One to one thousand
You might think that phrase could be understood in many ways: philosophical thinking, mental state, or frame of mind. You will be forgiven if you ignore the literal meaning behind the phrase: One person versus one much other people. Samurai Warriors 5 is a game that pits you against an entire army and warns of crooks: the army doesn’t do well. This type of game is nicknamed “Musou” and if you haven’t experienced this game before, now would be the perfect time. Koei Tecmo rebooted the ‘Warriors’ series into a “fresh re-imagining”; complete with a more compact storyline, new gameplay additions and a new visual style. Will newcomers to the series be drawn to this historic hack-and-slash? Will returning fans be satisfied with the changed lineup? Let’s find out together.
Samurai Warriors 5 focuses on the Sengoku period of Japan, a 150-year period of civil war that is nearing its end, which sees clan leaders and warlords fight for power until 3 The “Great Unifier” restored central government in the region. The main plot of the game focuses on the condensed time frame of the Sengoku period, where the story is told through the eyes of two main characters: Nobunaga Oda and Akechi Mitsuhide. While the game boasts an impressive roster of 37 playable characters, you’ll primarily play throughout the story as Nobunaga Oda (starring Akechi Mitsuhide). The central character focus helps to bring a level of continuity to the story and also adds a refreshing change of pace when a side character enters the story and you can create the battlefield with a new pair of blades. I will say, this is like a double-edged sword as I find myself falling in love with the play of a supporting character (the legendary Lady No) and then, falling in love with Nobunaga’s playstyle throughout the story. This sense of creepy boredom begins to become unsettlingly obvious as the game’s real enemy begins to feed on its ugly head: repetition.
With such an ugly monster on the horizon, surely the game can now turn to its biggest champion: the game. I would say that the core idea behind the Muso gameplay is incredible. You stand alone in front of hundreds of (apparently brainless) soldiers, all of whom have fallen victim to your blade. You can chain simple combos together to play variations of Square and Triangle, and you have a “Hyper” attack that propels you forward while still hitting enemies (and knocking them down with you). ). Combine this with customizable ultimate attacks and a devastating Muso finish and you have the ability to chain combos in the thousands. For me, there’s nothing better than cutting through the battlefield while knocking hundreds of enemies away with each electric slash. It really helps to relieve stress after a long day at work. The visual style complements this beautifully, and the improved music adds an extra layer of speed and aggression to the game.
Are all these positives enough to drive away the beast of boredom? It’s sad no.
The plot and gameplay are the two biggest casualties of this beast. The game does a good job of informing you of the story through its in-game cutscenes and beautifully rendered art performances and the voice acting for the characters is excellent but the game really has It can be as simple as “Move from A to B and kill everything the same way.” The historical elements add to the level of intrigue and horror as you find yourself immersed in famous yet repetitive battles. the repetition of the level structure and gameplay makes the game hard to stay enthralled with.The “One vs One Thousand” element is so much fun and it’s hard to complete a level without a smile on your face. but once you’ve completed a few levels you find that details start to get lost with the wind.I like the intense gaming experience but it takes a lot of rest and change to eliminate the distractions. there’s an impressive amount of weapon customization available but this almost seems superfluous when you’re taking your entire army back to the stone age with each n swing the sword. The AI also seems so inconsistent that the difficulty level between the sub-soldiers and the final bosses is too great. I found myself blindly slaughtering hordes of soldiers who appeared to be struggling to tie their lanyards, only to run directly into a boss that made me feel like a 5-year-old armed with a cleaver. butter. There’s also a stronghold mode that acts as a pseudo-tower defense mode where you can train the character for EXP and extra weapons but the appeal fades after a few hours of carnage.
All in all, Samurai Warriors 5 is an impressive reboot of an already well-loved series. Repetition is a big deal for me but I must confess that I am quite new to the Musou style of play. I was immediately drawn to the beautiful visuals and voice acting (and of course, the gameplay) but I didn’t find myself wanting to play longer than a level or two at a time. The game also runs relatively smoothly (except for the PS1-level camera AI that runs the risk of getting stuck behind anything and everything on the battlefield).
If you’re satisfied with a solid story, an absurdly destructive combat system, and an artistic rendition of a bloody period in Japanese history then you’ll love Samurai Warriors 5. If you like me and new to the series you might want to take it slow to avoid the risk of burnout but don’t worry, there’s enough meat there to satisfy your bloodlust until the credits end.
I give this 7.5 Demon King out of 10
GameRev has been provided with a digital download of the game for the purpose of this review.
