Koei Tecmo have confirmed a release date for their upcoming hack n’ slash sequel, Samurai Warriors 5. The series reboot will be coming to Japan in June 2021 before launching on July 27th in other territories – it will be available to purchase on various platforms, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. Samurai Warriors 5 is also playable on new consoles, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, though Koei haven’t announced whether there will be any enhancements for these versions.
With the release date for Samurai Warriors 5 just months away, we’re already starting to get a steady trickle of information regarding its story, gameplay, and content.
Let’s kick things off with the game’s playable characters. Koei have confirmed that Samurai Warriors 5 will launch with a rebooted roster of 27 characters, mostly comprised of returning favourite though reportedly with some new additions too. That’s half the size of Samurai Warrior 4’s playable roster (55) and considerably smaller than Dynasty Warrior 9 (90). While part of the appeal of these games has been the number of different heroes you can play as, we’re interested to see what developer Omega Force can do when focusing on a smaller roster, hopefully making each of them feel more unique.
Confirmed characters include Nobunaga Oda, Mitsuhide Akechi, Ieyasu Tokugawa, Hideyoshi Hashiba, Nō, and Yoshimoto Imagawa, alongside newcomer Mitsuki.
Now, if you’re a huge Samurai Warrior fans, then there’s a good chance you will be able to pick out many of the characters simply by looking at their silhouettes from the image above. Even with their completely rebooted designs, we can pick out a few including Hanzo Hattori, Shingen Takeda, and Kenshin Uesugi. A cursory knowledge of the Sengoku era and its chief warlords should also help fill in some of those blanks.
A new trailer (posted above) gives us an extended look of the game in action though we’ve yet to see proper Samurai Warriors 5 gameplay. One new feature Koei have revealed is the new Frenzy attacks which will help wipe entire screens clear of enemies. The publisher also announced a Samurai Warrior 5 special edition which will only be available via their webstore:
The Treasure Box version of SAMURAI WARRIORS 5 includes the game’s soundtrack, an art book, a selection of postcards (alongside a display case), a deluxe cloth poster showcasing the game’s vibrant new art style, and a copy of the game, all packaged into a samurai themed collector’s box. The Collector’s Edition of the game includes all of the content featured in the Treasure Box version, alongside a mini acrylic stand set featuring the pivotal characters from this epic historical drama.
Source: Press Release
