After a hands-on preview of the first three chapters Dynasty Warriors: Origins in November 2024. Origins became one of my most anticipated releases of 2025. The first three chapters drew me in and not only did I want more of the quick and plain combat that I expect from the series, but I was really looking forward to the continuation of the story.
I must admit that this is not something I expected when I entered the market Dynasty warriors game, especially once again telling the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a story that the series has already told man many times. However, putting the story and its direction in the player’s hands proved to be an electrifying and fun way to push the hack and slash series forward in terms of storytelling.
Fortunately, the creator of Omega Force does not step off the pedal after the first three chapters, and as Dynasty Warriors: Origins it expands, both in terms of battle size – arguably the series’ core feature – and absolute scale.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins begins at the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a period of peasant rebellion and uprising in Chinese history that is essentially the ancestor of the legendary Three Kingdoms period. Players take on the role of the Wanderer, a powerful warrior experiencing amnesia when the events of the game begin. I usually argue that an amnesiac main character is a bit bromide in nature, but it fits with what Omega Force is doing with its crucial reboot of the series with Origins.
Even though the Tales of the Three Kingdoms saga has been told many times in the series, the operate of an actual single-player character rather than taking on the role of various historical leaders and soldiers from the period opens up unique narrative points for Omega Force. Throughout the game, you’ll make friends and enemies with characters from each dynasty, and you’ll often be given the opportunity to choose whose side you side with and join on the battlefield. Playing the game is a very welcome and pleasant surprise Dynasty warriors a game where you can make some choices that actually matter and have some weight behind them.
As someone who has always appreciated the historical period in which the series is set, for the first time I felt a real connection to the characters rather than simply labeling them as “good/bad” based on whether they were allies or enemies on the battlefield. Speaking of bonds, there is a real Bond System at play, which allows you to develop relationships with various rulers and officers from the Three Kingdoms era, unlocking unique story events with them, as well as unique rewards. Maximizing your bond with a character leads to a special cutscene highlighting the bond between you and that character.
While I think having a unique player-created MC character was the right move, it unfortunately negatively impacted the overall connection I had with the main character. For most of the campaign, your character is rather reserved and emotionless, mainly because he doesn’t even remember exactly who or what he is. As the story progresses, the memories come flooding back, but ultimately I was more interested in the connections I made with the various other main characters than in my own character.
There are ten types of weapons in the game Dynasty Warriors: Originsmost of which are unlocked as you play through the campaign, with the Halberd unlocked after completing the campaign. The type of weapon you operate determines your playstyle, martial arts (essentially your fighting skills), as well as your combos and attacks for both massive and airy attacks. Each time you operate a specific type of weapon, you will raise your proficiency with it, unlocking up-to-date attacks and combos with it. It also improves your overall rank by increasing your character’s health, attack, and defense, which means changing it up and trying up-to-date weapon types can still build your character’s strength even if you end up not sticking with it.
I was drawn to the Twin Pikes, a powerful ax-like weapon that your character wields in both hands. I felt like a full-on berserker, tearing through hordes of enemies with ease, occasionally jumping into the air to pounce on my opponents with Twin Spades. They deal a ton of damage – in my restricted testing, probably the highest overall outside of the late-game unlocked Cresent Blade and the post-game unlocked Halberd – and offer plenty of area-of-effect attacks that really cut through battles.
Each weapon type also has some unique rhythms that you can learn and perform to give you an even greater advantage in taking the time to learn the weapon. For example, with Twin Spades, if you hold down Guard, then initiate a Heavy Attack and continue to press the Heavy Attack button, you will spin around in a whirlwind style – as I said, berserker – continuously. If you can time your last massive attack just as the attack lands, the last attack will be buffed, dealing more damage and causing a frigid, improved attack animation.
Thinking back to my childhood experiences related to the so-called Dynasty warrior franchise, it’s basic to remember what made them so special: huge battles. Origins redefines massive battles with Omega Force, and on some maps up to 10,000 troops can be on screen at once. As you progress through the campaign, the battles not only become bigger, but also more intense. Along the way, your army will also grow, giving you access to up-to-date Tactics that will allow you to issue commands to nearby soldiers in your army. Tactics you can operate include charging in to cut off an advancing army or firing a targeted arrow strike to gaunt out the numbers.
This additional gameplay element felt like an improved version of the system Storm of Bladesanother Omega Force and Koei Tecmo series that features massive battles and is a welcome addition. There are also times when the tactics you establish are incorporated into major historical development points of the battles you fight, resulting in radical changes to the battle and even the battlefield. The ability to weave narrative into war so fantastically is impressive and a major step forward in the show’s narrative approach, which has been rather lacking so far. And all this without holding back the main strength of the series: fast-paced hack-and-slash combat. If anything, it reinforces it.
Completion Dynasty Warriors: Origins The campaign unlocks the New Game Plus mode, which allows you to continue building your character from where you left off in the campaign, while also going back and exploring different choice points throughout the game, giving you the opportunity to see how things vary depending on your choice. You can change the faction you join to see how the entire story would have played out if you had joined that faction instead, all while continuing to level up and power up the same character. In this sense, the NG+ mode is more like the classic, repetitive grind of the series and one that I’m really looking forward to, which hasn’t happened since Samurai warriors 4 For me.
Everything that makes Dynasty warriors The Great was built and strengthened Dynasty Warriors: Origins. The fast-paced combat is more fluid and satisfying than ever before, and I think the decision to let players build their own character is the right move for the series moving forward. I wasn’t sure how Omega Force could take a series that was set three decades ago and make it appealing to newcomers while also reassuring longtime fans, but they found a way. For me this is the best Dynasty warriors yet and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
