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Earlier this year, I proudly declared that gaming had reached “peak samurai,” and that was before last month’s announcement of Ghost of Yotei. Although the highly-anticipated Assassin’s Creed: Shadows got delayed and Yotei won’t launch till sometime in 2025, there’s still a whole huge ton of samurai-themed games you can play right now on current machines.
Here are my five personal favorites ranked in a numbered list.
I’m sure your own list will be different. In fact, there’s a good chance that my third favorite is almost certainly your number one.
5. Samurai Warriors 5 (2021)
This underloved reboot of the Samurai Warriors franchise from Koei Tecmo deserved to have a sequel or two by now. It reinvented everything in a hack-and-slash series known for endless tiresome installments, bringing in new gameplay, new visuals, and a new take on a well-worn story. The lush and vibrant cell-shaded art style made the game stand out aesthetically, and I think it’s one of the few Warriors games that looks great even on the Switch.
The storyline is sort of a prequel to the other chapters, set in a world where a bunch of famous known historical…
