Very early in the life-cycle of the Nintendo Switch, Koei Tecmo made it clear it was going to bet big on the system. In Japan, the publisher has ported many of its games to the device with apparent success, including several of the older titles in the Warriors franchise. Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, and Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires all saw release on the system exclusively in Japan, as well as the Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition and Fire Emblem Warriors titles we got in the west.
This pledge of support for the system continues this month with Warriors Orochi 4. After dabbling with an open-world concept in Dynasty Warriors 9, Orochi 4 carries on the traditional, level-based structure the series is best known for.
For those unfamiliar, the Orochi series takes characters from Dynasty and Samurai Warriors’ games and transports them to a twisted world of Orochi’s creation to have heroes from both series do battle with the Serpent King. In Orochi 4, it’s the Greek god Zeus who brings together the two franchises, giving the spin-off its first taste of non-Asian influence. Zeus is one a several new characters from Greek and Norse mythology making their debut in the series, bringing the total number of playable characters to 170, a Guinness World Record for the hack-and-slash genre.
Only a handful of characters were available during my hands-on session with the game at a recent Koei Tecmo event, and while none of the new characters were available for me to try out, I was able to see how the addition of magic will change the standard Warriors formula. In short, it takes what can be often mundane gameplay and makes it extraordinary.
Source: Destructoid Magic makes for one wild ride in Warriors Orochi 4