The Dynasty Warriors franchise has become part of every gamer’s life at some point. It seems that everyone inevitably picks up a new game and gives it a try, whether out of curiosity or because it features familiar characters from popular franchises like One Piece or The Legend of Zelda. It’s like rickets; it’s just something everyone had when growing up. After numerous entries and spin-offs, it was finally time for Omega Force to do what every developer does when a franchise ages: initiate a vague and soft reboot to attract new players. This tenth entry was already an impressive-looking game on PlayStation 5, but how does it translate to the modest Nintendo Switch 2?
Set during the late Eastern Han Dynasty in ancient China (around 183–208 AD), this story unfolds amid widespread famine, corruption, and social unrest, which ultimately led to the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the rise of the Three Kingdoms era (Wei, Shu, and Wu). Drawing inspiration from the ancient novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it reimagines early historical events through a fresh perspective. In this narrative, players take on the role of an amnesiac protagonist who wanders a war-torn land in search of ways to restore order.
In the opening chapters, the narrative immerses players in the tumultuous landscape of ancient China during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the despotic rule of Dong Zhuo. As players progress, they have the opportunity to select a faction, each representing different alliances and agendas within this chaotic era. This pivotal choice branches the story into distinct faction-specific pathways on a richly detailed world map, guiding players through significant historical events. Key moments include the fierce struggles of the Battle of Hulao Gate, where legendary warriors clash in a desperate stand against tyranny, and the dramatic assassination of Dong Zhuo, a pivotal moment that shifts the course of the future. The epic drama climaxes at the legendary Battle of Red Cliffs, a confrontation that would forever shape the political landscape of the time.
Each faction path culminates in two potential endings: one that adheres closely to historical canon, allowing players to witness the events as they truly unfolded, and another that presents an alternate “what-if” scenario, granting the chance to redefine outcomes and explore the consequences of decisions made throughout the journey.
Regretfully, the story feels rushed and incomplete, especially for anyone who knows about the source material. Ending at the Red Cliffs battle is roughly ending at the halfway point of the story. The absence of co-op or online multiplayer is further disappointing since it has been an expected staple. Inevitably, repetitive missions, tedious side quests, and monotonous button-mashing combat loops become exhausting after extended play sessions, which are exacerbated by ineffective AI that requires constant babysitting of vulnerable allies.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins fundamentally reinvents the gameplay of the series by eliminating the traditional charge attack combo strings and rigid light/heavy input systems found in past entries like Dynasty Warriors 9. Instead, it introduces a deeper, more responsive combat system featuring ten distinct weapons that unlock new moves through proficiency. A Bravery gauge fuels customisable Battle Arts for counters and area-of-effect blasts. Players can also master defensive techniques such as parries, perfect evasions, guards, and blocks, which create extended opportunities for punishing enemy officers. These officers put up more of a fight than ever and come equipped with shields and super armour.
Battles reach an unprecedented scale with over a jaw-dropping 10,000 soldiers on-screen at once. There is still nothing quite like the spectacle of one man versus thousands and sending them flying like a hurricane scattering packing peanuts. The Nintendo Switch 2 version handles these unbelievably scaled battles with confidence and boldly attempts 60 frames per second. When set to FPS priority, Origins often meets its performance targets. While this isn’t always consistent and the game struggles with issues like jagged shadow quality, the overall experience is satisfactory enough that it shouldn’t bother most players for the most part. Even when the fps lurches, there’s an element of satisfaction to the console buckling under the stress of crunching 500 soldiers in a whirlwind attack.
The art direction faithfully captures the epic grandeur of Three Kingdoms-era China, with high-fidelity character models featuring detailed armour textures, expressive facial animations, and graceful wuxia-style movements, amplified by cinematic in-engine cutscenes and real-time spectacles like explosive energy-charged charges. Inevitably, as this is a port for the Nintendo Switch 2, some textures appear low resolution, with pixelated noise, and the overall fidelity ranges from medium to low quality. The music choices will raise a few eyebrows, but in a good way. Rather than using traditional folk instruments and melodies, Dynasty Warriors: Origins embraces heavy metal with heroic shredding guitar solos and grand, bombastic compositions.
Morale swings in battles and relies on players commanding AI companions and bodyguards through equipable AI gambits that can form phalanxes, as well as large-scale rallies. There isn’t any character juggling, since players only control the amnesiac hero, with occasional companion swaps during key story-driven moments and bond-related assists. It’s a bit of a step backwards, but it’s hard to complain when the lead has an admittedly cool design and excellent combat style.
There’s a classic JRPG-like overworld map with branching faction paths, and replayable “what-if” narratives, which mercifully mitigate the arcade-style repetitiveness that the Dynasty Warriors franchise typically falls into. The image of a hyper-realistic overworld featuring a giant, realistic man running around is an outrageous creative choice that is too earnest not to appreciate. Between all the skill trees, weapon leveling, and alternate routes, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the most RPG-like the franchise has ever been and will give players a lot of bang for their buck.
