‘Dynasty Warriors: Origins’ Is a Monotonous Power Fantasy That Does Too Much
There are certain video game franchises that excel at delivering sheer spectacle. In that regard, Dynasty Warriors: Origins (out Jan. 17) is unwavering from beginning to end. Twenty five years after the release of Dynasty Warriors 2, the entry that set the blueprint that the series currently follows, Origins takes the behemoth battles against hundreds of enemies on screen to a refined, newcomer-friendly state. Living up to its title, a new protagonist leads the story, providing a fresh perspective that mirrors that of someone who’s only now getting acquainted with characters and sprawling narrative that have been part of the series for over two decades.
Wearing the robe of a Guardian of Peace who has no recollection of his past, players are tasked with finding a righteous “hero” who can put an end to ever-growing turmoil and bring an era of peace. Of course, that peace is accomplished by mindlessly killing thousands upon thousands of soldiers. The setting, based once again on the 14th century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, albeit only its first half, presents three factions to aid and align with, taking a cue from the likes of Nintendo’s politicking and strategy sim Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019).
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Introducing various new mechanics that evolve its core combat loop, which otherwise feels the same as it has for a quarter century, Dynasty Warriors: Origins makes for an ambitious revival for the decades old franchise. But it’s also one that often forfeits its newer ideas in favor of playing the same old tricks — propped up by slicker graphics and animations — remaining a frequently entertaining, but ultimately monotonous experience.
A new beginning
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Dynasty Warriors games are action-heavy hack-and-slash games that pit the player as a sole warrior capable of fighting hundreds of enemies at one time. Developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo, Warriors paved the way for the “Musou” sub-genre with Dynasty Warriors 2 back in the year 2000 (the 1997 original was actually a fighting game).
There have been dozens of entries since, as well as spin-offs following a similar mechanical structure set outside the Chinese historical fiction setting, including Samurai Warriors (2004), Persona 5 Strikers (2020), and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020), the latter of which being a collaboration with Nintendo based on the world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In short, Musuo games are known for large-scale fights, posing hundreds of enemies on screen simultaneously for players to cleave through. The result is as absurd as it is satisfying, as waves of combatants become little more than fodder to juggle mid-air before being blasted into the distance. More often than not, the joy of Musou games comes not from its complexity or difficulty, but the dopamine hit of clearing out entire battalions at a clip.
Yet, despite its many iterations and spin-offs over the years, the gameplay of Warriors titles have remained mostly the same. While the core concept is fun, it can quickly get old, hence the need for features like co-op, challenge modes, etc, to give each entry slightly more longevity beyond initial playthroughs..
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is, in this regard, quite contrived. There’s no multiplayer, and in contrast to some past entries, it tries to ignore its more arcade-like roots to push for a bigger focus on its story beats. There are plenty of battles to take part in, of course, but the abundance of dialogue sequences and cutscenes slow down the pace between battles from the very first chapter of the main story.
One of the biggest differentiators is having an original character as the protagonist, rather than letting players take the role of existing generals and famous characters from previous games. Playing as the Guardian of Peace, a third-party witnessing the events of the wartime saga, adds a new perspective than before, imbuing the narrative with the character’s own set of motivations outside of the Romance conflicts. In combat, there’s sometimes the option to have a companion pulled from the roster of the series’ mainstays, which can be controlled temporarily after a status bar is filled up, but that’s as far as Origins goes in terms of sidelining its protagonist.
Promises unfulfilled
This structure provides an interesting parallel to my own experience with the series, as somebody who has played Musou titles in the past but never a Dynasty Warriors proper. Since the Guardian of Peace doesn’t have an allegiance toward a clan (at least at first) as well as virtually no recollection of his past, he gets to meet everybody for the first time. This is, on paper, quite useful for the second half of the game, in which you need to pick one out of three factions, championing a hero that will end the Three Kingdom conflict and establish peace on the land.
I say “on paper” because, tonally speaking, Origins can’t quite decide on the message it wants to impart on the player. As in the novel the story is based on, the events kick off with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which was a revolt during the late Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China. As portrayed in the game, class inequality and the ruling class’s abuse of power led to poverty and disease for the common folk. As such, numerous clans arise to fight back and rebel against government corruption.
While the protagonist helps those in need in the beginning, the Yellow Turbans are quickly posed as an enemy to suppress; some of them have used the rebellion as a means to cause riots for personal gain, losing track of their initial goals. The game never quite goes into specifics, despite the fact that some of the characters you meet are sympathetic to the rebellion’s claims. “Those who revolt do so for a reason. Perhaps it is not them we should blame, but the injustice of our times,” says one of your partners, before you’re thrust into another massive battle where the objective is to take down anyone wearing yellow.
