Dynasty Warriors: Origins

Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

For decades, Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series has been arguably one of the most impenetrable franchises in gaming. Constantly retelling the Three Kingdoms era of real-world Chinese history and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms historical novel, the series weaves in elements of folklore and fantasy while positioning players as key figures in major battles. However, for anyone not already invested in the games, they may all look like remixes and repeats; indistinguishable entries that all seem to involve mashing buttons to slash away at endless armies of identikit enemy soldiers.

That sense of repetition may be why there hasn't been a core Dynasty Warriors entry since 2018's Dynasty Warriors 9, the years since seeing only spin-offs such as Samurai Warriors or crossovers like Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity to fill the hack-and-slash gap. It may also be why the series' return takes a step backwards, with Origins revisiting the earliest days of the fabled conflict, paying more attention to both the way it retells that story and how it evolves the series' play mechanics.

As a nameless wanderer, you'll be swept up in the political intrigue of the era, starting from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and leading up to the events of the Battle of Chibi. For those who have played earlier entries, that's a shorter spread of events than the series has sometimes touched on, but Origins goes into more depth on the lead-up, all wrapped up in the protagonist's mysterious background.

Developer Omega Force has served up a welcome – and long overdue – evolution of Warriors' action play here.

The focus on a singular player character is quite the shift – Dynasty Warriors typically lets you play as a host of characters – but works well for this new direction. It allows for a singular perspective on this historical tale, while supporting characters can briefly be controlled in key battles, almost like a summon. There's more opportunity to get to know all the key players too, with a "Bonding" system that improves relationships as you progress, while a key choice at around the halfway point – whether to align with the Shu, Wei, or Wu factions of the Three Kingdoms conflict – both opens up the roster further with characters unique to each path, and provides plenty of replayability for those who want to experience the story from every angle.

Combat wise, there's still plenty of the series' familiar "one vs thousands" battles here, and they can be as satisfyingly button-mashy as ever. On lower difficulty, simply hammering the primary attacks will allow you to mow down foes with such a sense of power it almost feels like catharsis. Even on higher challenge levels, a staccato delivery of light and heavy attacks will deal with most grunts, but the real strengths of Origins' battles show themselves when up against more powerful officer rank foes.

Developer Omega Force has served up a welcome – and long overdue – evolution of Warriors' action play here. A series of powerful attacks, chained combos, and area-of-effect specials all make battles feel more engaging than before, but it's not just a case of busting out those improved moves against tougher foes. Timing is more important than ever, demanding you pay attention to officers' moves to determine when to dodge, parry, or avoid, all the while looking for the right window to dart in with a jab to deplete their morale (essentially stamina) and open them up to even more devastating blows. There's an ebb and flow to combat against officers, making for a far more complex and involved battle system than the series has ever offered.

Out of battle, there's a step towards greater player freedom, too. Rather than progressing through battles selected from a menu in workmanlike order, you now explore a world map, walking between villages, gathering resources to craft stat-boosting gems, or taking on scrappy bonus encounters – defeat a horde of bandits here, a pirate crew there, wipe out some lingering soldiers - inbetween the major story battles. If you don't have time to wade through one of Origins' chunky main chapters, these randomly spawning side missions are perfect for brief bursts of play, while also allowing you chance to test out new weapons or moves.

Origins also leans more into RPG mechanics than Dynasty Warriors usually does, with the Wanderer's personal rank, proficiency in each weapon class, and a host of skills all waiting to be levelled up. That can make progress feel a bit grind-heavy at times – especially if you're struggling with a particularly tough story battle and then feel forced to rack up the body count in those side missions until the stat numbers creep high enough to proceed – but also allows for a lot more personalisation in how you approach each battle. If you want to rank up your spear proficiency, for instance, there are ample opportunities to do so before continuing the main saga.

While Dynasty Warriors: Origins doesn't quite shake off the series' most repetitive elements, it is a wholly revitalised and far more absorbing experience than any of its predecessors, richer and more involved on every level. Not quite a reboot, but the ground-level entry point the series has long needed.