Steam
Dynasty Warriors: Origins
92
Final Score
Action RPG
Release Date: 2025
Developer: Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Steam
Steam Curator
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Dynasty Warriors: Origins

Koei Tecmo's revolutionary innovation work for the Warriors series. Players take on the role of the fictional warrior 'Zi Luan' participating in early Three Kingdoms history, reinterpreting the Warriors experience from an RPG perspective, well-crafted with strong immersion.

Art Appreciation

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is Koei Tecmo's bold attempt to revolutionize the Warriors series. This work overturns the core gameplay of traditional Warriors games, no longer allowing players to choose their own generals, but instead playing as a fictional general named "Zi Luan" participating in the early history of the Three Kingdoms. From an RPG perspective, this is absolutely a superior work, arguably the best Warriors game in recent years. The game puts great effort into script arrangement and interactive design, with the setting of players embodying a fictional general participating in history bringing strong immersion and engagement. In terms of combat system, various weapons each have their own characteristics, and the combat feel can still continue the satisfying experience of Warriors mowing. However, the difficulty surges in non-easy modes, no longer providing the traditional "Warriors mowing" experience, which has caused dissatisfaction among some veteran players. There are some technical issues, with the PC version occasionally having button input bugs, and lower-spec devices that meet minimum requirements may crash during large army scenes. The lock-on design for camera control also needs improvement, with camera jumping occurring during movement. In story design, the first chapter on the Yellow Turban Rebellion is very well-crafted and takes up the largest portion, but in the mid-to-late stages when needing to navigate between the three factions, the complex interests and relationships are not fully represented. The content length is somewhat short, ending at the Battle of Red Cliffs, which is why this work is called "Origins." Koei's character modeling remains distinctive, especially female characters, each with distinct features and online aesthetics. The "bromantic" text quality also adds color to the game. Overall, this is a well-crafted work with strong immersion, and the 93-point rating reflects its value as an innovative work. Looking forward to sequels that can bring more exciting content.

Rating Breakdown

Core Gameplay & Fun
40%

Deductions

Core Mechanics
-1 pts

It upends the core gameplay of the Dynasty Warriors series: you can no longer pick your own general, which upset many longtime fans.

Gameplay Depth
-1 pts

Stage design is mediocre and many map elements are reused. They went as far as implementing swimming, yet there are no stages built to make use of it.

Repetitiveness
-0.5 pts

On repeat playthroughs, your weapon levels can fall short, leaving you replaying a single stage over and over for long stretches.

Challenge Level
-0.5 pts

Outside Easy mode, the difficulty spikes; it's no longer “musou mowing”, which also annoyed longtime fans who play to mow down hordes.

Camera Control
-0.5 pts

Lock-on needs work: it switches targets while you move, making the camera jump around.

Highlights

Innovation

Innovation is a good thing, of course; this is a game-changing entry. It's more of an RPG, and judged as an RPG it's absolutely top-tier, the best Dynasty Warriors in years.

Control Feel

Plenty of weapons, each with its own character, and the combat feel carries on the thrill of musou crowd-mowing.

Immersion

Here the player becomes a fictional general taking part in history, and thanks to solid scripting and interactions, it stays immersive.

Technical Performance & Stability
25%

Deductions

Bugs & Errors
-0.5 pts

On PC, inputs sometimes go haywire; it happened several times, cause unknown.

Performance Optimization
-1 pts

On lower-end machines that still meet the minimum specs, the game crashes outright when large armies converge.

Visuals & Audio
15%

Deductions

Voice Acting Performance
-1 pts

The Traditional Chinese text and the subtitles don't match, a long-standing issue with many big titles; there's no need to record two Chinese voice tracks just to cut costs. But this is a Chinese setting, one of the few games where I'd use Chinese voice acting, since every other language, Japanese included, feels off, yet the Chinese voice acting fell short of expectations. The exception is the voice lines on the world map, packed with puns… I find them witty and funny, while some players think puns ruin the mood against a backdrop of a nation in ruins; to each their own.

Highlights

Model Quality

Koei's character models are quite distinctive, especially the women, each with a strong identity; the aesthetic sense is on point.

Story & Narrative
10%

Deductions

Main Story Design
-1 pts

Even for a work of historical fiction, the Yellow Turban first chapter clearly got the most care and takes up the biggest share, while in the mid-to-late game, when you have to navigate among the three powers and choose a side, the complex interests at play aren't conveyed.

Highlights

Plot Logic

Compared with traditional Dynasty Warriors games, this feels more like an RPG: you play a general named “Zi Luan” who takes part in the early history of the Three Kingdoms.

Text Quality

Bromance through the roof.

Content & Longevity
10%

Deductions

Game Length
-0.5 pts

The content is a bit short, ending at the Battle of Red Cliffs, which is why it's called “Origins”. I'm hoping for a sequel; this game is well crafted and immersive, and more content would make it even better.

Collectible Value
-0.5 pts

For the same challenge-related reason: if you mow through on Easy mode, certain collectibles become unobtainable.

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