GRcade

as an open-world game, Dynasty Warriors 9 falls miserably flat, mistaking breadth for any kind of meaningful depth. You can take to your horse and ride from one end of the map to another in a feat that'll take up to two hours - although you'll have fallen asleep in the saddle well before then. It's a map with plenty of scope but not much by way of spectacle, or satisfying diversions. Yes you can hunt, gather resources for crafting or even purchase your own hideaway to decorate with trinkets - because, well, that's what other open-world games offer. Dynasty Warriors 9 too often feels like a pale imitator rather than having its own sense of purpose.

So there are watchtowers to climb and a map that's slowly filled in over the dozens of hours it takes to see through it all - and there's a lot to see through, with some 83 characters to tinker with throughout the campaign. Dynasty Warriors games aren't exactly new to excess, of course, but the endless list of side missions - none of which gets that much more advanced than going to a certain destination and dealing with a mob or two - and hollow distractions makes it all feel a lot more like bloat.

Godzilla wrote:The second Fate extella game is actually amazing and looks lovely. Even on switch.

jawa2, back in December 2020, wrote:...I'm keen to see what Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is like when it arrives early next year. I wonder if Koei Tecmo will have taken on-board the criticisms about DS9; and if they have polished the game as well as the more recent spin-off games?

jawa_, back in February 2022, wrote:...I'm kicking myself as I *still* haven't given my Warriors games a proper go and I do want to.