What a difference seven years makes. In 2018, the dismal Dynasty Warriors 9 effectively put Koei Tecmo’s storied hack and slash series on ice, but Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a completely different beast. For the first time in generations, the franchise feels fresh again — a genuine evolution of what’s come before.
To be clear, Origins is not Dynasty Warriors 10; there are fundamental differences here that make Origins its own standalone thing. But at the same time, it doesn’t quite feel like your typical spin-off, because the production values are what you’d expect from an all-or-nothing mainline sequel.
Origins is structured unlike any Dynasty Warriors title before it. Instead of jumping between stages via a menu, it adopts a story-based format that has more in common with RPGs. The whole game takes place on a world map that you’re free to traverse, visiting locations, characters, and battlefields as you go.
It’s not open world, but it is player-driven. You assume the role of a mysterious young man, who just so happens to be a dangerously skilled martial artist. The beginning of the game sees you cross paths with the legendary warlord Guan Yu, and in turn, you’re introduced to the turbulent Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history — now told through the eyes of your silent wanderer.
We say ‘Three Kingdoms’, but as its name suggests, Origins is more about the beginnings of this war-torn age. It covers — in much greater detail than ever before — the events that lead up to the climactic battle of Chibi, which, in previous games, was often utilised as a stage-setting clash, rather than a dramatic conclusion.
You could argue that Origins’ overarching plot is forced to end just as it’s really starting to heat up, but this is still a hefty historical adventure. The campaign clocks in at around 30 hours — but that’s counting for just one part of the game’s three-pronged narrative.
About halfway through said campaign, you’re presented a crucial decision: you need to side with one of China’s three rising factions — Shu, Wei, or Wu — and play out the rest of the story from that perspective. You’ll bond with a completely different cast of characters and engage in unique, faction-specific battles depending on your choice.
Basically, this structure triples Origins’ potential runtime, making it one of the most robust Dynasty Warriors games ever made — despite the fact that it only covers about one third of the overall Three Kingdoms saga.
Ultimately, this focus on earlier events works out brilliantly; characters are given much more room to breathe, and the storytelling benefits massively as a result. What’s more, being able to interact with these key figures from the perspective of a single player protagonist keeps everyone grounded. Familiar Dynasty Warriors faces have simply never seemed so human — the (often comical) caricatures of past games have been given genuine depth for the first time.
Getting to know these heroes (and villains) through fully-voiced bonding scenes adds a surprising amount of weight to your faction-related decision. By siding with Wei, for example, you know that somewhere down the line, you’ll have no choice but to march into battle against those who you had once called friends. This makes for some deliciously dramatic — and often bittersweet — moments during key conflicts.
Thankfully, upon completing the campaign, you’re given free reign on returning to previous chapters, or even individual battles. You also get to keep all of your progress — levels, abilities, and weapons — which makes replays a breeze. Naturally, most players will want to jump straight back to the all-important faction choice, and decide on a different path. As such, you don’t have to worry about replaying the entire game at least three times if you want to see everything, which is much appreciated.
There is one part of the story that doesn’t hit as hard as it should, however — and it boils down to your amnesiac protagonist. To be fair, the setup surrounding this unnamed hero is somewhat interesting, but as your tale unfurls, it just can’t match up against the drama and tension of the central Three Kingdoms narrative, and starts to feel like a slightly annoying distraction from the stuff that, at this point, you’re truly invested in.
Fortunately, narrative stumbles are all but forgotten when you take to the field. The sheer scale of the main story battles in Origins cannot be overstated: these are some of the most impressively gigantic encounters we’ve seen in gaming. They’re sometimes on par with what you’ll find in the modern Total War titles, but you’re right there, in the thick of it, playing a full-on action game.
This is where Origins solidifies itself as a true evolution of the series. These clashes finally feel like the realisation of Dynasty Warriors’ longstanding ‘1 vs. 1,000’ design philosophy, as your most devastating special attacks cleave through hundreds of troops in an instant. At its peak, when you can barely make out what’s happening thanks to the writhing mass of on-screen chaos, Origins is intoxicating.
Which brings us to the combat system itself. The core of Dynasty Warriors’ action remains intact, with simple, sweeping combos letting you mash through waves of grunts — but the biggest alterations manifest when you’re up against enemy officers.
Officer fights emphasise a back-and-forth that’s built on defensive actions like parries and dodges. After dealing with your opponent’s onslaught, you take advantage of their vulnerable state with combos and abilities of your own, breaking their morale — basically a stamina bar — in the process. Once that’s depleted, they’re left wide open, and you’ll either strike for huge damage, or deliver the final blow with an immensely satisfying, weapon-specific finisher.
The actual rhythm of combat may take some getting used to if you’re familiar with other Warriors games, because it’s evolved beyond that hack-and-slash, borderline button-mashing basis. This is a much more reactionary system, akin to what you contend with in a character action title.
And in our opinion, it works really well. In making officer encounters more involved and strategic, they stand apart from the regular, troop-crushing combat. Straightforward basics give way to some intense skirmishes as the game progresses, and honing your skills against the toughest of foes — shoutout to Lu Bu — provides a great sense of growth.
That said, there comes a point where repetition does start to set in. All of your enemies submit to the same mechanics, and with only around twelve different weapon types to learn from a defensive standpoint, more skilled players could grow weary of longer battles, where sturdy health bars are your only real obstacle.
Dynasty Warriors has a long history of offering up colossal playable character rosters — but that isn’t the case in Origins. While your protagonist is capable of wielding ten different weapon types — each with their own movesets, abilities, and unique mechanics — some fans will undoubtedly miss the unbridled variety that was once present in games like Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends.
But again, this is just the way that Origins is designed, with a singular, player character perspective in mind. And for what it’s worth, you do get to play as a small selection of other heroes — albeit only temporarily. In most story battles, you can team up with a companion, who’ll fight alongside you until their musou bar is full — and when it is, you can take direct control of them for a limited time.
Your allies can dish out some serious destruction, so they’re best utilised as another kind of super attack. And honestly, you might need it; Origins can become very tricky very quickly if you don’t keep an eye on the surrounding battlefield.
The series has always had strategic leanings, but Origins can be particularly punishing. You don’t need to babysit every ally across every map — thank God — but you will have to race over to certain characters and give them a helping hand from time to time, if only so that the opposing army doesn’t break through your formation.
Keeping track of a battle isn’t too difficult — it’s mostly just a case of actually listening to what your allies are saying, and following the general plan that’s explained at the war table before each encounter. But Origins knows how to keep you on your toes, and we’d go as far to say that it features some of the most engaging maps in the franchise.
