Dynasty Warriors: Origins — Back to Classic Battles with a New Rogue Hero

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8 min read

Dynasty Warriors: Origins just dropped on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series—and yeah, they scrapped that open world mess from 2018. If you’re looking to buy cheap games, this one’s definitely worth checking out! We’re back to the classics: mission-based gameplay, but this time the story’s hitting way harder. It’s locked in on the OG novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, sticking to the first half only—but trust, there’s still a lot going on. That’s why the name’s switched up. Oh, and heads up: they threw in a brand new main character too.

Plot-wise, it’s still all about one of the most iconic eras in Chinese history—late 2nd to 3rd century AD, full of chaos, civil wars, betrayal, power grabs, and big drama. If you’ve played the older games, you’ll clock some familiar faces fast. If not? Get comfy. It’s nonstop action with wild personalities and enough plot twists to keep your head spinning. Also, better start keeping track of names now—you’re gonna need it.

We’re not just some rando grunt running errands for a warlord. We’re playing as Ziluan, The Wanderer—total wildcard energy. He’s the last survivor of a secret elite unit called the “Guardians of Peace” that used to roll with the Emperor. Dude’s got no memory, barely talks, but for some reason? Everyone’s spilling tea the second he shows up. And you? You’re stuck picking from the driest dialogue choices imaginable. Still—don’t sleep—Ziluan’s an absolute menace in battle. Silent, but deadly levels of cracked.

Mounted combat unfolds on a wide-open plain, dust rising beneath galloping hooves.

Silent Shadow of the Three Kingdoms: Shaping Chaos from the Shadows

Story’s locked into the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms arc: Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo acting up, and the chaos that follows. But every big conflict? You’re the quiet one lurking in the background, shifting the vibe—kind of like how savvy players buy PS5 games and even buy cheap games to prepare smartly without drawing attention. Early game’s kind of a tour—you meet all the key players and their crews. But later on, you gotta pick a side. Three bosses, one choice, and yeah—it’s gonna get messy. Some alliances won’t survive. That’s when it pops off: multiple story paths open up, and if you play your cards right, you’ll hit those rare “true ending” runs. Big replay value. Bigger drama.

The squad? Absolutely stacked. But most of these officers barely get screen time, so their personalities are cranked to 100—straight cartoon levels of extra—just so you can tell them apart in two seconds flat. Run a few missions with them, knock out their side quests, and boom: you unlock solo chats with Ziluan. And yeah, even though the English dub actually hits, most of these convos are just pure trauma dumps or ego boosts while Ziluan sits there all mysterious, maybe drops a head nod if he’s feeling spicy. Say like two words back, and suddenly they’re acting like you just changed their life. If only real-life introverts had it that easy.

By now it’s crystal: the whole game revolves around Ziluan. He’s got that borderline mythical “main character” aura. One-man army? Obviously. Everyone’s obsessed with him and he barely speaks? Naturally. It’s a full-on power fantasy, no shame about it. Gameplay-wise, that energy tracks—Ziluan’s the only one you actually control. Sure, you can sub in a squadmate for a sec, but you can’t tweak their builds or skills. Ziluan though? Full customization. Every move, every stat—your call. Total creative freedom to build the quietest menace alive.

A dramatic clash between generals erupts near a crumbling fortress wall.

Classic Chaos Meets Intense Action-RPG Combat

Dynasty Warriors: Origins still goes crazy with that chaotic action-RPG energy Omega Force is all about. You’re zooming across massive battle maps on foot or horseback, mowing down literal crowds of NPCs who barely fight back, while squad-leading your way through enemy bases or throwing hands with bosses.

Sometimes they mix it up with random side quests—like smashing weird incense jars that mess with people’s heads, babysitting allies who can’t handle themselves, blocking supply drops, or tracking down sneaky assassins. But no matter what, you're basically swimming through piles of bodies 24/7.

Yeah, it's mostly just button-mash mayhem, but Origins actually sneaks in some strategy too. You kinda have to pay attention to what the squad leaders and brainiacs are saying if you don’t wanna get clapped. And the classic rule still hits: if a key teammate bails or gets dropped, it's wraps. Only now there's another twist—morale is a real thing. It affects how hard your crew pushes, how tanky they are, and whether they’re down to throw or just vibe in the back.

