Dynasty Warriors: Origins Nintendo Switch 2 Review

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As a big fan of the Dynasty Warriors series, I was seriously impressed with Dynasty Warriors: Origins last year – it felt like a huge leap forward! Especially after Dynasty Warriors 9 didn’t quite hit the mark, Origins really delivered. I had a blast playing it on both my PS5 and Steam Deck, and I’ve been hoping it would come to the Switch 2 ever since. Well, great news! Not only is the Visions of Four Heroes DLC launching next week, but Dynasty Warriors: Origins itself is finally coming to Nintendo’s new console. I’ve been revisiting the game on Switch 2 and other platforms to bring you this port review. You can check out Josh’s full review of the original game too. My focus here is to show you what’s different about the Switch 2 version and how well it holds up – spoiler alert: it’s fantastic for on-the-go gaming!

Dynasty Warriors: Origins was a major breakthrough for the series, finally delivering on the promise of huge battles with hundreds of enemies on screen – it felt like a completely new level of immersion. It was a staff favorite and made our top 10 games of 2025 list. After playing it on PlayStation 5 and Steam Deck, I was eager to see how it would run on the Switch 2, especially knowing the developers were aiming for 30 frames per second. After spending over a dozen hours with the Switch 2 version, I’m impressed with how well it plays in handheld mode. During testing, I focused on challenging missions that caused performance issues on the Steam Deck and dips below 60fps on the PS5, and I replayed sections both docked and in handheld mode to compare it to other platforms.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins for the Switch 2 includes everything from the original game and all its updates, but doesn’t come with the expansion or Deluxe Edition content. It’s worth noting that games released later often get extra features, but this version is simply the base game at a lower price – $10 cheaper than when it launched on other consoles in 2025.

Let’s talk about the game’s rumble feature in Dynasty Warriors: Origins on the Switch 2. It’s really well done! While it doesn’t quite match the advanced haptics of the PlayStation 5 version, it feels great, and I suggest maxing out the rumble settings in the game’s options. It’s noticeably better than the rumble in most other Switch 2 games I’ve tried. Of course, you can always turn the rumble off or adjust its strength in the settings if you prefer. The Xbox version also has rumble, but it doesn’t feel as strong or detailed as the HD rumble on the Switch 2 or the haptics on the PS5.

I had hoped the release of a Switch 2 version would fix the text problems in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, but unfortunately, they still exist. The game suffers from two main text issues: the text is often too small, even with subtitles set to the largest size, and the font doesn’t display clearly on all platforms. Specifically, the font appears blurry at certain resolutions on PC and when playing the Switch 2 version while docked. While the text is crisp (though still small) in handheld mode on the Switch 2, it’s noticeably blurrier when played docked compared to the PS5 and Xbox versions.

I compared how fonts look on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and docked Nintendo Switch 2 by capturing the title screen at 4K resolution. The fonts appear noticeably different across the consoles, even within menus and during gameplay. The developers should have prioritized a higher resolution for fonts on the docked Switch 2, and hopefully this can be fixed with future updates.

The Xbox and Steam versions of the game currently offer better language options than the PS5 and Switch 2 versions. Specifically, the PS5 and Switch 2 releases don’t include Chinese voiceovers, while both the Steam and Xbox Series versions do, alongside English and Japanese. Koei Tecmo may add Chinese voiceovers to the PS5 and Switch 2 versions in a future update, but for now, only the Xbox Series version lets you play with Chinese voices and English text.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins Switch 2 gameplay












Dynasty Warriors: Origins Switch 2 graphics modes

Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2 offers two performance options, even though the developers said they were aiming for a consistent 30 frames per second. The default setting locks the game to 30fps. There’s also a second mode that removes the frame rate cap, but doesn’t seem to change anything else in terms of graphics or gameplay, based on my experience and comparisons. One frustrating thing is that this setting also impacts the game’s menus and user interface. When playing with the 30fps target, everything – even navigating menus – runs at that speed. Hopefully, a future update will allow the menus and UI to run at 60fps while keeping the frame rate limit active only during gameplay.

Having spent a good amount of time with Dynasty Warriors: Origins on the Switch 2, I’ve found that the 30fps setting works best when playing on a TV, while the variable framerate option is better for handheld mode. Without VRR when docked, the performance can be inconsistent, but it felt good playing on the go. Although it’s not quite as smooth as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a significant improvement over previous Warriors games on the original Switch, offering a much larger scope and more stable experience.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins Switch 2 docked vs handheld

The biggest visual difference between playing on the docked console and in handheld mode is reduced foliage and less detail in the environment. Even the world map shows fewer plants when played handheld. I’ve included some screenshots to demonstrate these differences, focusing on the changes to foliage and detail, not the screen resolution.




