Dynasty Warriors Origins Review (Xbox Series X|S & PlayStation 5)

I’d be lying if I said the quote “DO NOT PURSUE LU BU” hasn’t been playing volleyball in the back of my mind for the past twenty years or so. I’d also be lying if I said that Dynasty Warriors 9 was the near-perfect penultimate episode for the series, too. Let’s face it, Omega Force had the momentum to elevate its familiar recipe to breach new heights with its ninth mainline installment, but ultimately fell short when it came to emulating an open-world battlefield and filling it with genuinely interesting content. It was that chapter in the hack-and-slash series that caused me to fall out of love with the original concept. I don’t know what it was, but the simplistic nature of being able to slice through thousands of foes was missing — and I wanted more than anything to rediscover it in Dynasty Warriors Origins. I wanted that faithful formula.

Dynasty Warriors Origins, while still being true to its legacy of providing energetic gameplay and an iconic roster of historical characters, comes clean with a new outlook on the series. It comes clean, not because it drops the barebones open-world setting—an error that caused mass dissatisfaction among avid fans of the franchise in the previous iteration—but because it adds a fresh twist to the instantly recognizable feud between the Three Kingdoms. The twist, while not particularly unique to the industry, is that players are finally able to assume control over a “nameless hero”—a warrior who has the power to view the fateful chain of events from multiple angles. Again, this isn’t a new thing, being able to develop your own hero — but it’s a welcome addition to the pre-existing format, and something that I was more than willing to take for a spin for the umpteenth season.

Rekindling Familiar Flames

Dynasty Warriors Origins takes the shoddy blueprint of its predecessor’s open-world design to new and exciting heights by combining classic elements from the earlier entries in the series with a bombastic condition-based narrative. In a true sense of the word, Origins rekindles its roots with the formula that took the world by storm back in the early noughties by returning to enormous battlefields and filling them with a plethora of thematic set pieces and tactical choices for players to chomp through in a superior and dictating manner. It’s this formula—a familiar yet forever palatable concept that has spanned countless iterations and spin-offs—that makes Origins the breath of fresh air in the aftermath of its previous experimental bombshell. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — and that definitely rings true here.

In addition to the one-eighty transition from dead open worlds to supercharged arena-based battles, Origins also adds flare to the pre-existing combat system by implementing a cinematic twist with visceral combos and unique abilities that feel both powerful and distinctly familiar, which has in turn taken the initiative to create memorable encounters and heart-pounding one-on-one headlocks. And let’s be honest here, Dynasty Warriors has a reputation for performing at its peak when it merges fast-paced combat with devilishly simplistic gameplay. To that end, Origins excels on all fronts — and it looks darn good when it’s all happening in front of you. Granted, you don’t always know what’s happening, or even what it is that you’re hitting — but that’s half the fun; if you’re not mashing buttons, then you’re toying with combos for the sake of it.

To Battle & Beyond

Dynasty Warriors Origins provides a beefy campaign that’ll no doubt resonate with a lot of returning fans of the series. In a similar vein as its prequels, each stage takes place in a unique section of the Three Kingdoms era—a period that largely consists of warring factions battling it out for control over the empire, as well as forging frequent alliances to conquer a common enemy, and so on and so forth. In these battles—stages that each foster a massive (though not entirely traditional) open world setting—players are invited to complete a series of objectives, several of which involve capturing bases, eliminating enemy officers, and aiding allied forces to advance deeper into one of several locations on the field. To that extent, Origins isn’t massively different from its predecessors; it’s merely the case of dicing through thousands of enemies and whittling down the opposition.

On a slightly dimmer note, there isn’t a tremendous amount of customization available in Origins. Sure, it features a brand-new warrior to take control of, but it doesn’t allow you to tweak their appearance or their attire, which essentially means that you have to keep the default character from the beginning to the grand finale. This isn’t a major problem, mind you. Having said that, it would’ve been a great idea — allowing us to pull the strings a little and create someone who we can connect with on a more personal level. I’m still willing to let this slide, though; the smooth gameplay far outweighs the lack of creative control in the character development department, for sure.

A Triumphant Return

While you could argue that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga has been retold more than enough times through countless iterations, books, and mini spin-offs, it is worth pointing out that Origins does at least attempt to try something different with its clever inclusion of a new protagonist. Naturally, the game begins with an on-rails experience—a chunky period in which you traverse the open plains of China to lend your services to several armies and ongoing feuds. As far as all of that goes, there isn’t a great deal of originality; there’s the iconic struggle to squash the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and of course, the fateful rise and fall of the legendary tyrant Dong Zhuo. Not that any of these things are an issue, though it is a textbook prologue, right down to the fine print.

Thankfully, Origins does eventually take a dramatic turn around the midway point in the campaign, at which point the game opens up its doors to one of several potential scenarios. Like before, the choices you make along the way ultimately determine your destiny in the Three Kingdoms period; if you choose to join forces with Wei, for example, then you’ll find yourself forging alliances with the corresponding officers and completing the appropriate objectives. Regardless of the decisions you make, Origins never fails to deliver a jam-packed experience that’s teeming with side activities to participate in, cinematic reels to unearth, and secondary events to witness. And honestly, there’s a good sixty-plus hours of material to work through here — so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth, I’ll say that much.

Verdict

To say that I’m overjoyed with the fact that Origins has listened to its fan base and made swingeing cuts to dramatically overhaul the ninth chapter’s problematic core would be an understatement. No, I’m ecstatic; not only do I get to relive some of those childhood memories and rekindle old flames with beloved heroes of old, but I’m also able to bathe in an iconic time-appropriate narrative that still feels fresh even after twenty years. At its core, Origins still holds the same classic style as it did back in its heyday, but with a lick of paint and a myriad of cinematic complexity to its credit, it suddenly emerges as one of the greatest entries in the timeline to date, thus making the ninth chapter seem like a minor footnote on an otherwise perfect tapestry.

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the series, or even if you’re voluntarily reliving the same tale for the tenth time, because at the end of the day, Origins hits the sweet spot of being an instant classic in the hack-and-slash genre regardless. To say that I’m relieved that it has returned to its roots would be a fitting statement here; the fact that Koei Tecmo and Omega Force took the time to critically analyze its existing faults and make active changes to tweak them says it all, truly. As for whether or not we can say that Dynasty Warriors Origins is the best game in the series to date is another question, and one that is likely to spark debate than draw a collective reaction. Still, I think we can all agree on the one thing: Origins is a huge step forward for the franchise. Well played, team.