the menu screens and upbeat rocking tunes during gameplay.

The 9th game in the famous series by Koei Tecmo makes an impact the size of a Musou Attack. The new direction the game is going in is an interesting decision but does more than enough to keep you engaged and has the action-packed gameplay that diehard fans know and love. It has everything that makes a Dynasty Warriors game the success it has been for the past 28 years. Whether or not its Japanese counterpart, Samurai Warriors or their crossover game, Warriors Orochi will also be rebooted remains to be seen, but the future sure is exciting. Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a reintroduction to the franchise that does it absolute justice.

Written by: Sammy Hanson