Developer: Koei Tecmo, Omega Force
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Samurai Warriors 4 DX – Review
We are currently in a gaming era where remakes, remasters, and reboots seemingly run rampant, often feeling like easy options for certain publishers to earn some additional money. This can also be said about certain ports that underperform or that skipped a few platforms upon release. When we saw the initial announcement for Samurai Warriors 4 DX, we were a bit skeptical, as we assumed this would simply be a spruced-up port that would bank on people’s nostalgia. What we got, however, was a solid definitive edition of a 10-year-old game that deserved a bit more time in the limelight.
Story
Like always, you can play through several scripted scenarios that offer some story value. You’ll get to battle against many famous characters that are based on historical figures, albeit with a lot of added flair. The scenarios themselves are quite short, and they consist of only a few missions. As you progress, different characters become available. Many gamers, however, will probably not really play these titles for the story value and will most likely just battle hordes of enemies until they’re satisfied. Outside of the linear scenarios, you’ll also find a Chronicle mode, in which you can slightly steer the narrative to where you want it.
Graphics
Even though Samurai Warriors 4 DX is essentially a decade-old game, we were still quite impressed by the visuals. Of course, Koei Tecmo added options for the graphical settings, but even so, the game still looks quite good. The character designs are great, the plethora of outfits to choose from creates interesting encounters, and even the environments still look decent. Of course, the game does have a few dated aspects, such as limited texture quality, a lack of different assets, and so on. That being said, we doubt you’ll be looking at the backdrops that often, as the action never truly stops when you’re playing through an encounter.
For our review, we have also played quite a few hours on the Steam Deck, and we have to say, the game runs as smooth as butter. During single play in handheld mode, we weren’t aware of any stutters or frame dips whatsoever, and this was also the case when playing in docked mode. When playing split-screen, we did notice a few small flickers here and there, but other than that, there were no slowdowns, no longer loading times, or any other issues whatsoever.
Sound
All in all, the sound design of Samurai Warriors 4 DX still holds up quite nicely as well. The supporting soundtrack is rather cinematic, and the sound effects pack a proper punch. You’ll get great audio feedback from your weapons hacking away into endless waves of soldiers. The game also has a lot of voice acting during story segments, dialogues, and even the actual missions. The cast does a formidable job bringing the fairly unique characters to life.
Gameplay
Samurai Warriors 4 DX is a traditional entry in the Musou genre, where you’ll hack and slash your way through thousands of enemies while completing objectives and capturing areas. Most missions will allow you to pick two different characters to swap between, but there is also a mode that allows you to create your very own character to use, level up, and so on. The offset is quite straightforward.
Just like many other games in the franchise, you can play through short scenarios, often consisting of a few battles, or you can pick levels freely with the characters of your choice. As a third option, you can also play through the Chronicle mode with your own character, allowing you to shape the story that unfolds. The game also offers co-op split-screen play, which allows you to divide and conquer during certain missions. No matter what mode you end up choosing, your selected characters will level up and become stronger. As you progress, you’ll also find new gear, and gems to power up said gear even further. It’s a fairly simplistic RPG system, but it works, and it’s quite a lot of fun seeing your chosen characters getting stronger. The core concept is extremely accessible, and with different difficulty options, you do get a lot of content to play through. This is even more true thanks to the hefty dose of DLC that is included in the DX version. You’ll have additional scenarios to wade through and many cosmetics to choose from to customize your characters.
Even though the game is still a lot of fun, it is noticeable that some aspects are a bit dated. We sometimes struggled a bit with the camera controls and the lack of a lock-on feature. While we did get used to constantly rearranging our camera angle, a few accessibility updates here would have done wonders. Other than that, things sometimes feel a bit clunkier than many modern games, and the menus could have also used an overhaul.
Conclusion
While Samurai Warriors 4 DX arrived a bit late at the party, seeing as the original release was way back in 2014, it still feels like a relevant release. You’ll get a lot of content in one bundle thanks to the added DLC, and the action remains as solid as ever. If you still own the original, and you have no interest in a few additional scenarios and a plethora of cosmetics, you can probably just boot up your original copy. If you’re a franchise fan, and you’ve never had the chance to play this entry, picking this one up feels like a no-brainer. Even so, we would have perhaps preferred a slightly lower price tag for a decade-old title.
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