Dynasty Warriors: Origins Review

Oooh, Romance.

They say time heals all wounds and Koei Tecmo Games and Omega Force are relying on that adage to mend their reputations after the disastrous Dynasty Warriors 9. But time doesn’t just heal, does it? No, over time, things erode and decay. Things change in ways that make them impossible to maintain or revive. I’m not really sure which of these Dynasty Warriors: Origins falls under, but big changes are in store for the series moving forward.

Publisher: Koei Tecmo

Developer: Omega Force

Platform: Played on PC

Availability: Released on January 17, 2025 for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X/S

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Playing as the silent, memory deficient Ziluan – a man who is somehow both a nobody, and the most important person in the world – we take a trip through the Three Kingdoms period of China, beginning with the Yellow Turban Rebellion and ending with the battle of Chibi. With Ziluan’s special eyes, only he can see through the illusions of the magician Jhang Jiao, only he can see the winds change direction, and only he can see the special incense that guides the player to their objective.

Bringing a “chosen one” into the mix is not really something I was clamoring for in terms of a mainline Dynasty Warriors game, with original characters usually reserved for spin-offs like the “Empires” games, but it does afford some opportunity for role-playing through the events of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Throughout the game, Ziluan has the opportunity to form bonds with the famous officers of the period, participate in notable battles, and even rewrite history.

I’m not sure how useful talking about the older games will be for new players, but in a long-running series that has generally relied on iterative design decisions, it feels impossible to avoid comparisons. While there have been many changes to the games over the course of the last few decades, there are a few major ones here in Dynasty Warriors: Origins which may irrevocably alter the series going forward.

Character models look great, but their personality leaves something to be desired.

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Gone are the days of massive rosters of unique playable characters, each with their own move sets, stories to tell, or events to experience. In Origins, the player takes control of only one person, Ziluan, with moments of playing some other major characters in specific battles. Unfortunately, these major characters all share the same exact move sets as the equipment types the player character uses, with no variation. While Ziluan has the option to swap out battle arts (special moves that consume stamina) to help with variety, this is not true for the companion characters, making their playability even more restrictive than the limitations we already have on our protagonist. 

Ziluan is a blank slate in combat and out of it, completely molded by the actions you take and gear you wear. That blank personality is detrimental to some of the more emotional moments in the game, where your character just kind of stands there, staring in the distance as the other characters attempt to mourn those they lost or give impassioned speeches. There is a sort of flattening effect happening across the entirety of the game, I fear. Origins attempts to take all of this material deathly serious, even when much of the material (and even the history of the series) has been anything but. Returning characters with big personalities are now just regular guys who all want to serve their chosen lord, so having three one-on-one scenes with them and the silent protagonist makes for some really uninteresting side content. Unless, of course, you find yourself in some of the extremely suggestive scenes. Oddly enough, it seems there were plans for some romance content within the game that never made the cut, but much of the dialogue persists in forcing romantic adjacent situations upon you – even without your input much of the time. It’s just a constant stream of the most boring people in the world lining up to tell the player character that they want to be together forever.

Perhaps the largest deviation from the old formula is the combat itself. Dynasty Warriors: Origins is much more reliant on counterplay and timing than any of the older games in the series, but still manages to balance that more grounded approach with the spectacle we’re used to. It’s here, in these massive, complex battles that the game really shines. It’s harder to cut your way through large groups of enemies, since officers have super armor that prevents long combos or juggling, but in its place we get a more interesting back and forth between the real players in the battles. Timing your parries and Battle Arts is essential to your success, and makes for a more mindful gameplay loop than the series has ever seen. And when you finally build up a full musou gauge to unleash the ultimate moves, it’s all the more satisfying to see hundreds, if not thousands, of enemies sent flying to their doom in grayscale. 

The battles themselves are well designed, with unique map layouts that offer different avenues of approach, or even specific tactics and objectives that can change the tide of the battle you’re in. That’s true for the story fights, at least – not so much for the smaller scale excursions, which often repeat maps and objectives, and only last a few minutes each. The game stumbles here, as many bonding events force you into these battles as a means to further advance your relationship with the characters. Thankfully, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is also pleasant to look at – another departure from the norm. I was actually quite shocked to see the character models on display, as I’m used to the more low-quality effort of past titles. It’s not pushing the boundary of what’s possible by any means, but looking as good as it does visually enhances those large scale battles and does at least provide some comfort in the bonding scenes. 

True to their roots, these battles are massive and flashy.

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I do want to touch on the voice work a bit, as I fear this is going to come up a lot over the years. I quite like the delivery, but I grew up on old martial arts film dubs. This is very much giving 80’s dub, with awkward pauses, or rushed lines all the way through. I mean this sincerely – it pokes at my nostalgia for these things in a way I would not have expected appreciating. I have to believe this is deliberate direction (whether by necessity or choice, I don’t know), as many of the actors here are more than capable of offering stellar performances in more traditional work. If those films are not a touchstone for your own lived experience, it may leave a negative impression on you.

Playing through two of the three story routes in their entirety, I clocked in at about 60 hours. I would say that for the first 50, I had a lot of fun with it, but that last 10 really started to wear on me. The bland characters, more serious tone, and smaller slice of the period than we normally get just ate away at the goodwill I had during my first run through the story. There is some hope for the future, however, owing to the games shocking early success. While the old Dynasty Warriors may be washed away by the sands of time, this new entry is a good starting point for further iteration – something the series has historically handled quite well. If the intent is to take these systems and expand upon them (along with covering more of the period itself), I am looking forward to what comes next. As it stands, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a good game with good bones. It’s just a few tweaks away from becoming a great one, restoring the former glory of his storied dynasty.

Verdict

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a departure from the long-standing series’ formula, but offers a worthwhile experience all the same. Combat is still flashy and fun, but Origins offers a more deliberate, measured approach to the fights that keeps things engaging for longer. The game covers only a slice of the well-tread Three Kingdoms period of China’s history, and does so by hyper-focusing on a few notable characters and events – often to the detriment of its large cast. While it can feel lacking in gameplay variety and character depth, there is enough here to keep you entertained for hours.

Image Credits: Koei Tecmo and Taylor Rioux