You can totally just charge the map and beeline it to the enemy boss if you’re feeling wild, but don’t expect any help—you’re basically 1v100’ing a whole angry squad solo. The enemy general will even call you out for being reckless. And yeah, this time, numbers actually hit different. The new “large armies” setup throws waves of troops and a full crew of enemy officers at you fast. Jumping into that mess feels insane and tests your reflexes for real, but most of the time? You’re getting folded.

It’s usually smarter to take your time, hit objectives one by one, and let your AI squad cook with the support you’re feeding them. You’ll still have to babysit them a bit, but they’re way less useless now—as long as morale stays up, they actually do work.

Combat feels clean. It’s smooth, easy to get into, and super customizable. Most of the time, spamming buttons clears the room just fine. But when it’s you versus a stacked squad of officers and their morale’s cracked, it hits different. Suddenly you’re locked in—parries, dodges, timing your big hits, avoiding sneak moves and tight formations, picking off archers before they ruin your vibe. It’s not unfair, just keeps you dialed in.

Best part? You’ve got options. Cancel attacks, switch positions mid-combo, change up your whole flow on the fly. Every fight feels slick and super satisfying.

Fire and chaos consume a walled city as allied forces storm the gates.

Ziluan’s Arsenal: Diverse Weapons, No Upgrades, and Pricey Shops

Ziluan’s got a ton of weapons to mess with, each with their own moves, combos, and skills. Even weapons in the same category feel different thanks to their stats and passive perks. Only thing is, you can’t actually upgrade the ones you’re holding. If you want better gear, you’re either hoping for lucky drops from enemies or dropping a stupid amount of money at city shops, which are lowkey overpriced.

The more you use a weapon, the higher its rank goes, unlocking new moves and letting you level it up. That boosts your stats and opens up fresh skill trees where you can dump points you earn in battle. Same deal with skills—use them enough and you’ll master them for extra bonuses. Basically, the game pushes you to keep switching things up, so it never gets stale and you’re always unlocking something.

And yeah, there’s a bunch of ways to personalize your loadout. You can customize accessories, upgrade your horse (it levels with you), mess around with five different gem slots using pyroxene you find around the map, and build out your own personal squad. Your escort gets new members and abilities as you go, too. There's a ton to tweak, which makes the whole vibe feel way more personal than older games—for better or worse.

A character swings a massive weapon, sending enemies flying across a forested path.

Campaign Hub: Exploring, Fast Travel, and Crafting Gems

To hit your next campaign objectives, you’ll be cruising around a central hub that’s basically a mini version of the whole continent. You can fast travel between provinces, gather minerals and herbs to craft gems (kinda random and not super efficient, but still worth a shot), check out cities and camps (though they’re pretty barebones), hop into side missions and skirmishes, and run into a bunch of characters who either wanna chat with Ziluan or throw you quests like “go slice 200 enemies with a podao to boost your relationship.” It’s all super chill to navigate and does what it needs to do.

Tech-wise, Dynasty Warriors: Origin is one of those games that actually feels next gen—not just in how it looks, but in how much it throws at you. The number of units on screen is wild. You’ll get full battlefield shots with literal thousands of troops, and the engine holds it down pretty well, especially on PS5. It mostly stays locked at 120 FPS, even with chaos everywhere—unless it’s raining, then you might catch a little lag in the crazier moments.

Character models during convos look nice too, just a bit stiff animation-wise. The soundtrack hits though. It switches between chill, epic, and classic eastern vibes when things are calm, then goes full rock mode once the fighting starts. Tons of variations based on what’s going down, plus some throwback remixes for the OG fans. Honestly, it’s the perfect hype music to tear through enemies with.

Armies clash at a river crossing, water splashing as foot soldiers collide.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins — A Solo Action-RPG That Levels Up the Musou Formula

Some longtime fans might be salty about a few missing features from past games, and yeah, fair. But as a solo experience, Dynasty Warriors: Origin seriously delivers. It’s a solid action-RPG—fun, packed with content, and it actually throws some decent challenges your way when it feels like it. It levels up the usual musou formula in a big way, even if a few things had to be cut to get there, and sets the stage for where the series could go next. If you’re into action games at all—even if you’ve never messed with musou stuff before—this one might surprise you. Origins has a real shot at flipping some opinions.

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