Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 77 | 69 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 82% | 76 | 784 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 89% | 83 | 2 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 6 reviews sampled · 3 total reviews in window · weighted 2.9 up / 0.3 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (86)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 85
“With refreshed visuals and a streamlined roster, Samurai Warriors 5 is perhaps the best Warriors game released for a Nintendo device since Warriors Orochi III Hyper. The crazy combat on massive battlefields has been streamlined, as has the between-levels management, making for an engaging game that should thrill both old and new fans of the franchise.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Samurai Warriors 5 takes the classic Musou formula, adds a few cool additions, and wraps it up in a nice package, the best-looking from the series thus far and a good starting point for newcomers.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Samurai Warriors 5 is a strange case. The overall design is new, and some of the gameplay systems were touched upon, but there is nothing truly unique about this iteration, while the technical side is even worse than in the previous game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Samurai Warriors 5 takes the long-running franchise, gives it a wonderfully vibrant lick of paint, throws in some excellent new combat mechanics and fills its story mode with well-directed cutscenes, resulting in a slick and stylish addition to the series that's sure to please fans and newcomers alike. Yes, it makes a few fumbles here and there - we aren't fond of its grindy system of upgrading your Dojo and Blacksmith, it limits your character choices at times in the campaign and that stripped back roster is sure to irk some - but, overall, what's here is a fine addition to the Switch's line-up of Musou titles. This is a fast-paced, flashy hack and slash effort that looks and plays fantastically well and, most importantly, performs almost perfectly whilst doing so.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Samurai Warriors 5 is a lot of a good thing, but you have to be confident you’ll enjoy that good thing for it to be worth the price of admission. If you’re already a fan of the singular “1 vs 1000” gameplay that can only really be found in Warriors games, your time will be well spent with this title.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“An attempted re-imagining that lacks ambition but should still satisfy most series fans.”
read full review ↗ - 89
“As a relative newcomer to the musou style of play, where you'll often feel like you wield almost god-like power slicing through entire squads of enemy fighters with repeated swipes of your sword, I'm by no means a ride or die proponent of it...”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Samurai Warriors 5 is a game of reductions. In its move to reboot the series it seemingly has gone back to providing as much content as the first entry. A cynic may say they'll likely slowly start to reintroduce these established features like they're new innovations. Innovation… It's insane that while Omega Force continues to do just that. To innovate. To deliver. But only with titles it produced for other people's franchises. When it comes to its own franchises, frankly, the developer is going backwards. Following the disappointment of what Dynasty Warriors became, Samurai Warriors has now joined the club as a shadow of its former self.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Musou games work because there’s nothing else like them, and the steps forward here have more to do with structure and presentation than gameplay. And that totally works.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Samurai Warriors 5 runs well and has a solid story presentation, but it's barely different from the last entry in terms of gameplay, save for having less than a third of the movesets.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“As a complete Warriors package, Samurai Warriors 5 doesn't quite match up to its stellar predecessor, but that doesn't stop it from being fantastic hack and slash fun. Even if the gameplay itself is largely familiar, a rebooted story mode and overhauled art style give the experience a fresh and surprisingly unique feel. What's more, the new ultimate skills system is an excellent addition, and something we'd love to see become a Warriors staple.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Samurai Warriors 5 keeps the spirit of combat alive in this follow-up, without managing to stand out enough to feel like a true sequel.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
cublikefoot
GameMAG
Nintendo Life
Gamer Escape
VGChartz
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
Prima Games
PC Invasion
Push Square
Capsule Computers…and 74 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Ver.1.0.0.2 Updated ContentsAug 19, 2021
- Ver.1.0.0.1 Updated ContentsAug 3, 2021