Is Dynasty Warriors: Origins Open World? Explained

The Dynasty Warriors series has largely been a linear hack-and-slash experience, but recent entries like Dynasty Warriors 9 experimented with an open world. This raises the question: Does Dynasty Warriors: Origins also feature an open world?

Does Dynasty Warriors: Origins Have an Open World?

No, Dynasty Warriors: Origins does not have an open world.

The trend in AAA gaming suggests that open worlds equate to high quality, but this isn't universally true. Dynasty Warriors 9's open world is a prime example of this. Its vast, empty world was widely criticized, diluting the impact of large-scale battles. The open world mechanic was poorly implemented, detracting from the core gameplay.

Concerns arose whether Dynasty Warriors: Origins, given its experimental nature, would follow suit. Fortunately, it avoids this pitfall. Instead of an open world, it offers a condensed overworld map of ancient China.

Players navigate this small map between missions, visiting towns to acquire weapons and items, and resting at inns. The map is easily traversed in under a minute, rendering the fast travel option largely unnecessary. This overworld facilitates interactions with NPCs for side quests, item discovery (Pyroxene and Old Coins), optional battles for skill improvement, and story progression through cutscenes. While functional, the overworld is simple and doesn't significantly enhance the gameplay, but it's a vast improvement over the emptiness of Dynasty Warriors 9's open world.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is available on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.