Dynasty Warriors 9

We are several generations into this franchise, and Koei Tecmo and Omega Force decided to try something new with Dynasty Warriors 9. In their latest iteration of the Three Kingdoms Epic, the developers opted for an open-world adventure where players can explore ancient China and partake in key battles and lay witness to the era’s pivotal moments. But how does the open-world formula translate to the typical hack and slash adventure? To find out, but also review the game properly, I had to distance myself from previous installments.

Feudal Chinese warfare is back and with a whole new look to boot. Gone are the streamlined levels; Omega Force has taken notes from massive AAA series like Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. However, with Dynasty Warriors 9 changing up the series in such an over-the-top way, will players still find the iconic gameplay they’ve grown to love over the past 21 years? Yes. A resounding yes. The answer’s yes.

While combat remains exhilarating and fun in a way that will feel familiar to veterans of the series, Dynasty Warriors 9 isn't just one versus a thousand anymore. We're part of a war that unfolds all around us, with plenty of allies in need of help and enemies begging for a healthy beating. It's a bold step in the right direction, and while Omega Force may have overextended in certain aspects, the fun outweighs the jank and the experience remains one that I am eager to return to and to see improved and further evolved in Dynasty Warriors 10 or Samurai Warriors 5.

Let the bodies hit the floor.

At the end of the day, although Dynasty Warriors II is a competent and entertaining game which does well to take advantage of the PlayStation 2's graphical hardware, any game that becomes tedious through repetition deserves more than a raised eyebrow. Although there's some fun to be had here, for what we dole out for PlayStation 2 games it should last beyond a first day's worth of play, and that's why we have to be so harsh on it.

Dynasty Warriors 9 felt more like an experiment than a single, cohesive experience. At times it felt like Dynasty Warriors, sometimes an open world RPG, occasionally neither and sometimes both. But if Omega Force learns from this endeavor and buckles down for the next entry, the result could be spectacular.

As it is though, Dynasty Warriors 9 is a game that’s just too sparse and too easy for its own good. But what’s worse is that it’s perhaps the worst performing game I’ve played on the Xbox One X. I can cope with janky gameplay and stupid AI during the pursuit of fun, but screen-tearing and troublesome framerate drops are a no-no. So, Dynasty Warriors 9 does take the series into new territory, but in doing so it breaks the tight-knit, smooth, action-packed gameplay that we’ve come to know and love.

No summary available

Dynasty Warriors as a series hasn't changed much over the years. Sure it's had its playable character roster expanded significantly, and it's had the odd combat system overhaul here and there, but the core concept has always remained the same: it's one super overpowered Chinese warrior (you) versus entire armies that flood the screen. To be fair, it's a formula that's given Dynasty Warriors a unique identity – a formula that fans have come to love and a formula that, for the most part, works well.

Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a poor Switch port of a disappointing entry in the long-running spin-off series. This is a hugely downgraded version of the game, with seriously dialled-back visuals failing to put a stop to consistent frame rate issues during the heat of battle. With a lack of gameplay modes, zero multiplayer options, terrible AI and cosmetic customisation options gone AWOL at launch — Koei Tecmo choosing instead to go the DLC route — this is a truly lacklustre package, a bargain bin affair with a premium price tag, and a Dynasty Warriors game you can feel quite comfortable skip...

Dynasty Warriors finally gets the overhaul it’s long been waiting for… and while it addresses a few old problems it creates just as many new ones.

Everything about this game seems completely rushed. To jump onto the open world bandwagon three or four years too late and still deliver such a pile of garbage isn’t just embarrassing, it’s insulting.