As a longtime fan of Omega Force’s Warriors franchise, Dynasty Warriors Origins was a delight to play at the beginning of 2025. Now, a year later, the developer has released the substantial Visions of Four Heroes expansion, which offers a series of ‘what if?’ style campaigns for a quartet of prominent Han dynasty officers.
If you enjoyed Origins, chances are you’ll also appreciate Visions of Four Heroes. There have been some welcome tweaks to progression that help streamline the experience, but it remains a polished Warriors title with some incredible large-scale battles, including standout moments like facing the Coalition Forces alongside the Yellow Turbans.
While Visions of Four Heroes is a rich addition, it doesn’t radically change the formula, and some of my main issues with the base game persist. You’re still primarily playing as Ziluan, the somewhat bland ‘Guardian of Peace,’ and the limited time to control other officers remains disappointing. Additionally, cutscenes continue to feel stilted and overly verbose, though the effort to flesh out these alternate scenarios is commendable.
A Dead Dream Revived
Visions of Four Heroes features four distinct campaigns that explore alternate histories. Starting from Chapter 2 of the main story, Ziluan can drift into dreams about what could have been for four legendary officers who failed to unify China.
The first campaign centers on Zhang Jiao, leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. After completing his story, players can choose to align with the tyrant Dong Zhuo, ambitious general Yuan Shao, or the formidable warrior Lu Bu. Historically, these figures were ultimately undone by their own hubris, and the expansion explores how they might have fared with a guiding hand—spoilers: that’s us.
The Dynasty Warriors series has always embraced such ‘what if’ scenarios, adding replay value and allowing the development team to explore creative narratives that diverge from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms canon, which itself romanticizes this period of Ancient Chinese history.
In Visions of Four Heroes, there’s a genuine effort to explore alternate paths for the featured officers. For instance, in the first campaign, we rescue Zhang Jiao from the Coalition Forces and help him confront his past mistakes.
While cutscenes still feel somewhat rigid, presented as conversations between static characters, the writing is solid. Fans familiar with these officers from previous games may appreciate the character exploration offered here.
Take Your Turn
I’ve been enjoying the changes Visions of Four Heroes brings to streamline each campaign. The expansion efficiently transitions you from battle to battle, utilizing the base game’s overworld map.
Each of the four campaigns unfolds over a small section of this map, and between large-scale battles, players engage in a simple strategy mode where they maneuver their armies against enemy forces. Engaging in skirmishes diminishes the enemy’s army and morale ahead of the larger battle, rewarding players with secret tactics to enhance their combat effectiveness.
This approach effectively condenses the Dynasty Warriors Origins experience into a more digestible format, with each campaign lasting around three to four hours.
Players can also return to the inn—your hub for Visions of Four Heroes—to take on challenges from officers or participate in training battles, yielding rewards like powerful weapons and skill points for unlocking DLC-exclusive perks.
Lingering Doubt
Overall, I believe Visions of Four Heroes is a fantastic expansion that adds significant value to the already strong foundation of Dynasty Warriors Origins. New weapon types and partner officers enhance gameplay, providing more ways to engage. However, it’s disappointing that Ziluan remains the only playable character, and he lacks depth.
I’ve come to terms with Omega Force’s decision to focus on a single protagonist for Origins, as it has allowed for a different narrative approach to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. However, other Koei Tecmo titles, like Nioh and Rise of the Ronin, have handled character creation more effectively within historical contexts.
A missed opportunity in this DLC is the limited use of Zhuhe, another Guardian of Peace who occasionally assists Ziluan in the base game. In Visions of Four Heroes, she appears as a partner officer but is only playable for brief moments.
It would have been great to see her as a fully playable character, or at least to have more flexibility in controlling different characters during battles.
Despite these shortcomings, Origins and Visions of Four Heroes provide some of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I’ve had in the past year. I hope future Dynasty Warriors titles will address these issues to recapture the charm that initially drew me to the series.
Already Great, Now Even Better
So, should you buy Visions of Four Heroes? Despite some unresolved issues with Dynasty Warriors Origins, I wholeheartedly recommend this expansion if you enjoyed the base game.
It showcases Origins’ combat at its finest, featuring well-designed large-scale conflicts, streamlined side battles, and exciting new additions in weapon types, formations, skills, and more.
While it may not sway those who weren’t fans of Origins, I can confidently say it’s more of the same, mostly in the best possible way.