It’s always exciting when an established series, especially one with a myriad of technical issues, arrives on a current-gen system for the first time. However, if you were expecting Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires to look great or run without constant pop-in and screen tearing then you’ll be sorely disappointed.
With loading screens being a regular occurrence and textures that can take several seconds to fully load, there isn’t anything to suggest that Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires has been fully optimized for PlayStation 5. Non-playable characters still look rough and don’t animate all that well, and watching dozens of soldiers just pop into existence as you turn the camera is jarring, even if the series has never been all that realistic in its combat. This is all certainly a bummer, especially after Omega Force wowed with Persona 5 Strikers in its last major outing, and makes a pretty poor first impression upon booting up the strategy spin-off. However, technical issues are nothing new with the Warriors series and are something fans have unfortunately accepted as just part of the territory when you want to mow down thousands of soldiers.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires doesn’t try to copy the open world that the base game introduced to the series, although you can stroll around it if you want to explore an extremely bland and plain-looking version of Three Kingdoms-era China. Instead, it sticks to what has made the Empires series such a breath of fresh air for the franchise, which is the political maneuvering and strategy that adds an extra layer of importance to each battle. As with past titles, there are a number of historical starting points for your campaign, so if you want to relive the Yellow Turban Rebellion for the 5,000th time then you can do just that, or you can create your own conflict from scratch with real or custom warriors at the forefront.
While Empires isn’t as ambitious as 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9 was (albeit to mixed results), it does avoid most of the shortcomings of the main entry and uses its own strengths to its advantage. With there being so many battlefields being created for the open world, there’s an even greater variety to the actual skirmishes between armies. Most battles do feature a castle at its center that an army is trying to invade (or defend if you’re on the other side), but it’s the outdoor areas that are most interesting as there are mountainous areas overlooking the area, fields of bamboo, and even more variety in the scenery. Grander battles are also satisfying to watch as you see hundreds of soldiers clashing against each other with catapults launching attacks in the background as Omega Force has wonderfully captured the spectacle of warfare (at least when soldiers don’t get caught in the geometry or run into a tree).
The combat in Empires is exactly what fans have come to expect from the series as you mash the Square button thousands of times (and occasionally pressing Triangle if you’re feeling fancy) to eliminate thousands of soldiers. While it’s simple and quite repetitive, the combat has never been the core focus of the series as it’s always been about your strategy on the battlefield. This is where the action truly shines as you’re deciding to take out groups of archers that keep bombarding your group or choosing to destroy a battering ram that is advancing toward your castle gate. By forcing players to think about their own tactics on the battlefield, Omega Force adds a meaningful amount of depth to its gameplay that feels quite rewarding. The strategy in Dynasty Warriors has always been on a macro scale and those that focus purely on just slicing enemies will find themselves failing battles more often than not.
DW9 Empires adds another layer to the action itself as players select secret plans to deploy during battles, which can range from the ridiculous (summoning poison fog and giant electric bears) to real, sound strategies like bringing in reinforcements or causing bandits to revolt. Regardless of what strategy you choose, you’ll be tasked with fulfilling a number of tasks in order to deploy your secret plan, such as taking over a number of bases or forcing certain enemies to retreat from battle. This isn’t a purely offensive maneuver as the computer will also have a secret plan for each battle, which is great as it keeps you on your toes and makes every fight a little more fresh (although you are still going to be pressing Square endlessly).
Of course, the actual battles are only half of the Empires experience as the spin-off sets itself apart with its political systems. Every choice the player makes, whether they are a ruler or a lowly officer making their way up the class system, impacts a number of stats ranging from bravery to benevolence and ingenuity. As these abilities rank up and improve, players have even more options at their fingertips both on the field and when playing the strategy system. Whether you want to be a kind ruler that is appreciated by the peasants or a tyrant that pillages for his own gain, there are positives and negatives to it. It gives players even more options as to how they approach unifying China and greatly improves an already endlessly replayable game.
This amount of depth has always been a strong point of this spin-off series and it has never been better than in Dynasy Warriors 9 Empire. There’s a real thrill in watching your dynasty expand, putting out vagrant uprisings, and overcoming a disadvantageous battle due to your own strategy working as planned. While the package is sadly extremely rough around the edges and isn’t the current-gen leap it should be, Omega Force has delivered an enjoyable strategy game with high points that are worth wading through graphical glitches and technical shortcomings for.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
