Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires Reviews
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a definite improvement on its predecessor - but that's not saying much. The return of set maps and straightforward objectives is welcome, and in typical Empires fashion, there's so much potential for interesting player-driven storylines. There is an addictive hack-and-slash loop at work here, and it's tempered by some decent tactical tweaks. But to fully enjoy it, you've got to wade through a mire of shockingly ugly visuals and boring battlefield design.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires has that great gameplay that really kept me motivating. The graphics on PS5 did the opposite, however - that world and the textures seem to have fallen out of time. Fans of the series will surely like the game, newcomers should check it out somewhere first.
Review in German | Read full review
Omega Force manages to combine the musou style of Dynasty Warriors with elements of tactical action and turn-based strategy in a very entertaining title, although with the usual problem of the series: it is repetitive.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires brings new gameplay features to the table, but remains the same Three Kingdoms era slaughter fest fans have been enjoying the past twenty years.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires combines the musou action of Dynasty Warriors with turn-based resource management games, achieving a remarkable game that will meet our expectations if the original Dynasty Warriors 9 fell a tad short.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is the depressing follow up to the most disappointing entry in the whole Koei Tecmo hack'n'slash series. The strategic aspect that allegeldy distinguishes it from the predecessor is barely there while the action mechanics are basically the same, with castle sieges being the only real new offer of the whole package. Some clever ideas are noticeable, but most of them are reused from previous iterations. What Omega Force packed in the game at launch is not enough to build an entire experience on repetition.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is a game that continues a cult saga with not very good direction. It has notable points at the level of strategy and to be able to live a bit of the history/legends of China, but on the contrary, it has many aspects to improve like combat gameplay and the graphic section.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires had imperial ambitions. I ended up with an identical game with additional option windows. Before we meet a thousand opponents, we will pretend to manage empires. And unfortunately, it will end with going. Production definitely not worth the price.
Review in Polish | Read full review
While Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires didn’t blow us away by doing something fresh with the franchise, that’s never been the point with Musou titles. The game gives you more of what you want: colossal battles in which you regularly rack up thousands of kills and see epic rivalries between great leaders emerge and die before your eyes.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is a title that will most likely only admirers of the particular combination of musou and management that has always distinguished this strand of the famous saga.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a niche version of an already divisive game and provides very little innovation to the musou formula. It honestly feels like a half-baked game, as if developer Koei Temco felt the need to keep the Empires spinoff line of games going simply because it has done it in the past. There are better musou games out there and better strategy games out there, and I honestly can't recommend this game to fans of either type of game. Ultimately, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires won't hold your interest for any extended period of time unless you're already a fan of the franchise.
Across the board, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is not really a bad game. It hits a certain niche and mixes in your typical Musou genre gameplay with strategic political choices. It’s not really a game for everyone and is quite repetitive, but then again the franchise is known for its repetition and has been around forever. It’s completely up to the player if they enjoy this type of rinse and repeat gameplay or not.
Slightly more cerebral while also filled with the fast action that the series is known for, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires sits neatly as a midway point between the action of the "proper" Dynasty Warriors and the strategy of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. There probably isn't all that much of an audience for this, but for fans that were disappointed with the open world experiment of Dynasty Warriors 9, Empires here will be redemption, and for those who have never let their enthusiasm for the series be dampened, this is an excellent opportunity to marry Sun Shangxiang and make many beautiful babies... or perhaps to unite China. Whatever your preference is, really.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires has some promise, but it's learned nothing from the past and possesses no soul. This installment doesn't deserve a warrior's death - or life, for that matter.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires can't make up for the shortcomings baked into the Dynasty Warriors 9 framework.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires improves on the original Dynasty Warriors 9 in some ways and in others it still feels like the same half-baked game. The Conquest mode is a lot to learn but you can spend a lot of time in it once you do. Making decisions, bringing in soldiers, defending your kingdom and so on can be a fun time waster but it won’t be for everyone. It’s also disappointing that the combat and visuals in some other recent Musou games were more enjoyable than what is in this one. If you’re a fan of the Empires games then you’ll probably enjoy this but just don’t expect some kind of big leap over what came before.
I can honestly say that I enjoy Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires more than Dynasty Warriors 9. You may attribute this to the sorry state of the latter when it first launched. Although, I must affirm that I am a big fan of the simulation genre and empire management. The fact that battles affect the grand campaign, and vice versa, makes all the interactions in this installment meaningful. To what extent is up to you. Sadly, apart from a decent graphical upgrade, there’s not enough here to call it a fully realized sequel. The franchise is competing against itself. Unless the updated hack-and-slash gameplay and expanded character roster are enough to tie you over, consider this empire incomplete.
It lacks purposeful content and engaging mechanics, with many aspects of its core-elements feeling like an afterthought. Its fluid and fast-paced combat is an enjoyable experience stuck in a visual and mechanically dull game, which leaves more to be desired.
Whilst this Empires title deviates slightly from the standard Dynasty Warriors formula, it is still fun if you’re looking for a hack and slash game with a bit more strategy. There are issues that plague the game, especially with the use of an open world that lacks reasons to explore and the absence of same-sex marriage. Although with that said, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires still can be interesting during the siege battles and the beautiful character customisation. At least it’s relaxing to tear a new one into the cannon fodder!
In terms of the crazy and chaotic musou genre I'm still getting up to speed, but I'll admit that when the action gets into a groove I tend to find it to be a pretty good time...