Samurai Warriors 5

Samurai Warriors 5 doesn't bring much new to the table, but manages to combine the best parts of other Musou games for a truly fun experience.

The Warriors franchise has always had a strong following and Samurai Warriors 5 keeps that following going. With an entertaining story, strong characterizations and a gorgeous cell-shaded art style, Samurai Warrior's 5 is the best entry in the franchise in a long time. If you've never had an interest in jumping into a Warriors title before, Samurai Warriors 5 is the best time to jump in and see what makes these games so addictive and fun.

While there are some aspects that longtime fans of the series will be disappointed by, Samurai Warriors 5 is a polished and accessible entry in Koei Tecmo’s long-running series that is well worth your time with its gorgeous aesthetic, excellent soundtrack, and rock-solid performance on PS4 Pro and PS5.

A steady diet of musou games would most certainly lead to nutritional deficiencies, but now and again playing a game like Samurai Warriors 5 is a great reminder of how much fun the genre can be. There’s almost always a least a hint of repetition in these games, including this one, but with its balance between well-told story and fluid action, memorable characters, and epic battles, Samurai Warriors 5 is both an excellent way to dive into the franchise and a welcome new direction for longtime fans.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a breath of fresh air that shows the developers have learned a lot from their previous entries. They’ve taken pieces of their spin-off games such as Persona 5 Strikers, Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, and even their Dragon Quest Heroes entries. Omega Force took a look at what players of the aforementioned games like beyond general fan service involving their favorite games and used it to reinvigorate their long-running Samurai Warriors series. If you’re someone who tried one of the spinoffs and liked it, or if you have even a remote interest in The Warring States period of Japanese history, this title is a perfect place to jump in. While there is room for improvement upon, Samurai Warriors 5 is a strong foundation for future entries. With Omega Force’s track record of releasing expansion packs and side games, I’m eagerly awaiting more.

A strong gameplay, a good lifespan, nice art and some couch gaming... Samurai Warrios 5 has some strong arguments for itself. It sticks to the roots of Musô, for better or worse, with some additions that feels worth it.

While Samurai Warriors 5 doesn’t break from the mold, it does help get the Warriors series back on track after Dynasty Warriors 9. Fans of hack and slash or past Musou games should check it out.

Samurai Warriors 5 definitely has its fair share of faults. However, those faults aren't nearly enough to hinder the fact that the game offers a gratifying experience and is an excellent addition to the series.

Samurai Warriors 5 is like comfort food for gamers. It’s just like you remember, only this time a bit flashier, and with a few extra tweaks to play with. Since it covers Nobunaga’s younger years, it’s also a great entry in the franchise for new players to pick up. Veterans will no doubt rely on muscle memory to power through the Hard mode, but otherwise this is a fun Musou that anyone can play. Grab a friend and get to slicing!

Samurai Warriors 5 is over the top in its action, beautifully painted in its presentation, and offers a surprisingly decent narrative. It may get grind heavy, but that doesn’t stop it from being the freshest Warriors game in years.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a successful return to the basics of the license after a Dynasty Warriors 9 that had completely disappointed the players. Koei Tecmo offers a game that will not leave fans of the genre unmoved, while proposing interesting new features, a very complete roster of playable characters, a wide range of usable weapons, two very solid game modes and a lifespan that exceeds 100 hours of play. We will forgive its technical inequalities, even if it is time to move to the Next Gen and to offer a game with big ambitions while keeping what makes the essence of Musou games.

Whether you’re a grizzled Musou veteran with the calloused thumbs to prove it, or a blister-free newcomer to the genre, Samurai Warriors 5 is a fantastic game to play. With more content than you can wave a battle-bloodied katana at, it’s a great value game that’ll keep you in the war for a long time to come.

Whether you’re a series fan or a newcomer, there’s a lot to like about Samurai Warriors 5. This is without a doubt the best Samurai Warriors game yet, with a more engaging story, deeper gameplay, and luscious visuals. As ever, there are tens of hours of fun to be had, with repetition staved off that bit longer thanks to the new gameplay additions. And with a friend in tow, everything just becomes more chaotic and fun. Forget about the reduced character roster; if you love Musou games, consider this a must-have.

As a complete Warriors package, Samurai Warriors 5 doesn't quite match up to its stellar predecessor, but that doesn't stop it from being fantastic hack and slash fun. Even if the gameplay itself is largely familiar, a rebooted story mode and overhauled art style give the experience a fresh and surprisingly unique feel. What's more, the new ultimate skills system is an excellent addition, and something we'd love to see become a Warriors staple.

Samurai Warriors 5 had an ambitious goal: give the franchise a reboot so it feels revitalized and fresh but also maintains the essence of what fans enjoy about the franchise. Aside from a few tweaks and updates, the gameplay of Samurai Warriors 5 adheres to the format that musou games are expected to follow.

It's fairly reasonable to say that I have a fondness for the Samurai Warriors franchise, and in terms of actual combat this game also delivers in spades when it comes to style and intensity. One also accepts having to slog through the drawn-out and sometimes tedious process of acquiring resources (to upgrade player stats and weapons for greater combat effectiveness) -- but the one thing that made the drudgery more bearable, like the interactivity and humor behind the process in Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, is sadly lacking in this game. In spite of this shortcoming, Samurai Warriors 5 is still an exhilarating and visually arresting adventure through the chaos and political vortex of Sengoku period Japan.

