Dynasty Warriors: Origins Preview – Looking for a Comeback

People who know me know I’m a bit of a Three Kingdoms and Dynasty Warriors nerd. Having played every Dynasty Warriors game except the first 1v1 fighting game, add to this the Three Kingdoms novels, the historical texts, playing the other games, and watching series and films. Three Kingdoms, to me, is like other people’s Rome. It’s that era I’m just very interested in. Also, I like Rome, too. Anyway, Dynasty Warriors: Origins.

I recently got to go hands-on with Dynasty Warriors: Origins in Paris, invited by Koei Tecmo. I was excited and concerned because Dynasty Warriors 9 wasn’t good. The enjoyment of the series was always the uniqueness of the characters and their weapons: the camp nature of Zhang He and his Vega claws, Xiahou Dun and him being the coolest kid in the playground with his eye patch, or Guan Yu being the literal god of war with his ultra-long halberd, all on top of the 1 vs 1000 combat, which also moved too far into making even the regular soldiers feel like mere confetti.

9 demolished this by removing the uniqueness of its characters; it says there are over 90 characters, but with weapons and attacks shared between most of them, the uniqueness was lost, and even the combat felt boring. Dynasty Warriors: Origins wants to go back to basics, refresh the series in almost every way, and bring new people into the story, which was the Three Kingdoms period following the fall of the Han Dynasty.

Or, more accurately, Dynasty Warriors: Origins tells the story of the origins of the three kingdoms. What will likely be one of the few decisions fans question is the ending of the game at Chi Bi. Those who know the history know that Chibi was the battle that stopped the early expansion of Cao Cao, leading to the formation of the three kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu. With the compressed timeline of 183 AD (Yellow Turban Rebellion) to 208 AD, Omega Force intends this to be a more in-depth look at China during the period and the prominent people within it.

With this compressed timeline comes a narrowing focus on the areas of China you will see and battle within. From what I saw in the hands-on and heard during an interview with producer Tomohiko Sho, the lands that become Shu will not feature within the game. However, the lands in a new world map will feature new core/story battles, an upgradable weapon system, side missions, skirmishes, and more.

Let me start by saying the world map is nothing reminiscent of the open-world element Dynasty Warriors 9 attempted. The map here is more of an overworld that you can explore, letting you find collectables or a new currency called Pyroxene, used to create boosts, join skirmishes, side battles, or core battles, or find characters to speak to and advance the story. The four hours I could play, some from the very start, some later, introduced these elements well and alleviated any concerns I had when I heard “open world”.

I should point out it’s not entirely open. There is some linearity in that areas aren’t accessible until you have progressed far enough in the story. As you move to new regions, you will also find that these have their own “peace” level. This will rise as you complete missions and skirmishes, giving you incremental bonuses for filling it up.

With a levelling system of your character and the nine types of weapons you can use, there will undoubtedly be an advantage to grinding here and there – though it didn’t feel essential. The more you level your weapons, the more you unlock extra combos and battle arts – special attacks. As you also level your character, you’ll unlock stat boosts and other perks, adding additional benefits to doing more side missions and skirmishes.

It’s worth saying that the story you find may not be historically accurate as you will be making decisions and siding with different forces in different battles, picking your way through events. As for who you are, you’re a nameless hero, though what I’ve seen seems to imply you’re some deity or spirit, mainly as you keep talking to people that others can’t see. That and, in battle, you have supernatural abilities (or, I should say, abilities more than those of regular Dynasty Warriors characters). One such ability is called the “Eyes of the Sacred Bird”, which allows you to see through the magic of the Yellow Turban officers and aspects of the battlefield like officer health.

In terms of the battlefield, if I were to make a comparison, this feels like a good mix of earlier and later Dynasty Warriors. The scale is there, with more enemies on the screen than ever before, but it also feels more like the earlier entries where the regular soldiers can be a threat to you. You can’t simply ignore them. If you do, they can knock you off balance and damage you. You can still mow through them; you are a hero in Dynasty Warriors, but this feels like it has a good balance, particularly with the new additions to combat.

I’ve already mentioned the battle arts; these are new weapons in your arsenal and can be used to block power attacks from enemy officers and even groups of enemy soldiers on high morale and within the vicinity of their commander. Using these can certainly make the difference in a battle, as can the use of a well-timed parry or dodge, which helped me with my hands-on, allowing me to beat Lu Bu at Hu Lao gate, something I was told only 5% of the team have managed so far.

Another new feature of combat is the inclusion of strategies. You will have an entourage of guards that increases based on your actions, and you can have this unit perform actions, such as a volley of arrows or a charge. These are very useful in clearing soldiers or putting off a general. As battles progress, if conditions are met, you’ll also find yourself in massive battles, part of “grand tactics”, which can offer a sense of scale the series has pushed for but never fully represented. The coalition forces’ charge on Hu Lao gate that I got to play was exceptional. It genuinely felt like thousands of soldiers charging in, the camera shaking, the music ramping up. It felt exhilarating.

Earlier, I mentioned there are “a few decisions” that fans will question. The second is linked to the fact that you control the Nameless Hero. You can select a hero who also follows you in battle, which will be dictated by where you are and the decisions you make in conversations. You can control this hero in battle once a gauge has filled up. The problem for some fans is that the number of heroes you control is limited to nine. This is the smallest roster in the series’ history, which could raise some eyebrows.

Still, having seen the direction Omega Force is taking Dynasty Warriors: Origins, I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt here, mainly due to the story-focused direction for the player-character. Of course, there’s a lot I haven’t seen, but what I have seen makes me want more. You will also get to try out some of the game now, with an early demo showing exactly how confident Omega Force and Koei Tecmo are with the game.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins will be released on January 17, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.