Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires
- February 15, 2022
- KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games StoreDYNASTY WARRIORS 9 Empires Deluxe Edition offers an immersive feudal Chinese empire-building experience with the game and additional content. This edition includes 6 gems, 10 custom officers, 3 campaign scenarios, a season pass for future DLCs until Feb 2022, 14 custom parts sets, 5 additional palaces, and 4 additional military units. Players can engage in strategic conquest, diplomacy, and tactical battles while customizing their characters and narrative.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Improved combat mechanics and fluid gameplay compared to previous titles.
- Character customization options are more detailed, allowing for unique creations.
- The new secret plans system adds strategic depth to battles.
- Significant reduction in customization options and content compared to previous Empires games.
- Open world feels empty and lacks meaningful activities or quests.
- Every battle is a siege, leading to repetitive gameplay without variety.
- gameplay148 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a steep learning curve, repetitive mechanics, and a lack of depth in certain systems, particularly in comparison to previous entries in the series. While some appreciate the new siege mechanics and the overall combat fluidity, others criticize the game for feeling unfinished and for its simplistic open-world design that detracts from the core gameplay experience. Overall, it seems to cater primarily to fans of the franchise, but many feel it falls short of its potential.
“The only thing this game has going for it is the castle siege mechanic that adds some dynamic to the battle instead of just scaling walls with a grappling hook from the beginning.”
“Despite this, the core gameplay loop is fine if empires style games are what you like.”
“Super fluid combat system/gameplay.”
“Honestly, this is a pretty bad game which is sad because it has the bones to be a good game with just more optimization and better empire mechanics. Plus, the AI needs to actually win fights in a battle and not just hold out until you get there.”
“However, a lot of the mechanics are severely lacking (open world, officer interaction, children, etc.) so much so that I don't think calling them half-baked would truly capture how underutilized and lacking in depth they are-- it's more like they cracked some eggs in a bowl and are trying to call it cake.”
“Still, it's a game that cuts corners in both gameplay and graphics, as such I can't really recommend it to others. Better to pick it up later in a sale for the price it deserves... you are not really missing much.”
- graphics116 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the visual enhancements and character designs, while others criticize the overall quality as feeling outdated or inconsistent, often likening it to previous generations. Many players note that while there are improvements, such as better animations and some detailed environments, issues like low textures, performance problems, and graphical glitches detract from the experience. Overall, the graphics are seen as a modest upgrade from previous titles, but not enough to elevate the game significantly.
“Yes, the graphics are nice; water reflection, wetness, sands, etc. are good.”
“Top-notch graphics and music, with hundreds of amazing characters and addictive gameplay put it a sure win for the GOTY awards this year.”
“The graphics are more polished than before.”
“The graphics of the game are not pretty.”
“Soldiers randomly wander around doing nothing, there are weird graphical issues in battles where soldiers in the distance run like a slideshow, the graphics are all blurry on the terrain (like anti-aliasing wasn't used or any edge smoothing).”
“It is 100% not worth the £55 price tag, I would even go as far to say it's insulting and offensive that would even ask half that price for this nothing but a graphics update.”
- story106 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of traditional narrative elements and quests that were present in previous titles. Critics note that the open-world format feels empty, lacking engaging missions and character development opportunities, which diminishes the overall role-playing experience. While some appreciate the inclusion of secret plans during battles, the absence of meaningful quests and a cohesive storyline has left many feeling that the game falls short of its predecessors.
“I like the secret plans in the game, since it gives a mission objective for nearly every battle and gives you the ability to thwart your opponent's plans as well.”
“They look good, sound good, play smoothly, and add dynamic story elements to the game.”
“The story, interactions, and cutscenes also have mixed qualities.”
“It is completely empty; there is no storytelling, nothing, just the scenery.”
“The lack of quests in the campaign like we had in 8 is sad.”
- music32 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising the soundtrack as "epic" and "top notch," consistent with the high standards of the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Players appreciate the ability to change soundtracks mid-battle and enjoy nostalgic tracks from previous games, although some find the music irritating in the context of the overall gameplay experience. Overall, the music stands out as one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing positively to its appeal.
“Top notch graphics and music, with hundreds of amazing characters and addictive gameplay put it a sure win for the GOTY awards this year.”
“The soundtrack in this game is so good, but I expect that because in my opinion the Dynasty Warriors franchise has always had good music.”
“Sound - 10/10 the music, as always, is epic as is the voice acting, shockingly enough.”
“So the steep learning curve, lack of tutorials, annoying gameplay, and irritating music means this is a trash game in my opinion.”
“10) re-uses a lot of assets, music, weapons & movesets.”
