Tag: Xbox Series X|S

Dynasty Warriors is comfort food for me – Omega Force’s long-running series tells the same kingdom-spanning tale in with each instalment, always aiming to deliver on its “1v1000” combat conceit with each new game. Discovering the series with Dynasty Warriors 2, I’ve returned again and again over the last 25 years to see this huge cast of characters play their part in the same epic tale – developing favorites (hello, Guan Yu) along the way by sheer weight of time spent with them.

So it was with some curiosity that I started playing the 10^th mainline instalment. The title tells you what you need to know – Dynasty Warriors: Origins is going back to basics, a reinvention that goes beyond the incremental changes fans have been used to from most new versions of this series.

For a start, Origins tells a deeper, more focused story – in fact only telling the first half of the tale we’re used to, but with far more detail added along the way. Dynasty Warriors games series typically begin with players crushing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a battle that sets the Romance of the Three Kingdoms – the semi-fictionalized historical tale of ancient China the games are based on – in motion. But Origins’ first chapter shows us the Yellow Turbans faction forming, becoming corrupted, and then being taken down. It’s an origin story for, well, the series’ traditional origin story.

As part of that, we’re also introduced to a brand new protagonist (who you can name); an amnesiac travelling warrior with a past that’s slowly revealed as you play. You’ll spend the majority of Dynasty Warriors: Origins playing as this character – perhaps the biggest marker that this game is making a major change. Where Dynasty Warriors games have previously had players pick from dozens of officers from across the many factions in this tale, you’re now leading this single character through a story that puts you on path to meet those familiar faces (some of whom will be playable along the way).

It’s a bold choice, worthy of a game looking to shake things up, and it certainly lends a different feeling to proceedings. While Origins drops the open world format of 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9, having a single main character allows the developers to craft a more mutable Story Mode. Rather than moving from battle to battle with cutscenes in between, you’re now placed in an overworld between main levels, able to explore, find secrets, tinker with your loadout, meet and befriend officers, and take part in skirmishes to level up.

All of this speaks to a renewed focus on how combat works in Dynasty Warriors. While fans will be pleased to know that the bones of its classic hack ‘n’ slash action remain in place, there’s far more nuance on show here. Blocks, parries, and evades are far more necessary when taking on enemy bosses, miniature puzzle elements have been introduced to certain battles, and customizable Battle Art special abilities let you tinker with your playstyle for every weapon type.

This feels less like an experiment for an experiment’s sake, and more like a confident step forward – I’m still getting the familiar  feeling of being, effectively, a 2^nd-Century superhero, but the added level of thought required for each one-on-one fight along the way is meaningfully different.

And it’s that balance between old and new that defines Origins’ approach – this is recognizably Dynasty Warriors, but with new ideas slotted in place among that familiar framework. To put it another way – it’s still my comfort food, but with new ingredients.