Dynasty Warriors Origins preview: A true return to form for the classic '1 vs. 1000' series

Dynasty Warriors Origins is exactly what I hoped it would be — a step backward, while also being a step forward. I recently had a chance to go hands-on with the ‘1 vs. 1000’ historic fiction title while at Koei Tecmo America. As a long-time fan of both the Dynasty Warriors/Shin Sangoku Musou franchisee and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I was both excited and nervous. After all, despite the fact that I mostly enjoyed Dynasty Warriors 9, it was not well-received.

Now that I’ve spent some time playing Dynasty Warriors Origins, January 17, 2025 cannot get here soon enough. The story is satisfying, the gameplay is incredible, and the sick guitar riffs are back! While it’s not exactly as ridiculous and over-the-top as Dynasty Warriors 8, it’s a step in the right direction.

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Dynasty Warriors Origins is both a step into the familiar and something fresh and new

Dynasty Warriors Origins is both a serious retelling of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story, while also bringing back that 1 vs. 1000 action that we all know and love. It’s not quite as ridiculous — so, sorry, no Drill Lances or other ridiculous weapons. That said, while the story is still the very serious tale of the fall of the Han, it’s told in a way that’s less… dry.

Good lord, Zhang Fei put some time in at the gym! (Image via Koei Tecmo)

The character designs are incredible, and the main story maps are large, without feeling too ridiculous. Through the course of our preview, we got to play through a few chapters of the game, up to, and including fights like Lu Bu at Hulao Guan. I can tell you without any hesitation, that the action and intensity are back and better than ever.

One of the things that I feel affected Dynasty Warriors 9 too much was that it was too open. It was a vast open world. It was tedious to travel, and the fights lacked that Dynasty Warriors feel to them. If you missed carving your way through thousands of soldiers, using devastating combos and attacks, and of course, army-slaying Musou attacks, that’s all back!

It's up to you to bring peace to the land - but you don't have to do it alone (Image via Koei Tecmo)

I can imagine some people are confused about the introduction of a mysterious, unknown protagonist. I was one of those people at first, too. However, after playing some of Dynasty Warriors Origins, and chatting with Tomohiko Sho himself, it all made sense.

However, it's not the whole story! Don't expect to head to Wuzhang Plains, or finally see Jin unite the Han. The story goes as far as the battle of Chi Bi, which is admittedly, a solid place to end. Hopefully, we'll see more further down the line, in a sequel, or DLC.

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The new protagonist is an amazing way to introduce fans to the Later Han era

Most warriors are like that - but not us. We fight for Justice. Money comes second (Image via Koei Tecmo)

There are a few reasons we have this blank canvas for Dynasty Warriors Origins. The first and perhaps most important is that the Late Han era is not something everyone is versed in. Even active Dynasty Warriors players don’t necessarily know and understand the politics of the era.

He’s a great blank slate to take all of this story in, regardless of whether you’re a Scholar of Shen Zhou or not. It also allows us, as the player, to wind up in any of the factions. One of the aspects that can get frustrating about the Dynasty Warriors games — well, not frustrating, but tedious, perhaps — is that you wind up playing the exact same missions over and over again, just with different characters.

At some point in the game, the players will be able to choose a faction to join - Shu, Wu, or Wei. In this way, Dynasty Warriors Origins will have a fresh perspective no matter where they go, instead of the familiar storyline each of the other characters faces. While my time was limited, I did enjoy walking in the shoes of the mysterious stranger.

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Combat in the Three Kingdoms Era is better than ever

Combat in the Three Kingdoms era is dangerous business (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Dynasty Warriors Origins takes the classic combat formula but adds a little spice to it. Sure, you still have Regular Attack, Strong Attack, Jump, and Musou. That’s still there. But now it’s easier to do little things like juggle entire groups of enemies in the air. The tutorial missions are going to be important for everyone, even familiar players.

That’s because there’s new content now! As you progress in skill level with a weapon, you’ll start to gain skill points, and also unlock more weapon skills. There are skill trees to invest in, to increase your stats and unlock powerful abilities, so it’s worth the time to do a little bit of grinding.

Don’t worry, there are short stages you can grind on, that also serve the purpose of bringing peace to whatever region you’re in. However, the big change is that you now have a Parry and Dodge. You might be asking “What is this, Souls?!”, and if you’re fighting Lu Bu, it will sort of feel like it.

The smaller missions are good for peace-keeping, and exp grinding (Image via Koei Tecmo)

It’s so important to get a handle on parrying in Dynasty Warriors Origins. Named enemies tend to come with defensive buffs on them that you break by attacking repeatedly. However, parrying also breaks these down much faster. When you shatter a named officer’s defenses, you can use Assault, which deals monstrous damage to them.

Then there are times when you can’t parry, and it’s time to dodge roll! Combat feels so good in Dynasty Warriors Origins. In addition to your ordinary combat, you have a partner — someone in your faction that you pick. When you’re near them, and the conditions are met, you can temporarily swap to them, and get a glimpse of what real power is.

It makes stepping into the shoes of one of the famous generals of the Late Han era more enjoyable than ever before. Watching Xiahou Dun activate his Musou and slay 600 enemies at one time is definitely satisfying.

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The presentation of Dynasty Warriors Origins is top notch

Even the overworld map is beautiful (Image via Koei Tecmo)

When you aren’t slaughtering your way through soldiers and generals in Dynasty Warriors Origins, you can walk across a truly breathtaking landscape of ancient China. You’ll occasionally take boats across rivers, but for the most part, you’re going to walk from town to town, battlefield to battlefield.

It’s truly beautiful, and there are plenty of things to do as you wander. You can find crafting materials, visit villages, and take to random battlefields. These battlefields are typically very short and will see you stopping Yellow Turbans, bandits, or other ne’er-do-wells who are trying to disturb the peace.

The character designs are also a blend of a serious style, with the familiar Dynasty Warriors style. They look and sound amazing, to boot. The English dub is incredible, as is the Japanese dub. No, there isn’t a Chinese dub, but maybe in the future, we can come back to that.

Whether you’re galloping across a battlefield, or walking on the overworld map, Dynasty Warriors Origins is a beautiful game. I played it on both PC and PlayStation 5, and I have to say, it plays smoothly, too. I didn’t get a chance to see the PS5 Pro enhancements, but I do know those will be available.

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Final Thoughts

Lu Bu Fengxian is still the greatest terror the battlefield has ever seen (Image via Koei Tecmo)

Though I’ve only had a limited time to explore Dynasty Warriors Origins, as a Three Kingdoms Snob, I’m extremely excited to get back into it. It tells the story in a way that I enjoyed experiencing, with combat that didn’t disappoint. The gameplay is smooth, and the various weapons, while not too over the top, still feel great to utilize.

Lu Bu still feels like a near-unkillable monster, though I did hear one of the content creators invited managed to best him. Not me — Lu Fengxian rode past me and I died from the shockwave of simply being in his presence. And that’s okay! That’s what I expect from trying to box with god.

Dynasty Warriors Origins is a remarkably fun game, and it has all the things I expected it to have. The amazing guitar tracks are back, and the thousands of soldiers are also all ready to be smashed into bits by my spear. You have to play smarter in this Dynasty Warriors game, though — unless you play on Easy. We aren’t here to judge, though. Play in a manner that suits you.

But I can tell you that if you don’t play smart, dodge, parry, and use all the abilities at your disposal, you’re almost certainly going to struggle. This is not a game that messes about.