Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada

Spirit of Sanada brings plenty of welcome elements to the formula and makes me excited for what Omega Force holds for us in the future once it fine tunes everything introduced in this game. While it brings plenty of shiny new features, it feels smaller in scale compared to the last mainline entry. But those new little things do add up to a lot. Spirit of Sanada offers a fresh take on the Warriors experience that can be very welcoming to newcomers and veterans alike.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada… shouldn’t be seen as anything less than the best companion to Samurai Warriors 4.

Spirit of Sanada is more than just a Samurai Warriors side story, bringing the series to new heights with its largest roster and longest battles to date. The new multi-stage battles will have players take a more tactical approach if they want to reap the rewards.

For those who might be tired of the traditional Musou hack and slash format, Spirit of Sanada offers up enough changes to make the series feel fresh while retaining the traditional 1 vs. 1000 hack and slash gameplay that the series is known and loved for.

For any Samurai Warriors veteran, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada will feel like a pair of comfy old slippers – easy to slide into, and once you’re in their warm embrace you won’t want to part company with them until they’ve become a little too sweaty and overbearing.

An interesting title which offers a different experience from the Sanada's clan point of view. With some new features and characters this game is a good option in the series.

While Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada doesn’t diverge wildly from what I’ve come to expect, its presentation and impact are unique enough, strong enough and successful enough that I can only hope it heralds a new direction for the franchise. Deeply personal stories about these monumental figures, given ample room to breathe, can bring an overtold legend back to life.

Despite some dated graphics and gameplay that is sometimes too simple for its own good, Spirit of Sanada ends up rejuvenating a franchise that had been treading water.

It is obvious that the same engine from the last Samurai Warriors game is being used, but it really does feel like a fresh, focused take on the Musou series.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada works best as a companion piece to the main game that released a few years ago. The focus on one family of fighters is perfect, since it gives the team time to develop a real story instead of using a larger cast for broader tales. The core action remains just as good as before, but the new minigames and exploration sections fail to elicit the same type of excitement, especially with some of the caveats in play for the secondary characters you pick up along the way. For fans of the series looking for more story, Spirit of Sanada works, but only if you play it after an entry in the main series.

It is a game that will appeal to lovers of the genre and offers a deeper look than usual on the protagonists of the epic of feudal Japan.

The Warriors series has a special place in my heart, and is easily something you could judge by face value for being too much of the same thing, or just another musou. It’s not completely different from its predecessors, but there are definitely no two alike, especially with the emotional story locked up in each. Go get the game and give yourself a weekend with it, especially if you’re now the one wheezing.

Hack´n slash in all its glory with the new iteration of Samurai Warriors. Not the best in its genre, but a good one anyway.

Spirit of Sanada is an enjoyable musou that improves its narrative, but that doesn't evolve the formula much.

This Samurai Warriors spin-off feels outdated in many aspects, but it is fun to play and offers deep strategic options for a "musou" game.

As someone thoroughly tired and uninterested in anything Musou, I can say without hesitation that Spirit of Sanada did very little in changing my opinion on the genre. Having said that, the focus on telling a tighter, more involved story along with the addition of a variety of RPG elements is a step in the right direction and deserves praise- hopefully pointing towards a renaissance for the genre.

Come for the historical Japanese setting and story, stay for the pleasing, fast-paced combat. Spirit of Sanada puts combat, its best asset, front-and-centre, and it pays off.

When all’s said and done, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is a fine game, but not a very memorable one despite all the tweaks. I had a blast plowing my way through waves of disposable bodies and feeling like an unstoppable juggernaut, but once the carnage came to an end, the high was fleeting. I doubt I’ll ever revisit this game, nor even remember it a month from now.

If you are fans of the musou genre you will probably enjoy this title, but if you already dislike them it won't change your mind.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada focuses on the fate of a single family rather than different characters, introducing some pleasing activities but also suffering from the same old problems the series is known for.

Quotation forthcoming.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada caters to a specific audience that is looking for something different in terms of story and characters compared to other Musou games. A heartfelt, emotional tale of friendship, family, and politics provide an intimate counterpart to its mainline games. This difference carries over to its smaller pool of playable characters, each varied and employing the classic Musou hack and slash gameplay.

The extra weight added by the RPG side of things and the dungeon-style challenges means that Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada has more to recommend the franchise than before. Whether it’ll be enough to draw new players in, however, remains to be seen.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is not the best musou ever created, but if you're looking for something simple and fun, this new offering from Koei Tecmo might be a good choice. Unless, of course, you have a peculiar dislike for the genre.

Fans of the genre will find plenty to love about this game as it keeps enough of the genre staples while still trying to keep you on your toes with some variations. I, however, think I have to hang up my Musou holster. I can respect that Omega Force has made strides to stand out from all of the other games in the genre, but after so many years, it isn’t enough to keep me interested.

Because of its characters, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is more recommended than the franchise before. Musou genre doesn't allow so many novelties, but we like the RPG elements.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada is a fun and heavy slasher game, where you’ll mow down thousands of enemies in the spirit of war and blood letting. The game captures so much of what makes the Samurai Warriors series well loved, while bringing in a few new features and environmental adaptations that allow the game to stand on its own. Several issues with balance and presentation betray an otherwise solid game.

The combat system remains completely untouched since Samurai Warriors 4 and for all its minor tweaks and nuances, time’s running out for this ageing brand of battlefield action. Even long-time fans will agree that, after being pulled in just about every direction, the series desperately needs to move on. No pressure, then, Dynasty Warriors 9.

Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada attempts to shake things up with a bigger emphasis on RPG elements and a more personal story, but it doesn't always hit the mark. Seeing events unfold from the perspective of just a few characters does make for an interesting and engaging narrative, but the pacing is bogged down by boring filler missions. Likewise, chopping huge historical battles into bite-sized chunks adds depth to each scenario, but the epic scale and the thrill of thriving battlefields are lost in the process. Spirit of Sanada certainly isn't a bad game, but it is one of the weaker Warriors titles on PS4.