Gaming

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 review: A fun beat’em up

Relive the story without having to replay hundreds of episodes

Published

May 25, 2020

Lance Aquino

Have you ever wanted to play as your favorite One Piece character while mowing through mobs like a one-man army? Then One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is for you.

This game from Omega Force incorporates One Piece’s well-loved story and characters with gameplay from the Dynasty Warriors franchise — the property that the developer is most known for. This is the fourth installment in the series and is the follow-up from the 2015 One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3.

It adds more to the story, some game elements, and the most noticeable is the character roster that’s massive compared to previous entries. It’s available in Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows platforms.

Simple game modes

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 has three modes: Dramatic Log, Free Log, and Treasure Log. Dramatic Log is where all of One Piece’s story so far. It’s crammed into ten plus hours of chapters and episodes which is no easy feat especially for a long-running series like this one.

While the efforts are commendable, a casual fan who hasn’t closely followed the manga or anime would have more questions than answers. I can understand that this game is geared towards One Piece fans. Anyone who has read the manga up to the latest chapter or watched the latest episode of the anime should have no trouble keeping up.

Free Log is where you can go back to the episodes you’ve already cleared in Dramatic Log with any unlocked character. The last mode, the Treasure Log, is where you go through missions to gain materials for upgrades. Some characters can be unlocked by completing a certain number of missions in this mode.

One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 also has a multiplayer feature. You can play co-op with other players to aid you in your missions. Luckily for me, it didn’t have the connectivity issues that frustrated me in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Unlike in that game, it’s easy to join other players’ sessions as long as they’re available.

Most characters can be unlocked by progressing through the Dramatic Log while some others by meeting certain conditions.

Unapologetically a beat’em up game

Pirate Warriors 4 is an action-adventure beat ‘em up game. That means you get to through hordes of pirate or navy lackeys like an absolute badass until the boss shows up. You go through main missions with mini objectives sprinkled here and there. These include eliminating certain characters or protecting allies from getting their HP reduced to zero.

Stronger enemies have armor gauges under the HP bars that are needed to be depleted in order for you to inflict damage. Controls are easy to get a grasp of: two buttons for attack, one for dashing/dodging and one for jumping.

I started the game mindlessly mashing the buttons until I found out my favorite button combinations through experimentation. I learned later that the moves list can be found in the menus with enough digging.

One thing I found challenging was controlling certain characters that are naturally airborne. It can be hard to hit grounded enemies when you can’t control your character’s elevation and have to wait until when you’re just hovering above ground.

This is one of the reasons why I shied away from using Luffy’s 4th gear form or Sanji unless I’m required to in Dramatic Log. Using the camera lock on stronger enemies like bosses alleviates this a bit but the controls still require a bit of a learning curve.

: Beating up hundreds of mobs just feels satisfying.

The game also allows for customization options. By earning the required materials and enough of the in-game currency, you will be able to upgrade your character’s stats, skills, and special moves.

There’s a common attribute and skill tree that can be used by all characters. Then there’s also character-specific ones that can be unlocked once that character reaches a certain level.

Thanks to my usual habit of hoarding in-game materials, I didn’t bother with this until later on in the story where I noticed that I’m not dealing enough damage and the missions are becoming more time-consuming. I breezed through the rest of the story after upgrading my offensive capabilities.

You can upgrade your attributes and even gain skills and specials. The Beginning Map applies to all characters while there are maps specific for characters.

A fun way to recap One Piece

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 lets you relive the story without having to replay hundreds of episodes of the anime. Beating up hordes of enemy pirates as your favorite character from the series while feeling like a one-man army just feels great.

I found it time-consuming at first but once you’ve upgraded your stats, you can easily sneak in a round or two during your short breaks. The menu layout requires a bit of digging to find what you want or need (like reviewing the objectives or your moves list) and some controls can use a little improvement.

I enjoyed playing One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 and I’m sure a bonafide One Piece fan would feel at home. Now, it’s time to pick up the manga so I can be filled in with the things I missed in the story.

This game was reviewed on a PS4 by Lance Aquino. He juggles multiple hobbies while working in the BPO industry. Outside of gaming, he mostly tries to learn how to draw and write short stories that are often inspired by the anime or manga that he watched or read.

Related Topics:One Piece One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

Gaming

Call of Duty drops the PlayStation 4 starting with its next game

Is this the beginning of the end for the PlayStation 4?

