Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires
But this is really a game for a subset of an already small audience. It's hard to see total newcomers, or fans of hardcore strategy, won over by Empires' strategy-management RPG blend, in much the same way that you wouldn't expect fighting game specialists to be entranced by the Musou combat system. It's a strange compromise really, yet somehow it manages to work. As such, it's certainly worth a spin, perhaps with the upcoming F2P version, if only to get a taste of the Musou series' most complex and thoughtful offshoot.
Almost exactly the same features as Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires, and although it's still more entertaining than the main game the lack of effort put in is downright insulting.
If Dynasty Warriors is your guilty pleasure, then Empires would be your guilt trip.
Ultimately, I came away from Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires extremely satisfied. The tactical elements outside of battle were well balanced as to be challenging while fair, and the combat carries over the best elements from the main game. It's a bit of a specific niche it's catering to -- fans of Dynasty Warriors combat and long-term strategy elements -- but if those two things are your jam, then Empires should have you hooked.
In summary, Empires is yet another instalment in the Warriors franchise that provides hours upon hours of fun for those who enjoy its tried and tested formula. With that said, it fails to do anything that really pushes the series forward, borrowing heavily from previous games while adding a few extra bells and whistles. Although some will revel in the notion of building their own kingdom and conquering all of China, others will find Empire's repetitive mission grinding and narrow scope hard to overlook.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires has all the entertaining, albeit repetitive combat the series is known for, but lacks the features to back it up. While this is par for the course for an Empires game, it's still hard to recommend as little has changed over Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires outside of some insignificant updates to the highly strategic politics that go on outside of battle.
Deep but confusing strategy layered over classic Dynasty Warriors.
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires is everything a Dynasty Warriors hater thinks about the series made real. It's a contemptuously assembled recycling project, and I'm sick of it.
Industry Coverage
Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends coming to Switch
