Introduction
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a Hack and Slash RPG that twists the Souls-Like subgenre by focusing on parrying attacks rather than dodging them. You are presented with enemies that deal high amounts of damage through telegraphed attacks that must be deflected to gain time for an opening to attack yourself. By being precise with your input timings, you are rewarded with buffs to your defense and offense, providing a sense of satisfaction as you master the controls and the patterns of the dozens of enemies you will encounter. This game comes from Team Ninja, known for the Dead or Alive fighting games and the Nioh Souls-like series, showcasing in Wo Long their expertise in crafting challenging and rewarding combat.
Overall Impressions
Wo Long is an excellent action game that brings a fresh approach to the combat with a more visually exciting form of defense. The more you practice, the better you become against enemy attacks, giving a sense of input skill progression as you improve with the controls. The more you master them, the more complex pattern attacks and combinations you can make. It pushes you to excel in combat and understand the Wizardry system to beat the bosses, rewarding patience and perseverance.
If you have never heard about this game before, like me, it’s probably because of the bad reviews it received at launch. A lot of negative feedback stemmed from framerate drops and bad optimization, which is a perfectly fair criticism. However, another reason for the negative feedback was disappointment from fans expecting Nioh 3 or just feeling let down by the studio. Since I haven’t played the previous Nioh games, I can only speak to my experience with this one, which, at this point in time, I can say is a good product.
In defense of the studio, I think creative people need the freedom to explore new ideas to avoid stagnation, so perhaps skipping Nioh 3 for a cycle wasn't a bad decision. Nevertheless, this game has a small dedicated community who enjoy the combat and provide wikis, forums, and guides with tons of useful information.
The Story
The game storyline blends the historical events of the fall of the Han Dynasty with mythological concepts like Wizardry, which powers your abilities. You start as a local militia soldier trying to protect the innocent during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which is attempting to overthrow the empire. By saving a young man’s life, your fate becomes intertwined with this person, who is the embodiment of a dragon deity called Yinglong. Meanwhile, Yu Ji, a dark sorcerer, fuels the rebels with magical elixirs that give them demonic powers. His corruption and desire to control the dragon deity set you on a path to save both the dragon god and the land from demonic corruption.
Along the way, you will meet several companions, some more entwined in the plot than others. Characters like Zhang Fei, Cao Cao, and Hong Jing will aid you with their unique abilities, elemental affinities and backstories, each adding depth to your journey. Together, you will face formidable foes, uncover ancient secrets, and confront the rising demonic threat. Your alliances and decisions shape the fate of the dynasty and the world, blending epic battles with strategic wizardry as you strive to restore balance and peace.
The story is very straightforward as you keep moving from region to region, supporting the different factions that will become part of the Three Kingdoms. The only problem is that a lot of events happen one after another and you meet so many characters that it becomes hard to keep track of most of them and their motivations, making the story feel convoluted at points even if it isn’t.
Atmosphere
Based on 2nd Century China, this game takes you through various regions, each with architecture that resembles historical buildings and locations. The maps are carefully designed, featuring gorgeous aesthetics that evoke an old-fashioned asian environment in every level.
The music, composed by Kenichiro Suehiro, a renowned Japanese composer known for his work in anime series like Re:Zero and Goblin Slayer, marks his debut in the video game industry with Wo Long's soundtrack. Suehiro brings a mix of Chinese musical elements with orchestral and electronic sounds, which help keep the atmosphere coherent with the gameplay. Different zones have distinct themes, and the most prominent boss fights feature exclusive music with variations that denote different phases.
Since this is a Japanese game, the voice acting naturally syncs better with the Japanese language settings. While the English dub is solid and holds up well, there's a certain uncanniness due to the game's anime-like, exaggerated animations, which are more in tune with the expressive and over-the-top style of Japanese voice acting. Therefore, the English performances, despite being good, can sometimes feel less fitting due to these cultural differences in performance style.
The overall audio design is very solid. The sound of deflections provides a satisfying auditory feedback that perfectly complements the animations, enhancing the sense of accomplishment when executing perfect parry combos. Additionally, the NPCs and enemies contribute to immersion by bantering or taunting you depending on the situation, keeping the game engaging and dynamic.
