Game review: Fate/Samurai Remnant (PS5)

The team of developer Omega Force and publisher Koei Tecmo has worked on a ton of video games over the years. They are most famous for releasing the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games that focused heavily on hack-n-slash gameplay. 

Well, now it's 2023, and Omega Force has released something totally different. 2023 sees the release of a new action RPG called Fate/Samurai Remnant. This game is available now for PC, PS5, PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Sorry, Xbox owners, you've been left behind for this release…

Instead of being a repetitive slashing game like its previous games, Fate/Samurai Remnant feels like a breath of fresh air. Since this game is now an action RPG, you will be exploring bustling feudal Japanese towns, and you'll also experience a long and engaging storyline. 

In Fate/Samurai Remnant, the game is set in Edo, Japan, in the year 1651. Players will assume the role of a young teenage swordsman named Miyamoto Iori. This young chap is forced into a supernatural type of war after a mysterious warrior starts attacking him and nearly obliterates his entire village!

Even though the situation seems dire, unexpectedly, Iori is joined by a character by the name of Saber, who helps him out. While Saber isn't playable at the start of the game, you can swap and play as them later on in the game. Swapping to play as Saber is only temporary, but they are powerful in battle.  
 
Graphically, Fate/Samurai Remnant has excellent presentation and good Japanese voice acting. You won't find any butchered English dub adaptation for this game. The visuals overall are great, as they look like they've been ripped out of an anime TV show. I also like the relaxing soundtrack whenever you are exploring a town. 
 
Speaking of towns, there are many locations that Iori and Saber get to visit in their adventure. The game has a helpful waypoint system to guide you to where you need to go next. Not to mention, towns are where you can get more supplies, and sleeping inside Iori's house is when you can replenish your health when it's lost in battle. 

 Aside from Iori's house, you can also encounter cute cats and dogs in towns. When you pet them multiple times, they will also replenish your health. This is a very cute feature, and I hope other video games copy this system too! 

In terms of gameplay, Fate/Samurai Remnant features a fast-paced and satisfying combat system. Iori can dish out a ton of fast and heavy combo attacks by simply pressing the Square and Triangle buttons if you are playing on a PlayStation console. 

The combat never feels too boring, as Iori has a ton of different combos to dish out on all the enemies in this game. Fate/Samurai Remnant also does not have an annoying stamina system, so you can attack as many times as you want, and you won't get tired. You can also lock onto an enemy using R3 and press the X button in order to dodge enemy attacks.

Iori can also block and counterattack enemies to give them huge damage. What I like most about the combat is that the game gives you indicators of when a boss or enemy will attack. This is helpful for someone like me, as I'm useless at other games that don't show you when an unblockable attack is occurring!

Much like Ghost of Tsushima, Fate/Samurai Remnant also has a stance system that increases the number of moves that Iori can execute. Different stances are essential to use because they can be used to exploit the weaknesses of some enemies. For example, the water stance is really helpful when you face up against literal fire monsters.  

As mentioned before, you can switch to Saber temporarily, and they have special moves of their own that you can use. Saber is actually more powerful than Iori, but sadly Iori is the main character, so you cannot use them all the time! One weird thing about the combat, though, is that Iori is limited when it comes to using some of his special attacks.

In order to use some of his special moves, he has to collect special red gems before he can use them. It's a little bit annoying if you use all the red gems because he won't be able to use special attacks until he collects more from fallen enemies. 

Outside of the battle system, Iori can improve his skills and weaponry whenever he visits his house. You will need to visit Iori's house multiple times if you want to level up and become a better warrior. Another great thing about the combat is that it doesn't feature random battles. You can see all of the enemies you need to face whenever you enter a hostile area. 

The only major game feature I didn't like about Fate/Samurai Remnant is its weird Leylines system. The Leyline system is when you enter the spiritual land, and you need to gain control of Spirit Fonts. This system is like a chess game because you have to choose your movements carefully and know when to fight. If you do the wrong chess moves in the Leyline, it's game over. Personally, I didn't fully understand the Leyline system, and it's something I would have left out entirely if I were a game developer. 

People who don't like long cutscenes and extended dialogue may also not like this game. The story isn't as interesting as Persona 4 or Persona 5, so listening to all of the dialogue may get boring to some people. You are free to skip or fast-forward dialogue conversations, although doing this, you may not understand what is going on in the story. 

Overall, Fate/Samurai Remnant has nice visuals and a better combat system than most Dynasty Warriors games. The only thing that holds the game down is the confusing Leylines system. The game would have been much better without that chess-like mini-game. 

Verdict: 8.0/10