Samurai Warriors 5 provides a fresh start for the franchise through a focused narrative while retaining what fans love. It builds on the established formula rather than overhauling it completely created a balanced action experience. Despite issues with repetitive movesets and the limited Ultimate Skills, I had a great time returning to the battlefield that has only been better with this updated aesthetic.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a gorgeous game telling a classic story full of awesome characters and it doesn’t require much more investment than that. If that’s all you need, this is one of the best the Musou franchise has to offer.

Samurai Warriors holds onto its status as the best of the three Warriors series. Omega Force has refined their aged formula with a focus on narrative, more challenging combat, and more rewarding character progression. Let’s just hope they can hold onto this momentum.

Rich in content and with an excellent artistic direction, Samurai Warriors 5 is aimed at a specific group of fans, but does not disdain to tickle the newbies.

A solid musou that does innovate within the limits of the genre. Ideal for fans of the series, but the changes might not be enough to be attractive for potential new fans.

Samurai Warriors 5 tells a beautiful story of an important historical event, and even though some old and familiar issues are still here, the final package is an entertaining Mosou style game.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a perfect slice of junk food gaming. It knows it isn’t an award winner, breaking new ground or pushing gaming forward, it simply aims to provide an entertaining ride, nothing more, nothing less. In that light, it is impossible to see Samurai Warriors 5 as anything but a success.

The Warriors series has proven quite some times that you can teach an old dog some new tricks. This time relying on quality opposed to the well known quantity, Samurai Warriors 5 remains a fun title of a franchise that is somehow too old to be this entertaining - yet it is.

Delivering 1v1000 hack-and-slash goodness, this is a more promising reboot than Dynasty Warriors’ last attempt. It leaves us curious about the series’ future. [Issue#5, p.76]

Samurai Warriors 5 makes the series stand out from Koei’s other games and updates the musou formula in smart ways, but unfortunately cuts too much of what worked in the past to make it universally recommendable to hardcore fans.

A very, very traditional musô ... but nevertheless successful. Admittedly, its cel-shadding remains an obvious make-up for a dated technique, but it also causes a reinforced Japanese atmosphere and some appreciable graphic effects; Likewise, the repetitiveness of its missions is an obvious black point but is compensated by a diversity of characters and interesting gameplay, and this despite the criticized reduction of its cast.

Samurai Warrriors 5 is a full-fledged musou and a good installment of the saga, but it sins of being too flat and of not evolving the gameplay and the mechanics of the genre. Nor does it bring great new, in general, and is aimed only at fans. But, even so, it's a great entertainment that we recommend.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a videogame and a Musou that lives of alternances. A deep story is encapsulated in a radiophonic narrative, a captivating aesthetic pairs with a low poligonal count and a funny and solid fighting system clashes with a gameplay full of repetitiveness. Koei has made an inspired re-immagination of his franchise, but his experiment is only an half success. Not the worst Samurai Warriors ever made, but neither the best.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a lot of a good thing, but you have to be confident you’ll enjoy that good thing for it to be worth the price of admission. If you’re already a fan of the singular “1 vs 1000” gameplay that can only really be found in Warriors games, your time will be well spent with this title. Similarly, if you haven’t played a game like this before and are intrigued by the way it plays or the visuals, but not turned off by the idea of a passable story and a gameplay experience that doesn’t feel the need to surprise you, Samurai Warriors 5 is more than a fine place to jump in.

If musou titles haven't been your bag in the past, it's unlikely Samurai Warriors 5 will break new ground. It's still, by its nature, a button-mashing battler. If you've been looking for a little more depth, though, then you'll be pleased to know that you'll have more fun carving through hordes of enemies than you have in any prior game in the series.

Samurai Warriors 5 won’t shock anyone who’s played one of Omega Force’s Warriors games before, but it does present a great new style and enough over-the-top action to keep you coming back.

Samurai Warriors 5 is an ambitious reboot, removing many features from previous games while emphasising what makes the series tick. There is very little to do outside combat, but the combat is delightful, and the variety between characters makes each one a joy to play. Despite some superfluous systems and clunky camera and AI issues, Samurai Warriors 5 offers fantastic action gameplay. If you’ve been intimidated by the Warriors series in the past, this is a great place to hop on.

For musou game fans, Samurai Warriors 5 is a strong return to form for Koei Tecmo and Omega Force.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a competent and conventional musou. Forgetting the experiments of Dynasty Warriors 9, it is business as usual, with some new interesting but not revolutionary actions. It has plenty of characters and weapons to keep you grinding to infinity. The gameplay is simple and repetitive, but you probably already knew that by now.

From a gameplay standpoint, Samurai Warriors 5 is an easy recommendation. However, the political content isn’t as easy to sign off on. While there’s always going to be some celebration of military action in a title like this, the way the script goes out of its way to portray the bloodthirsty as heroes in defiance of true historical facts feels like a step too far. Samurai Warriors 5 isn’t a depiction of Japan’s violent past, it’s a celebration of it.

If you are familiar with (and a fan of) the musou gameplay and the overall mechanics of the series, Samurai Warriors 5 will keep you satisfied and busy for quite some time.

Occasionally repetitive and devoid of much of a challenge, the comfort of clattering armour and the triumph of battle in Samurai Warriors 5 nonetheless never ceases to appeal. This game has plenty of what the series does best – history, wackiness, pacing, and violence – but doesn’t offer much more than that. Frankly, if you like games with names like Samurai Warriors 5, this one is probably still for you.

Samurai Warriors 5 is a strange case. The overall design is new, and some of the gameplay systems were touched upon, but there is nothing truly unique about this iteration, while the technical side is even worse than in the previous game.