At this point, yet another Koei Tecmo Warriors brawler may not sound like the most exciting prospect, but you may not want to write off the upcoming Dynasty Warriors 9 so easily. The prolific series is adding some significant new twists in its latest entry, including a full open world, which you can play through however you want. You can check out all the new features in the trailer, below.

　　In addition to the new stuff shown in the trailer, Koei Tecmo provided further information about Dynasty Warrior 9’s new cooking, crafting, and horseback riding!

　　“In Dynasty Warriors 9, roaming off the beaten path opens up greater experiences outside of the main story line - allowing powerful enemies to appear and challenge players with their advanced abilities and skills. It may be tempting to take on these foes to gain the plethora of takings, but the situation should be carefully assessed – as fleeing from battle may be the safer option.

　　One skill warriors can use to prepare for tough encounters is cooking. By visiting a teahouse, or the player’s own hideaway, materials such as meat and vegetables can be used to prepare a meal that will grant temporary boosts to their characters. Another way of ensuring an edge in battle is through crafting new weaponry. To unlock the abilities to craft weapons, the required scrolls for each weapon must be collected, with some weapon’s blueprints split across multiple scrolls. Gems and accessories can also be crafted, which provide substantial boosts to the player.

　　When exploring Dynasty Warrior 9’s vast world map, players are able to call on their noble steed to help them quickly traverse long distances. At the start, your horse will have relatively limited abilities, which can then be enhanced through riding experience via long distances or fighting on horseback. Starting abilities differ according to the horse’s mane, thus two horses of the same species can grow at completely different rates.”

　　It really does seem like Koei Tecmo is pouring a lot of effort into Dynasty Warriors 9. Will it be enough to keep the standard hack ‘n’ slash action from becoming tedious? I suppose we’ll have to wait to find out.

　　Dynasty Warriors charges onto PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on February 13. Starting January 29, those who pre-order the game will get three extra avatars, a bonus weapon, and seven special costumes for some of the series’ most popular characters.