Controls
As this is a console port, this game screams Gamepad. Playing the game on a keyboard felt miserable to me, and I do not recommend it unless you are willing to tweak and mess around with the keybindings, as they seemed unnatural and clunky. I played initially like that but after an hour of not feeling it, I switched to a controller and never looked back.
With that said, the controls are very responsive. You never experience a delay in your character's actions following your inputs. This is especially important in any souls-like game, where precision is rewarded, and poor timing is punished.
The input scheme relies heavily on “shift” buttons that enable other features. This can be cumbersome at first, but the deeper you go into the game, the more you master them, providing a sense of satisfaction when executing more complex combos involving different spells, weapons, items, and abilities.
The platforming is seamless, with precise jumping mechanics that allow you to readjust and course-correct midair. Double jumping to buildings can be confusing at first, but once you get the timing right, it becomes second nature. This makes the jumping platform puzzles a fun part of navigating the maps.
Combat System
The combat system is very robust, with the game presenting challenges that require you to master different parts of it progressively. This way, you never feel overloaded with too much information, and if you do, the mechanics are easily accessible through the tutorial menus to help you review and understand anything you might have missed.
Being a Souls-like game, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is all about avoiding hits while carefully attacking just long enough to avoid being countered, as enemies will quickly dispose of you if you mistime your attacks. Deflecting is the best method for avoiding damage because it both buffs your power while debuffing your enemy.
There are two main power gauges that define combat, both having similar consequences whether they fill up for the enemy or you:
- The orange bar measures Negative Spirit, accumulates when you use special weapon abilities, cast spells, block, dodge, or get hit. If this bar reaches its limit, you can become interrupted or vulnerable, which can lead to fatal damage. Hitting or parrying on the other hand, clears it. You want to fill this on your enemy while avoiding it filling up on you.
- The blue bar measures Positive Spirit, increases the more you deflect and attack and is consumed by power and special attacks. The more Positive Spirit you have accumulated, the more Negative Spirit and damage you will inflict on the enemy. Whenever you receive damage, you will lose Positive Spirit while your enemy’s increases, creating a double penalty for you. You want to fill this bar while preventing the enemy from filling theirs.
Your style of combat will also be defined by the type of weapon you choose, with each favoring different styles of builds and holding unique special abilities called “martial arts.” These are weapon abilities with longer animations that increase your Negative Spirit but also inflict massive quantities of Negative Spirit damage on your opponent. Using them is a double-edged sword because, while being one of the best ways to inflict Negative Spirit damage, if poorly timed, it will leave you open to counterattacks.
On top of the melee system, there are Elemental Affinities, which operate using a Rock-Paper-Scissors system involving the five elemental phases: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each one is strong and weak against another; for example, Fire is strong against Metal but weak against Water. How you use the elemental phases depends on your build, playstyle, and the enemies you are fighting.
Understanding the affinity system is also important, as you will usually prioritize a certain element at first to access higher-level spells. Bosses who master your opposite counter affinity will inherently be harder to defeat. Basically, if you are Rock, you lose to Paper but win against Scissors. This might seem problematic for certain fights if the enemy is countering your affinity but, if necessary, you can respec for free after stage 3 when you access the Hidden Village. However, be careful, as while you will eventually learn all spells, you can't respec the ones you have learned.
The Morale Rank System adds another layer of depth to the combat. Both you and the enemies have Morale Ranks, which influences strength. This is displayed as the number in the center of your UI and on top of each enemy, with higher ranks increasing damage output and defense. You can raise your Morale Rank by defeating enemies and finding Marking Flags scattered throughout the levels. Conversely, taking damage or being defeated will decrease your Morale Rank. Managing this can significantly impact your ability to handle tougher enemies and bosses and will directly affect the paths you take on the maps, allowing you to avoid enemies with higher ranks until you are ready.
As you create new alliances with story NPCs, you will gain access to more powerful spells powered by Divine Beasts, deities associated with one of the five elements. As the game progresses, you will obtain two of each element, each with different powers, allowing you to choose the one that best synergizes with your build or the boss you are fighting.
