Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires

I can honestly say that I enjoy Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires more than Dynasty Warriors 9. You may attribute this to the sorry state of the latter when it first launched. Although, I must affirm that I am a big fan of the simulation genre and empire management. The fact that battles affect the grand campaign, and vice versa, makes all the interactions in this installment meaningful. To what extent is up to you. Sadly, apart from a decent graphical upgrade, there’s not enough here to call it a fully realized sequel. The franchise is competing against itself. Unless the updated hack-and-slash gameplay and expanded character roster are enough to tie you over, consider this empire incomplete.

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is a mediocre strategy and mediocre Musou title as well. It's certainly not worth the full price mark and in case you're not a die-hard fan, it really might not be worth your time either.

The return to smaller battlefields away from the open-world approach is a step in the right direction, but every battle feels formulaic. Even with the individual differences in objective and battlefield events the exact same formula can be applied in each battle which can get too repetitive. But in spite of these criticisms, Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires still delivers the type of experience fans have come to expect, and while it doesn’t do much to to distinguish itself from the previous entries, it can still be a lot of fun for those who still enjoy the one-versus-a-thousand style game.

Away from the strategic elements, the game offers the frenetic combat we’ve all come to expect from the Warriors series. Unfortunately, a range of performance issues in the PS4 version and a general lack of variety lessens the impact of otherwise serviceable action. In the end, this is fighting a losing battle. [Issue#12, p.85]