Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a refreshing version of the legendary series

In the winter doldrums, I turned to comfort media, which for me meant Chinese historical dramas. And while elaborate costumes and cute romance are fun, sometimes a girl just wants something with a little more teeth. Dynasty Warriors: Origins He gave me exactly what I needed.

Dynasty Warriors: Originsdeveloped by Koei-Tecmo subsidiary Omega Force, adapts the popular Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms In 1 vs. 100 style battles, swipe out. This is the tenth game in the series, and it comes at a time when… Dynasty of warriors privilege It gained a reputation as being outdated. After all, there are only so many times you can retread the same story with the same characters and the same general gameplay without missing a single note. Dynasty Warriors: Origins, However, it is a welcome refreshment compared to its predecessors.

After release Dynasty Warriors 9 In 2018, Omega Force took a break from the series to work on licensed games such as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Character 5 attackersand Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. This shift across games that felt like they were excellent applications of the Omega Force brand of hack-and-slash games gave the studio the fresh perspective it needed to return to its iconic franchise and shake up.

in OriginsInstead of moving between different characters during certain battles as happened in previous games, you witness the story through one character named Wanderer. You have no memory of yourself, and as you advance, you slowly regain your memories and powers. The Wanderer can use any type of weapon, which is another welcome change from previous games that locked weapons to a specific character. Each weapon has abilities that you unlock through continued use, and the wanderer himself has skills and perks that he unlocks through skill trees.

Fighting in Origins It’s easy to get the hang of it. You have a light attack and a heavy attack that can be modified using dodging or jumping. There’s also a set of abilities that consume a resource called “guts” that you gain by dealing blows to your opponent. Finally, there are blocking and parrying mechanics and an ultimate ability called “musou” that is used when you are impossibly surrounded or need to deal extra damage to an enemy general.

Although this all sounds like a standard hack-and-slash game, I was happy Origins He made me work for my victories. Even on standard difficulty and with years of playing experience Warriors In games, I couldn’t blindly hack through enemies. The generals hit surprisingly hard, and if I don’t use my various abilities to mitigate or counter their attacks, they constantly create shields that I have to keep chewing through to bring them down. Unfortunately, your allied generals, whose deaths can result in an automatic loss, are made of tissue paper, so the longer your enemy generals are alive, the greater your chances of losing the battle.

Battles take place on large, winding maps filled with bases to control and enemy generals to defeat. Although defeating the enemy boss while keeping your commanders alive is generally the only win condition, I I love Being perfect. When I received a panicked cry for help from my allies, it was fun to rush to their defense even if the help wouldn’t end the battle sooner. He made me feel like a big hero. Isn’t that the point of a game that lets you fight alongside legendary figures in Chinese history?

Playing the hero is the best part Origins And what is sorely missing from the franchise. Previous games were saddled with unnecessary systems like a terrible, poorly paced open world Dynasty Warriors 9 Or not thinking, and pressing a button empty-headed Dynasty Warriors 8. But in OriginsPerforming a special ability will pull you into an elaborate cutscene containing animation that looks like it was ripped straight from a movie wuxia film. My choices in the game’s story moments allow me to build relationships with the characters I’ve come to love the most across many different media.

I understand the other reviews Criticisms of the wanderer. As a character, he has no personality to speak of, and his quest to regain his memories is unconvincing. But I can easily ignore that because that’s the way it is Warrior breedQ. All I’m here for, and what this game has given me so much of, is to eat meat buns and chase Lu Bu – and I’ve completely run out of meat buns.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins Available now on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.