Do you ever have a hard day at work where you wish you could wipe out a nation? Not due to any prejudices, biases, or discriminations, but just wanting to unleash your unbridled rage from work? If you answered yes to either of these questions then you are in luck. On July 27th, 2021 Omega Force released a new Musou game called Samurai Warriors 5. If you like Musou games, then you most likely have heard of Omega Force; they are the developers behind Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, One Piece: Pirate Warriors, Persona 5 Strikers, and Hyrule Warriors. If you have played any of these games, you should have a pretty good idea what Samurai Warriors 5 is like, but this leads us to our Samurai Warriors 5 review.
Before we get started with the review, I want to just leave a disclaimer that excluding Attack on Titan 2, I have not played a Musou game since Dynasty Warriors 6 & Dynasty Warriors: Gundam in 2007. So what defines a Musou game? According to Koei, a Musou game has characters that unleash powerful moves. During these powerful moves, the characters are invincible. In order to unleash a Musou attack, the player must charge up a meter by completing objectives, using abilities, or killing enemies. Samurai Warriors 5 follows this key formula.
Gameplay
When players first start Samurai Warriors 5 (SW5), the menu only has Musou Mode available. Players must dive into Nobunaga’s path to unlock the alternate main menu and Musou Mode options. Like any other Musou, the player must defeat enemies, complete quests, and defeat the map’s boss to move on. As players progress through the story, they are able to unlock the Dojo, Blacksmith, Shop, and Stables in Musou Mode. Once the Musou story progresses to a certain point, Citadel Mode is unlocked. In Citadel Mode, players defend their base from a variety of enemy attacks.
By completing a Citadel Mode mission, the player is rewarded with materials, items, gold, weapons, or mounts. Depending on the player’s performance, additional items will be awarded. These rewards help players to upgrade their weapons, buildings, and characters. As missions are complete, the game will level up the player’s character, castle, mounts, and weapons. The player can expedite this process by grinding for materials and resources. Players can also upgrade units to command in Citadel Mode to help them complete objectives.
Story and Online Options
Both Musou and Citadel Mode can be played either solo or online with others. Some missions require a certain partner to complete a task before proceeding on with the mission; when playing solo, if you are unaware of how to switch between characters, you may get stuck. During our playthrough, the first time we encountered this caused us to be stuck for a short amount of time. After slamming buttons on the controller, we were ultimately able to figure out how to switch between characters and command the computer-controlled partner to move to a certain area.
By playing online, players will not be able to switch to the partner character; because of this, you must rely on your partner to complete their objectives. Playing online does make it a bit easier to grind materials so that you can level up the buildings in your castle. Players also have the option to choose between both Musou and Citadel mode for co-op gameplay. These missions can be done either solo, with friends, or with a random teammate. When you first start playing through the Musou Mode, you are required to play through Nobunaga’s path. As the story progresses, optional side missions are added to Nounaga’s path. Additionally, as players progress through Nobunaga’s path, Mitsuhide’s path unlocks. Once you complete one brother’s path, the Reverie chapters are unlocked. Each mission has a certain requirement from previous chapters to unlock the mission.
Gameplay Review
If you are a man of Musou or Hack and Slash games, then you will enjoy Samurai Warriors 5. Oddly, the game does not feature a VS mode where players can battle against each other. The game features a variety of characters that the player can choose between once unlocked but in order to do that, you must play through the story. An option to unlock characters in the settings menu could allow players to bond with a certain character and be inspired to use them in the story mode.
Samurai Warriors 5‘s story mode covers historical events with the developer adding their own personal spin towards the narrative. Each mission typically ends with the player killing the opposing generals. What is aggravating is each general you defeat will later appear in a following battle or cutscene. Rather than using the words kill or slay, the developer should only use the words defeat, capture, or subjugate when taking down the enemy. If you are new to the franchise or just the history, the story drags a bit. The concept behind the game is enjoyable. The idea of taking over a country, subjugating your enemies, and unleashing spectacular moves is where anime thrives, however, something about Samurai Warriors 5 causes it to drag.
