Dynasty Warriors: Origins introduces more challenging enemy encounters this time, as producer Tomohiko Sho famously instructed his team with a blunt directive: "Go and kill the player." Discover what this means for the iconic hack-and-slash series' latest installment.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins Enemies Are More Formidable
Developers Programmed With Lethal Intent
Dynasty Warriors: Origins intensifies its signature combat with smarter, deadlier foes under producer Tomohiko Sho's radical development philosophy. During production, Sho famously challenged his team with the instruction: "This time, go and kill the player."
In an exclusive interview with PlayStation.Blog, Sho explained their design philosophy. The increased enemy aggression stems from a desire to create battlefield realism – opponents fight as desperately for survival as the player character. Soldiers and generals now exhibit more tactical awareness and coordinated attacks.
Despite the heightened challenge, Sho emphasized maintaining accessibility. "We wanted to create satisfying accomplishment rather than unfair difficulty," he noted, describing a progressive learning curve where even action game novices can experience victories. The challenge lay in balancing the series' signature "one-against-thousands" exhilaration with the brutal authenticity of historical warfare.
A Return To Fundamentals
Breaking series tradition, Origins omits the conventional numbering system (it would have been Dynasty Warriors 10). This first unnumbered mainline entry also narrows its narrative scope to the early chapters of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, concluding with the legendary Battle of Red Cliffs.
Speaking with TheGamer at Tokyo Game Show 2024, Sho elaborated: "We chose to focus intensely on this pivotal historical moment rather than covering the entire saga. The Red Cliffs represents an epic turning point we wanted to explore in unprecedented depth."
Marking the franchise's return after seven years, Origins follows an original protagonist – the Nameless Hero – through war-torn China during the Han Dynasty's collapse. Various warlords vie for supremacy across meticulously recreated battlefields.
Now available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S since January 17th, this fresh take brings new intensity to the musou genre while honoring its roots.