Item consumption can make difficult fights much more manageable, but using them requires planning as they last only a few seconds and have an attached animation, so you have to use them strategically. For example, taking a health potion takes around a second, which is a lot of time in such a fast-paced game. Thus, even healing yourself will need planning, as recklessly using a potion could result in your death. The same logic applies to your spells and buffs, as you need to be in a safe position before starting an animation that will make you vulnerable to attacks.
In terms of variety, the game has a limited quantity of “trash” or “fodder” enemies that populate each stage, which can get monotonous at times. However, as you progress, you will gain access to many different boss encounters that surpass the number of trash enemies in the game. As you move along the main storyline, you will unlock new boss-exclusive stages, each with very different abilities and animations. In the end, boss fights are the core of the game, requiring you to face them numerous times until you can properly time all their attacks, counter, and beat them.
User Interface
As with many console ports, this game has a few User Interface challenges due to its design around a gamepad rather than a mouse and keyboard. While navigating requires multiple clicks, it is well-designed, and everything is straightforward to access. Enabling your controller, won’t disable the mouse and keyboard, so you can use all types of inputs if you wish.
The tutorial section is very informative and easy to use. You can quickly find and review tutorials through the menu, providing valuable guidance and helping you master the game's mechanics.
Progression & End Game
Upon completing the main storyline, you unlock new difficulty settings. New Game Plus is a mode that replays the main campaign with a minimum level of 100 for a second playthrough. You can also get new armor sets from drops exclusive to this mode and complete any flags or collectibles you missed the first time.
My favorite difficulty setting, once unlocked, is Inner Discipline, which allows you to set penalties on your character in exchange for better loot drop chances. I found this to be an excellent way to adjust the difficulty to my liking. For example, I decided to run the New Game Plus missions on settings that made multiple enemy encounters and bosses an absolute challenge for me, reducing the margin of error to one-shot deaths if I failed to deflect a critical attack. Since you can adjust it on the go, if at one point you just want to farm, you can adjust the difficulty to something more casual.
NPC Companions acquired during the campaign can also level up. If they reach bond level 10, they will become stronger and provide you with a complete armor and weapon set with specific bonuses. For completionists, this adds a lot of busy work, and for min-max players, it offers an easy way to get a full set specific to your build.
At around level 65, you will have your Wizardry points maxed out for all Elemental Affinities, which, along with free respecs, will allow you to experiment with various builds around different spell combinations and specializations.
Crafting materials and currency can be found as treasure during regular gameplay. These can be used to upgrade the quality of your gear. Drops that you don’t need can also be salvaged into materials or sold for currency for future upgrades, creating a loop for players wanting to collect different armor sets.
There are also many hidden locations, checkpoints, secret zones, and collectibles for those willing to 100% the game. Some items can upgrade your healing potions, making exploration a rewarding task for your character progression, as having stronger heals becomes important at higher levels.
Levels are quite nicely designed in a Spiral method, meaning you have a main path with multiple ways to approach it. As you clear the levels and interact with the environment, new paths open that circle back to the beginning, making revisiting missions easier to explore.
Unique Features & Game Design Choices
The Auto Salvage and Auto Sell configurable settings transform what could be a nightmare into an easy task. These features make managing the inventory much easier than in other games. Your inventory is cleared automatically according to your settings every time you reach a battle flag, removing the tediousness of clearing unwanted items.
Another feature I appreciate is the difficulty of falling off ledges during combat. It's typically frustrating to be fighting an enemy, perform a combo animation, and fall down out of position. Instead, the game requires stronger inputs, like sprinting or jumping, to actually fall off a ledge, making fighting on high ground an enjoyable experience.
The character creator is very robust. Not only does it offer plenty of options to customize your character to your liking, but it also allows you to save and share them with others. There are many fans who create great-looking characters that you can import for your playthrough. Check out the "Glamurai" subreddit to see some of the creations made by the community.
I want to mention that this "politically heavy" option exists in the character creator, but it’s just there to be there, as it doesn’t interact with any part of the game as you are never referred in third person and the dialogues default in the hero being male. You can take a guess why this is here but I just know these details can be important depending on your point of view.