Controls
When it comes to Samurai Warriors 5, the controls are not overly complicated. Unlike fighting games that prioritize the light option for effectiveness. Instead, players utilize the heavy attack to close gaps and occasionally break the enemy’s guard; however, most heavy attacks fall short of breaking the guard unless unleashing a killer combo. At times, the game gets confused with button inputs causing ultimate moves or Musou abilities to be triggered vs regular attacks and vice versa. When in combat, this can be frustrating, especially when a challenge requires you to use a special ability.
The base controls are easy to learn and most things are addressed early on in the game. Annoyingly, if you want to look up the manual for Samurai Warriors 5, you have to either look online or scan a QR code. Control layouts are divided between Single Player controls and Co-officer controls. Certain controls are only addressed once and players are required to remember how to execute them. Executing a special partner attack can not be found in the settings menu. Overall the controls can become complicated if you are trying to do everything.
Music/Sound
When it comes to a game’s music, sounds, and special effects, they can make or break a game. Samurai Warrior 5‘s soundtrack does neither. The music has a background ambiance that just sets a time period mood. The sound effects for combat are there, but you ultimately just tune them out. In regards to the game’s voice acting, each actor attempted to give a memorable performance that makes you care about the character’s life or motives. Sadly, most of these performances fall short. Unlike other subbed games or anime, out of the 37 characters, only a handful leave a lasting impact. Out of the handful, only two make you care about their perspective or role in the story. Whether this is due to the pandemic performances or something else, subtitles do a better job conveying the emotion when watching the characters’ reactions.
Additionally, Samurai Warriors 5 only utilizing Japanese voices impedes the player’s ability to connect with the characters. The game works for fans of the franchise or genre, but for a new player discovering the genre or an estranged player, it feels underwhelming. Yes, it costs money to hire voice actors in other areas, but it does not always have to be mainstream voice actors.
Graphics
Samurai Warriors 5′s graphics is definitely one of its stronger features. Each character has their own unique look and does not feel out of place excluding Yasuke. At times, the player’s character will go through objects but it does not cause the game to break. Each cutscene is beautifully rendered. While in combat, each character and objects around the map are cell-shaded but still have high texture. If you look at enemies or objects from afar, they do appear unrendered. As the player moves closer to each area, the game processes the movement and renders the area. With the game only being on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch, this system of rendering makes sense.
Replay Value
When it comes to a game’s replay value, there’s a variety of factors to consider such as new tasks, ways to play, character paths, and more. When it comes to Samurai Warriors 5, the game offers an average amount of replay value. The game does feature a variety of difficulties to play through the game on, but most casual players will not go above Easy difficulty. Die-hard fans of the Musou genre will love SW5 due to the number of characters available, upgradability, and a vast amount of missions available; however, for the casual player, the game’s missions tend to blur together. If you are not taking time to process each mission or taking breaks after a few, you can easily forget the story.
Conclusion
Samurai Warriors 5 is a game that you can play continuously for a few hours maybe days but then you put it away for a while until you are in the mood again. Less than an hour into each playthrough, we’d start to groan and wish for the story to get to the point so we could resume combat. After a while, combat loses its flare. The game is great for running around and killing things when you have the urge to hack and slash, but sadly it gets stale. If you are looking for a Hack and Slash that makes you feel like a god, then playing SW5 on Easy mode will do just that. With a variety of characters to choose between, you can get hours of gameplay out of Samurai Warriors 5 if you choose.
Ultimately, Samurai Warriors 5 can be purchased for $60 if it is a genre you enjoy; however, if you are new to the genre, it might be worth waiting until it goes on sale. With the sheer amount of missions, fighting styles, and characters, it is definitely worth $40. If you have any hesitation towards picking up this game, definitely watch gameplay videos or other players’ walkthroughs to see if it is something you will enjoy. Are you a fan of Musou games? Do you plan on picking this one up? Let us know what you think after giving it a try. We could see Samurai Warriors 5 ending up on Xbox Game Pass in the near future.
A copy of Samurai Warriors 5 was provided for review purposes on the Xbox One.
