Samurai Warriors 5 Reviews
Samurai Warriors 5 is a minimised musou that's been stripped back to its most fundamental parts. Perhaps this deconstruction was meant to revitalise interest in the genre, but it sadly leaves it feeling flat and mediocre. Omega Force hasn't forgotten how to make a musou, though; that much shines through in the combat which at times shows flickers of promise. There's just not enough to see and do here, and it becomes repetitive far too quickly. This, coupled with the fluctuating Nintendo Switch performance, makes it difficult to recommend.
Samurai Warriors 5 is a game of reductions. In its move to reboot the series it seemingly has gone back to providing as much content as the first entry. A cynic may say they'll likely slowly start to reintroduce these established features like they're new innovations. Innovation… It's insane that while Omega Force continues to do just that. To innovate. To deliver. But only with titles it produced for other people's franchises. When it comes to its own franchises, frankly, the developer is going backwards. Following the disappointment of what Dynasty Warriors became, Samurai Warriors has now joined the club as a shadow of its former self.
The combat of Samurai Warriors 5 is still exciting and aweinspiring, however even that is simply not enough after two decades of reusing the same concept. This series desperately needs a breath of fresh air.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
An attempted re-imagining that lacks ambition but should still satisfy most series fans.
Samurai Warriors 5 is a fun addition to the Warrior franchise, its rebooted story mode and re-imagined visuals feel fresh making this a great entry point for newcomers. However, for fans who have been playing these games since the first one, it will feel like the same hack and slash affair as before. Nonetheless, the new emphasis on character development is its saving grace by giving the players more to think about. Overall it’s still a solid Musou game that could be the starting point of a cool new direction for the series.
Samurai Warriors 5 is a strange case. The overall design is new, and some of the gameplay systems were touched upon, but there is nothing truly unique about this iteration, while the technical side is even worse than in the previous game.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Samurai Warriors 5 brings us back the Japanese feudalism passed through the filter of anime and combined with some of what Omega Force learned in its approaches to other franchises. A musou for musou fans that emphasizes the story and strives to provide it with interesting characters and a rich background, but that falls short when it comes to reinterpreting the use of its characters. Those who know what the story is about will feel right at home, the rest, go carefully.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
With its pros and cons, Samurai Warriors 5 is an honest game.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Samurai Warriors 5 runs well and has a solid story presentation, but it's barely different from the last entry in terms of gameplay, save for having less than a third of the movesets.
Samurai Warriors 5 is a competent and conventional musou. Forgetting the experiments of Dynasty Warriors 9, it is business as usual, with some new interesting but not revolutionary actions. It has plenty of characters and weapons to keep you grinding to infinity. The gameplay is simple and repetitive, but you probably already knew that by now.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Samurai Warriors 5 is the refresh that the series needed, but doesn't bring anything new to the war table.
Samurai Warriors 5 keeps the spirit of combat alive in this follow-up, without managing to stand out enough to feel like a true sequel.
When I started playing Samurai Warriors 5, I remembered the proverb: a wolf can change its skin, but it cannot change its character, so despite the change in appearance, it is still the same game. Omega Force studio tried to reinvent itself with new mechanics, but the implementation and the disastrous task distribution made it seem like a failed attempt to extend the life of the game.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Overall, I enjoyed Samurai Warriors 5. I generally do enjoy the gameplay of this Warriors franchise and they’ve kept it fresh by including some small changes. The ultimate attacks were a particularly appreciated spin. While the story is never really the focus of the Warriors titles, it was an enjoyable telling of Nobunaga’s tale too. It doesn’t steal the crown of my favorite Warriors title from Dynasty Warriors 8, but it’s certainly a strong entry into the series.
Samurai Warriors 5 is a lot of a good thing, but you have to be confident you’ll enjoy that good thing for it to be worth the price of admission. If you’re already a fan of the singular “1 vs 1000” gameplay that can only really be found in Warriors games, your time will be well spent with this title.
Despite having minor issues to be resolved, the game remains great. I have a feeling that the next expansion for this game will either have more characters, or will be focused on another era of Japanese history. To those who wish to play it, I recommend playing the demo first to familiarize themselves better with the system of Samurai warriors 5 plus special bonuses can be unlocked if a save file of Samurai Warriors 5 demo is found in gamers’ hardware. Playing it fully and watching these dramatic moments will spin the minds of gamers around.
Samurai Warriors 5 is a fresh reinvention for a series that was beginning to feel familiar. A story focussed on Nobunaga’s early years takes the bold choice of ditching many series mainstays. However, the combat and overall presentation haven’t received the same level of new blood and remain as over the top and ridiculous as ever. If you’re a fan, SW5 is as fun as it’s ever been.
Samurai Warriors 5 is just as confusing as the Sengoku period itself - there are some negative feelings around it but I still had a lot of fun with it.
Review in German | Read full review
Ultimately, there's a type of mindlessness to playing a game like this that serves as both a nice break from more mentally demanding ones and also a reminder that musou games are still quite niche, and perhaps for good reason. If you enjoy breezy, repetitive gameplay with hours and hours of missions to play and stuff to unlock, Samurai Warriors 5 will do just fine. However, I can't see it doing enough to bring new fans into the series.
Omega Force's new reimagining for the series does not change up much from a gameplay standpoint, but more to deliver a better story and pretty presentation.