Dynasty Warriors: Origins is an intriguing take on the tried-and-true musou formula that will rope you in with its story, characters, and dynamic gameplay. It can be repetitive and has some so-so line deliveries, but this is a great entry in this long-running and beloved series.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins
Developer: Omega Force
Price: $70
Platform: PS5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC
MonsterVine was supplied with a PS5 code for review.
Though I’ve played many licensed spin-offs, I’ve only experienced one or two mainline Dynasty Warriors games. I previously reviewed Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires, and I’m now here to take on the latest entry in the series – Dynasty Warriors: Origins. I came away from it pleased with what I played, as it provided me with exactly what I look for in a musou game.
In an interesting twist, you play Dynasty Warriors: Origins as a nameless warrior whose memories have been lost. He’s not customizable, but you can pick a name for him that he will sometimes be referred to as. As this unnamed hero, you navigate part of the famous Romance of the Three Kingdoms story. This has you meeting fictional versions of figures like the fearsome Lü Bu or the benevolent Liu Bei, eventually having to choose who you will be loyal to between three warlords.
I found the characters and story to be fascinating, though I admit to having very little exposure to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story in general. I found it especially hard to choose between the three warlords, as I spent time with each of them and found them all to be intriguing characters in their own way. The usage of this nameless avatar, who does have his narrative unfolding in the background, comes off as a solid way of immersing you in the story and endearing you to the characters.
The gameplay is as bombastic as we’ve come to expect from the musou genre, though, unlike most games of this type, you play almost entirely as one character. Though you can temporarily be others during missions, you primarily play as the nameless hero. There’s a wide variety of weapons to equip that each boasts their own playstyle, though, which keeps this from feeling like as much of a restriction. I do wish you could more freely try out other characters in the story, but I found all of the weapons and their various skills and combos to provide a decent amount of variety.
The gameplay of Dynasty Warriors: Origins is remarkably dynamic
Slashing up hundreds of enemies with all manner of weapons feels as great as ever, and I had no performance issues when tackling these massive hordes on the PS5. Taking over bases or routing enemy commanders is a blast, with some of the commanders (like Lu Bu, as I mentioned in my preview of the game) standing out as especially exciting foes. Unlocking new special moves and items for my loadout, as well as leveling up my stats, allowed for some neat customization too.
The one caveat to Dynasty Warriors: Origins comes with many musou games, and that’s that many (like myself) may find themselves needing to take a break between play sessions to avoid burnout. Most missions and battles are fairly similar to one another in gameplay, making it easy to get a bit bored during lengthy sitdowns. Pace it out properly though, and you’ll have an excellent time.
Outside of battle, you can craft accessories to boost stats, take part in shorter missions to gain weapon experience, or even engage in social links with various characters. This goes a long way in making the many commanders and allies more memorable, and I quite enjoyed speaking with these friends, and sometimes, even foes, outside of battles.
The voice acting is more of a mixed bag, with some lines working and others feeling stilted and awkward. Regardless, the story works because of all the characters and they’re normally portrayed decently enough for the awkward moments to not detract from the experience. Visually, Dynasty Warriors Origins looks solid thanks to its distinct style, which further cements the many, many people you’ll meet as their own distinct and, frankly, badass characters.
The Final Word
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is an enjoyable hack-and-slash title that features an exciting story, pleasant characters, and delightfully over-the-top action gameplay. You likely know what to expect with a musou game, but this is certainly one of the better ones, even if it’s best played with some breaks in between sessions.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