Dynasty Warriors: Origins Switch 2 vs PS5

As a big fan of the series, I was really impressed with Dynasty Warriors: Origins on PS5. I played it targeting 60 frames per second, and honestly, it ran beautifully – I barely noticed any slowdowns except in a couple of specific missions. It’s the smoothest and most technically refined Warriors game I’ve ever played. However, when I tried it on the Switch 2 while docked, I immediately noticed some big differences. The graphics weren’t as sharp, the visual effects were toned down, things didn’t render as far away, and of course, the frame rate was lower.

Aside from how smoothly the game runs and how clear the picture is, the biggest difference is how objects are animated. This happens on all systems, but it’s especially noticeable on the Switch 2, sometimes even right in front of you. If you’re planning to play Dynasty Warriors: Origins mostly on your TV, I’d recommend the PS5 or Xbox Series X instead of the Switch 2. Those versions look sharper and run at a smoother 60 frames per second – or even faster, depending on your settings.

Just so you know, I compared the PS5 and the docked Switch 2 using a 4K capture device. To really see the differences, I recommend viewing the images full-screen or at their original resolution, rather than looking at the smaller versions shown here.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins Switch 2 vs Steam Deck

I recently got to play Dynasty Warriors: Origins before it officially launched, both on the Steam Deck and now on the Switch 2. Even though this game was originally made for the PS5, it runs surprisingly well on both handhelds. I did notice a big difference in how it looked and played – on the Steam Deck, I had to target 30 frames per second and turn down the graphics quite a bit to get a smooth experience compared to the PS5 version. The Switch 2 feels a lot like the Steam Deck in terms of performance, but I think it actually has a slight edge visually when playing in handheld mode – things just look a little clearer and it feels more consistent. To get a higher frame rate on the Steam Deck, I had to use upscaling tricks. In a particularly chaotic battle with tons of effects, the Switch 2 actually held up better than the Steam Deck! Right now, I’d honestly say the Switch 2 is the better way to play Dynasty Warriors: Origins on the go. The only real downside is the loading times – they’re noticeably longer, and I’ll be talking about that more later.

Just a quick note: I compared screenshots taken on the Steam Deck and the Switch 2 by using each system’s built-in capture tools, as those were the only ways to get handheld screenshots at the time. I then cropped the images to easily show the differences between them.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins load times across Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC

I tested how quickly games load by installing Dynasty Warriors: Origins on several consoles and the Steam Deck. Specifically, I used the internal storage of the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2, as well as the internal SSDs on the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. I timed how long it took to load a saved game and to start the game from the main menu. The times below are in seconds, and I pressed buttons to skip any introductory screens and get the fastest possible load times.

Platform Dashboard to title Loading a save
Switch 2 14-15 14
PS5 16-17 5
Xbox Series X 15-20 10
Steam Deck 15 13-14
ROG Ally 12 12

The game performs decently on all platforms, but the PS5 loads saved games the fastest. The Switch 2 version, however, takes noticeably longer to load everything between missions and cutscenes, and even skipping cutscenes takes a bit longer. While the PS5 is the quickest, the Xbox Series X had surprisingly inconsistent loading times in my testing, so I’ve provided a range of results to reflect that variation.

When playing Dynasty Warriors: Origins on the Switch 2, don’t worry too much about how the game runs during the early levels. Performance doesn’t really become an issue until the very last mission of Chapter 1. After that, I suggest using the variable refresh rate mode when playing in handheld mode and locking it to 30fps when docked. Feel free to experiment with both to see what you prefer, but I personally found the variable rate a little unstable when playing on a TV. It would be great if a future update could allow menus to run at 60fps even while keeping gameplay at a steady 30fps.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins, a top game from 2025, is now available on the Nintendo Switch 2 in a fantastic handheld version. Although the latest DLC, Visions of Four Heroes, isn’t included initially, this is still one of the best games ported to the Switch 2, and a significant improvement over previous Warriors games on the older Switch. Whether you missed it elsewhere or prefer gaming on the go, Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2 is a great choice.

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We tested the game on Nintendo Switch. Dynasty Warriors: Origins is also playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and computers.

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2026-01-16 16:58