“Music - it has a lot of the previous game's soundtracks and you can change it mid-battle.”
- optimization24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 42 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many users noting poor performance, particularly in cutscenes that are locked at 30 fps and suffer from frame pacing issues. While some improvements have been made compared to previous titles like DW9, the overall experience remains marred by low-resolution textures, pop-in issues, and a general feeling of being a console port, leading to subpar performance even on high-end machines.
“You can also set the enemy count to max since I find that it doesn't affect performance too much.”
“Better optimization compared to DW9 due to limited space.”
“Overall performance is more stable (in highest settings without monster spec), unfortunately some technical issues from DW9 still persist here.”
“For some reason, cutscenes are locked at 30 fps and feel very choppy (probably frame pacing problems), so looking at low-res assets with such bad performance isn't enjoyable at all.”
“Wrap this all together in a pop-in heavy, unoptimized, poorly textured, badly animated mess and you're chugging along at sub 60 fps on all but the highest-end machines.”
“This brings me to graphics and performance; it reeks of a console port. By console port, I mean the PS4 and Xbox, which limit developers to using 5GB of available GDDR5 memory, with the rest (3GB) being relegated to the OS.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with limited content that fails to justify the time spent farming for resources or leveling up. The open world feels sparse and empty, leading to a lack of engaging quests and meaningful exploration, while battles become monotonous over time. Overall, the grind is seen as excessive and luck-based, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
“Battles are way too repetitive and tedious.”
“This makes it very grindy and luck based.”
“Discovering locations only as a meaningless filler, and you can try grinding your character's level by slaughtering random animals or bandits, but after 1000 KO they get spongier.”
- stability10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous bugs and glitches affecting asset loading and character movements, leading to a frustrating experience. While some players note that it runs well on high-end hardware, the overall performance is marred by the new engine's shortcomings, prompting hopes for future patches to address these issues.
“All in all, the game runs great if you have the hardware to run it, and it's a lot of fun.”
“The new engine is buggy as hell with assets loading in well after scenes or battles start and sometimes not loading in at all.”
“I will say as a long fan of the DW series, this game is like a better version of 9, but there are still some glitches and I hope they will patch them up in future updates.”
“With the open world setting not even being used properly, it's infuriating. They had the chance to make DW9 Empires the best, but instead they stripped the open world, put it on a god-awful graphics engine, and made it a brain-dead siege simulator with buggy/janky character movements, poor AI, and more... buy this game when it's in the 99 cent bin.”
- humor10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of outdated jokes and unintentional comedy, with some players finding amusement in poor translations and the limited customization options. While some aspects are seen as laughable, others feel the game is out of touch and lacks genuine humor, making it less enjoyable in a modern context. Overall, the humor seems to stem more from its flaws than intentional comedic elements.
“That sounds hilarious, sign me up!”
“Some of the translations are pretty funny though.”
“They have hilariously little armor parts (less than 20 helmets and 13 armor pieces, lmao) and completely butchered body edit; it's as if edit mode was never finished before they decided to ship it.”
“But here in 2022, this is such an outdated and out-of-touch game that it's not funny.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as a cash grab, with reviewers highlighting a lack of effort in various aspects such as character customization and user interface. Additionally, the presence of microtransactions has drawn negative feedback, reinforcing the perception that the game prioritizes profit over quality.
“I can honestly say this was just a cash grab due to the lack of effort put into character customization, UI, the menus, voices, etc.”
“This game was a cash grab; there is no easy way to put it. If anyone has played the original Empire games, they would know that this is an abomination.”
“Microtransactions suck with any game, and this one is no different.”
- character development8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highlighted by a strong character design system that allows for extensive customization, enabling players to create highly detailed and personalized characters. However, some users express frustration over additional costs for customization options. Overall, the character design is praised for its advancements and attention to detail, including features like realistic hair physics.
“The character designer is really good; you can create basically any face for your custom character, and the hair has fully programmed jiggle physics, so it flows in the wind.”
“The graphics are similar to DW9, meaning the characters are reasonably detailed, and the character design is really good.”
“Character design is a great advancement in the right direction, allowing for significant customization.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Replayability in the game is significantly impacted by the absence of scenario editing, which many players find limiting. However, titles like Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires offer substantial replay value through a wealth of collectibles to discover, enhancing the overall experience.
“I can live without banner, horse, and soldier customization, but no scenario editing highly limits replayability.”
“Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires has loads of replay value with a lot of collectibles to find.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is described as somewhat heartbreaking, indicating a strong emotional impact; however, the overall sentiment suggests that the experience may not be compelling enough to warrant a recommendation.