Enemy Design
The game has a lot of different enemies for you to fight. There are around 20 non-boss enemy types which are repeated constantly from map to map. They can start feeling repetitive, and it feels like the game could have used more variety to keep levels fresher. As it stands, many of the missions share the same enemies, so you will fight them from start to finish.
With that said, there are around 32 boss fights, including some submissions that open up as you progress through the main storyline. There are specific animations, voice acting, and ability combinations for each one, keeping the combat and the challenges always present. This is especially true after finishing the main campaign and being able to re-do any of the fights at the difficulty of your choosing.
In terms of design, some of the bosses feel derivative from others, but in general, all the fights feel different as the timings and approaches differ from one to another.
Difficulty
This is definitely a tough game, but mileage will vary. There are many aspects that affect how easy or difficult the game might be on the first playthrough. In my case, I had a rough time clearing the tutorial stage. Even the second time I restarted the game with a gamepad, it took me around an hour or more to clear.
There is no hand-holding. From the initial stage your skills and understanding of the basic mechanics will be tested. You will notice that you don’t have a line directing you to walk somewhere or a minimap showing the next waypoint you need to get to. Instead, the game wants you to observe your surroundings and make your way carefully around the map.
As I kept pushing through and began to understand the intricacies of the combat, the game started becoming easier and easier as I advanced through the main campaign. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to increase the difficulty right away, like dismissing your companions and confronting the stages solo, avoiding the Marking Flags that increase your Morale level, or by rushing the main missions while skipping the optionals. Once you finish the main campaign, new options will open that will allow you to increase the difficulty in different ways.
At many points, the game put me in situations where I was forced to acknowledge the affinity system in the most organic way, by facing a boss strong against my element. Once I understood how to counter wizardry, difficult fights became more manageable. You could say Wo Long has a steep learning curve that pays off the more adept you become.
Performance
From what I’ve read from negative reviews, a lot of people on the high end of PC specs are having trouble running this steadily on higher framerates. While some solved the issues by going Windowed Mode, if you are thinking of buying this game, you should download the Free Demo on Steam and check how the game runs on your rig to make sure.
Personally, the game ran smoothly on my modest rig with the default settings and I only experienced framerate drops a handful of times throughout my playthrough. The game has received several patches addressing performance issues, so there is a chance that if you tried this game before and had problems, they are currently solved.
Length & Value
It took me 52 hours to finish all the main missions and submissions. After that, the game opened up different ways to experience all the stages again for instant replay value. So, what you get out of this game from there will vary from player to player. Personally, I think I got my money's worth. While I want to play a full second playthrough solo, I don’t think I want to mess with the endgame loop, as there are too many good games out there and not enough time.
Wo Long has multiplayer capabilities: Invasion is a PvP mode that lets you invade another player’s mission. I experienced a handful of invasions during my playthrough, and they were quite fun and challenging. There is matchmaking for this mode, but I was unable to get into a game for this review.
There is a Co-Op mode, but no matchmaking, so if you have friends to play this game with, you will be able to progress through the main campaign, approaching fights as a team and making a lot more use of Wizardry and Divine Beast powers. However, beware that this game is not cross-platform, so double-check before buying!
I’ve seen Wo Long on sale every now and then on Steam for around $26, which in my opinion is an excellent price to grab it at. The game is also available on Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation. There are three DLCs available, but I will review them some other time altogether.
Conclusion
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an underrated game that delivers a lot of challenging action combat with different ways to approach the levels and bosses. I think that while it might have disappointed Nioh fans, Wo Long combat stands on its own as the emphasis on deflection brings a fresh and welcomed approach to the genre.
There have been a lot of patches since release that address many performance issues while also offering a free demo of the whole first level, so you can check the game out and decide for yourself.
As for this review, I recommend Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty when on sale; I think it delivers a lot of bang for the buck with its action-packed combat, that can bring intense hours of fighting bosses until mastering the fights.
Remember the links on the description for all the references made. Have a good one and thanks for watching!
References
This game is available on Steam, Playstation, Xbox & Xbox Game Pass
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