The Samurai Warriors franchise returns after a long hiatus, but should it have come back?
Experience exhilarating action set in a dramatic historical setting in Samurai warriors 5. As the latest numbered entry in the Samurai warriors franchise, the story, characters, and visuals have been re-imagined to set the stage for a thrilling new series. The story takes place after the ōnin war during the Golden age of the Sengoku period and features a story that centres on the lives of two of the most representative military commanders of this era: nobunaga oda and mitsuhide akechi. Choose from a number of new and returning characters while utilizing new abilities to take on evolving enemy forces.
I’ve played a lot of Warriors type games over the years, going back as far as the PS2 era. I began with one of the Dynasty Warriors titles and have played the numerous spin-offs including one starring a certain Legend of Hyrule which is naturally my favourite spin-off that they’ve made so far. Samurai Warriors has been absent for a number of years, so it’s good to see it back and while it isn’t optimised for newer consoles, it still runs perfectly well on them.
In terms of gameplay, it’s your classic Warriors action as you capture bases and fight commanders while defending your own territories. It doesn’t mix things up, but it does have an impressive roster of 37 heroes to choose from and each has their own style, despite sharing a lot of the same weapons. My major complaint over the years with Warriors games is framerate woes despite seriously impressive enemy numbers on screen and this actually seems rectified in SW5. I did notice a few drops here and there but nowhere near as bad as it has been in the past games.
There’s also a nice new cel-shaded anime style to the visuals, which really suits the series and I hope it returns for the inevitable Samurai Warriors 6. The great news is that you don’t need to know anything about past games in the Samurai Warriors series with this entry as it acts like a reboot of sorts, so it’s easy for anyone to dive into. The series isn’t for everyone thanks to its natural repetitive nature but for those who enjoy these types of games, SW5 does more than enough to satisfy.
The Verdict
Samurai Warriors 5 may not bring any new ideas to the table, but it does provide a great entry point for newcomers and its definitely the Warriors game with the best technical performance, making it a must have for fans of the series.