Published

May 8, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

When can we declare that a console is officially dead? Is it as soon as the launch of the next generation? Is it when games no longer come out on the console? Recently, Call of Duty has confirmed that the next game will not be available anymore on the PlayStation 4, which presents an important question: Is the PlayStation 4 officially dead?

Call of Duty is one of the most persistent gaming franchises today. The last entry, Black Ops 7, is still available for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Both consoles were launched over twelve years ago. (If that doesn’t make you old, the current generation was launched almost six years ago.)

As such, the franchise is one of the last stalwarts keeping the past generation alive. This week, Call of Duty, via a post on X, confirmed that the next game will not arrive on the PlayStation 4. Presumably, this also means the Xbox One.

Not sure where this one started, but it’s not true. The next Call of Duty is not being developed for PS4.

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) May 4, 2026

Currently, we don’t have details about the upcoming game yet. But a new entry is confirmed to arrive later this year.

With the departure of the Call of Duty franchise, it’s fair to ask what will become of the old generation moving forward. Over the years, developers have started shying away from the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Since the franchise still maintains a steady fan base today, a lot of PlayStation 4 users might be forced to make an upgrade to play the latest entry.

Gaming

Stranger Than Heaven is a Yakuza prequel with Snoop Dogg

The story spans different eras and regions across half a century in Japan.

Published

May 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

In my review of Yakuza Kiwami 3, I groaned about how every new entry in the Yakuza and Like a Dragon franchise — original and remake — looked identical with each other. I ended that playthrough hoping desperately for a new era. Thankfully, those hopes did not fall on deaf ears. In its first trailer, the upcoming Stranger Than Heaven showed off an interesting reimagining of the Yakuza universe. Oh, and Snoop Dogg is in it.

First announced back in late 2024 as Project Century, Stranger Than Heaven has now confirmed itself as a prequel to the prequel to the Yakuza games. It didn’t start that way, though. When it was announced, there was hope that the then-untitled game featured a new story disconnected from Yakuza. It looks like the final game is making the best of both worlds.

Stranger Than Heaven chronicles the rise of the infamous Tojo Clan. Unless this is decidedly different from the Tojo Clan in the Yakuza series, this is the clearest sign that this is, in fact, a prequel.

Makoto Daito, a Japanese boy living in Chicago, escapes America to forge a new life in Japan. Along the way, he meets Orpheus, a smuggler played by Snoop Dogg, who drags Makoto into the criminal underworld. Eventually, Makoto decides to do things his own way by creating a new crime family called the Tojo Clan.

Unlike other games in the series, Stranger Than Heaven spans different eras and regions in Japan, starting with Fukuoka in 1915 and ending with Kamurocho in 1965. It will also have different fighting mechanics by mapping the left and right bumpers/triggers to left and right attacks.

Off the bat, Stranger Than Heaven looks like a new era for the series. It launches winter this year for all major platforms.

Gaming

Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches October 6

Pre-orders now live

Published

May 4, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set to launch on October 6, 2026, bringing a new high-speed twist to the Star Wars universe. The game is published by Secret Mode and developed by Fuse Games. It arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC with support for up to 12 players.

Pre-orders are now open across Standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s Editions. Pricing starts at $59.99 for the Standard Edition, with both digital and physical versions available depending on platform.

A different kind of Star Wars story

Set in the lawless Outer Rim, the game introduces the Galactic League—an unsanctioned racing circuit where skill matters more than destiny. You play as a mysterious pilot named Shade, navigating a single-player campaign built on rivalries, alliances, and unfinished business.

There’s no Force or prophecy here. Instead, the focus is on build strategy and racing mastery. Players can customize three types of repulsorcraft and even take on classic podracers, blending familiar Star Wars elements with a more competitive, arcade-style edge.

Multiplayer supports online races where players can test their builds and driving skills against others.

Pre-order bonuses and editions

All pre-orders include a bonus livery usable across vehicles, with platform-specific colors, plus a Player Banner background for multiplayer.

The Deluxe Edition adds three extra vehicles, exclusive Arcade events, a livery pack, and cosmetic upgrades like new player banners and insignias. It also includes a digital art book featuring early designs of characters, locations, and vehicles.

Collector’s Edition for dedicated pilots

For collectors, the physical Collector’s Edition bundles a model of the Kor Sarun: Darc X landspeeder, themed patches, a printed art book, and a steel case housed in premium packaging. It also includes all Deluxe Edition digital content.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches on October 6, 2026, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with pre-orders now available.