Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires Reviews
Although it had the longest development time compared to other Empire spin-offs, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires somehow feels like the one with lowest effort put in to be made. Its biggest problem is that on the strategic side there are now a bunch of titles that give a deeper experience to people looking for a Three Kingdoms era video game and sadly the action parts design is quite repetitive. The asking price also doesn’t seem fair considering what the final product actually offers.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a game that I found extremely fun at times, but monotonous at others. Strategic tasks become mundane and repetitive very quickly, but the combat involved in the actual battles helps make up for it... There is fun to be had, just don't expect a grand strategy experience with a deep story or overly involved decisions and mechanics.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires isn’t the best game in the series, but it’s a solid entry that gets most things basically right. While there are certainly plenty of points to pick at, I still enjoyed taking over the country.
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.
Even for a series renowned for reusing material and rehashing a tired formula of mindless yet oddly satisfying gameplay, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is a hollow package. If this is all the series has left to offer, it may be time to let the Three Kingdoms war themselves into oblivion. A bland, shallow title with little to offer even those who enjoy the repetition of Musou gameplay, Empires is as regurgitated as a game can be.
Over time you’ll notice little frustrations building up when playing DW9E. I think its focus on strategy and roleplaying is much more appealing to me this time around, even with some features being lost from prior Empires games (like quests and events from Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires). But despite some shortcomings, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires offers a unique strategy experience you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires almost feels like Omega Force trying to apologize for the misstep that was Dynasty Warriors 9. Whilst, admittedly, very little has been done to move the Empires series forward, I think this is exactly what Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires needed to be; comfort food for fans of the franchise who may have been concerned about the trajectory the franchise was on, following the failed open-world experiment. By focusing on providing a familiar blend of strategy and impeccable combat, Omega Force has delivered an experience that feels like it has the interests of the fans at its core. Where Omega Force goes from here with both the mainline entries and subsequent Empires games remains to be seen, but for now, fans can at least enjoy this return to form.
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
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 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 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
Omega Force… what happened here?! You come from the excellent Samurai Warriors 5 and Pirate Warriors 4 and manage to completely ruin the once great Dynasty Warriors franchise. This is an unpolished, lazy and unworthy release. Dynasty Warriors 9 in 2018 was a reason for fans to get upset and now Empires is a new disappointing blow for the loyal fanbase.
Despite missing a lot of features from the previous Empires game in the franchise, I quickly became addicted to the strategic and hack-and-slash gameplay within Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires. Once the management mechanics click, it’s easy to lose hours as you command your minions or follow your ruler’s orders. However, we can’t overlook the amount of content ‘missing’ when compared to DW8: Empires, various customisation menus, Free Play, Gameplay Modes, and co-operative options, all absent without any comparable or additional features. But, if you’re a fan of Musou games and aren’t too bothered about playing with a friend or having full control over customising everything and creating your own scenarios, then you’ll enjoy Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is an improvement on the last Dynasty Warriors game, but that has more to do with my love of strategy and management than anything else. Given the divisive reception to the last mainline game, I understand why they moved away from the open world, but it does leave this entertaining game with oodles of potential in something of an identity crisis as well. What’s here is fun, and I am always up for some Three Kingdoms strategy and combat, but I can’t help but look forward to the next iteration that is built specifically with the PS5 hardware in mind.
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 isn’t ground-breaking, but it is pretty dang fun. Obliterating hordes of foes is always a joy, and the strategic nation-building gameplay is a pleasant change of pace that gives you a bit of a power trip to boot. If you’re a fan of Musou games but want to mix it up a bit, Empires may be your game. Just know that it’s largely another Warriors game, and it may get old after a while.
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is a solid action game, but it deserved more polish. I had fun playing it, but there are more interesting titles on the market and the Switch version is definitely not ideal. Even so, perhaps a newbie to the style like myself might consider it a good gateway to exploring other similar games.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires remains a title aimed only at those who want to participate in the chaotic combats that are a hallmark of the musou genre, and despite having this element, it's not as satisfying as its original version. The excessive repetitiveness and with little varied objectives in the combats, and the excess of information and situations that must be managed by the player are points that leave the general experience quite dull and uninteresting after a few hours.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
An entertaining mix of genres, but a bit monotonous and relies on its players to be big fans of both styles of games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review