There are remnants of the resistance after the initial conflict, but Origins steadily switches gears to focus on its big three factions, led by depictions of historic figures Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian. There are some surprising twists and turns in how the events are portrayed, and choosing one clan over the others is a significant choice that can take a while to contend with. Despite picking the faction I thought was correct, some of the decisions taken by its primary character left me with doubts, and other acquaintances of the protagonist were quick to fan my uncertainty.
Meeting so many characters at once is overwhelming, and not all of them are given the proper time to develop unless players pursue side quests and conversations, like taking part in “bond missions” featuring short dialogue scenes that lead to smaller battles and favors. For the most part, the story works best when you’re reuniting with familiar faces after large gaps of time, reuniting for history-defining moments on the battlefield.
Some of the best beats, however, are reserved for the last few hours of the main story. Yet, despite being impacted to some degree by player choice, the ending is unsatisfying (at least, the one my decisions led to). Despite spending so much time emphasizing its story, it’s clear that the narrative isn’t the driving force of the experience.
An monotonous mix of ideas
As an autonomous figure, the Guardian of Peace is quite independent on the battlefield compared to previous entries. Before each main story-related confrontation, the characters involved get together in a war room to discuss the strategy while overlooking the area map, which showcases chokepoints, bases to conquer, and the objectives. Aside from a handful of missions, the player’s task is always to support those who need a helping hand rather than carrying on any specific role in the overall plan.
At times, taking part in battles feels akin to playing a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), a subgenre of strategy games like League of Legends in which two teams compete against each other to overtake and destroy the enemy base. Battlefields are usually divided by control points, assigned with letters, in which the main fights are taking place. It’s crucial to keep an eye on them, as well as the characters’ dialogue displayed at the side of the screen, to monitor who may need help.
There have been countless times in which I was helping on a choke point, only for a rogue enemy group to infiltrate a base and attack an important character who wasn’t allowed to die per the mission parameters. In these instances, you can restart the battle altogether, or return to a checkpoint. During tough missions, it can feel good to lose a battle numerous times, rethink the approach, and try again until succeeding after finding the right method. With a morale mechanic that ebbs and flows depending on who’s leading the conquest of bases and how the ongoing tug-of-war is leaning, it can be exhilarating to snatch a particularly vital stronghold and turn the tide of the battle as the legions across the map strengthen with renewed vigor.
Combat in Dynasty Warriors: Origins carries some of the genre’s long standing flaws. The camera is untamable at times, some attacks don’t register correctly, and once more, it does get formulaic fast. There is some variation in the mix — Origins allows troops to perform certain tasks like opening locked doors or destroying watchtowers, as well as special squad attacks like arrow sieges and rally cries that can be useful in the midst of the action. But this addition is a far cry from an actual tactics feature where you deploy people at certain points of the map or give direct orders to NPCs, a feature that’s existed in other Musou titles before.
For the most part, the primary loop is to find enemy officials, dodge or parry their attacks, and slowly chip away at their stance meter (essentially a gauge of their defensive stamina) to leave them vulnerable to a strong attack. Rinse and repeat until they’re defeated, which forces their accompanying troops to flee in the process. While it can be satisfying in the short term, especially when more weapon types and special attacks become available to mix and match and experiment with, after a certain point in the story, you’re bound to meet the same opposing characters over and over. It doesn’t take long to memorize their attacks, which adds to the monotony of it all. Thematically speaking, plenty of the major confrontations hint at a grand finale during the mission, only for the big foe to flee and return in the next battle, which lessens the weight of some otherwise impressive smackdowns.
Outside of battle, Origins is hellbent on offering busy work. Navigating the map from an overworld view, akin to looking at a tabletop game from above, leads to quicker, bite-sized skirmishes, optional short objectives, and requests from characters that build up your bonds. Bond missions for characters usually boil down to training checklists, encouraging the use of different weapon types or certain attacks in exchange of experience points. There’s a synergy in the way that leveling up weapon types grants skill points to spend on abilities and character upgrades, so tackling as many tasks as possible is incentivized and properly rewarded.
A potential-filled fresh start
Throughout the 24 hours it took me to reach the end credits with one of the factions, however, it wasn’t necessary to grind for experience that often, making much of the side content somewhat inconsequential by nature. Considering that the optional skirmishes are endless repeats of the same objectives and maps, it’s frankly a blessing that none of it is required; it’s mostly for completionists who want to max out their abilities and proficiencies and become truly overpowered.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is an ambitious revival that makes for a good starting point for the series, even when some of its new ideas feel half-baked. Establishing bonds with characters and commanding troops are hyped up as bigger features than they actually are, and while the spectacle of battles can inspire awe as a case study of the current console generation’s horsepower, it’s hard to escape the monotonous loop.
If anything, Origins‘ biggest strength is showcasing a slice of what the series can offer, motivating players to dive back into its history rather than overstaying the welcome in this newfound introduction. If Origins is supposed to be a fresh starting point, there’s hope that its rudimentarily executed features can be beefed up into something more substantial moving forward.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins launches on Jan. 17 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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