It’s been a long time since I’ve played something that shows the value of having an extensive demo or game trial as much as Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. So much so that I’d urge everyone who’s interested in buying this soulslike to try the demo first — unless you’re a Game Pass subscriber, since it’s available there.
I’ve played a few hours of the full game, which is certainly not long enough to formally review it. There’s a lot to like, which I’ll get into shortly, and it’s clearly a game made with lots of care and attention. But it reaffirms my belief that soulslikes aren’t really my thing (which is a separate discussion for another time!). In hindsight, the demo would probably have been enough for me to recognize that.
It doesn’t take long until you encounter Wo Long’s first big boss, the imposing Zhang Liang. He acts as an early, brutal skillcheck that’s a good bellwether for people to figure out whether this game’s for them.
You’ll need to get a quick handle on Wo Long’s Wuxia combat to stand a chance of getting past this grueling encounter. There’s the option to call in a few friends or strangers for help thanks to the multiplayer features, but I’d suggest trying to go it alone first to get a better sense of what the game demands from you.
Get To Grips With Parrying
Wo Long has a fantastic mechanic that allows you to parry every single enemy attack in the game. As is often the case with soulslikes, taking the time to understand your opponent’s attacks and learning how to counter them is vital to your success.
There’s no stamina meter for melee attacks (a fact I very much welcome), but adopting the guard position will wear down your spirit meter. Hold the guard button for too long and you’ll run out of juice for your magic attacks. Add in unguardable attacks and the fact that counterattacking with a fatal strike after a parry can deal massive damage, and you’ll quickly see why parrying is so important.
Figuring out the timing and patterns of an enemy’s attacks, then when to respond with a parry, melee attack, block, martial arts strike, magic spell or dodge, is vital. However, hacking and slashing at an enemy can help too, since it wears down their spirit to leave them vulnerable to a fatal strike.
It took 30 minutes or so of repeated failures before I internalized the information I needed to topple Zhang Liang. Then I needed another half hour’s worth of attempts until I took down the boss… and just as long to figure out and conquer his second stage.
Felling a tough boss after a string of defeats can definitely be satisfying. But for me the juice is not always worth the long, arduous squeeze. In other words, I can get through difficult games, but I might not find them edifying.
That’s the case for me with Wo Long thus far. As such, I’m not sure I’ll stick with it.
Still, there’s a lot I admire and like about this game. While the combat is challenging, it’s fair. I never felt like it was drawing outside the lines. Wo Long’s expectations of you are clear — as long as you learn its rules and play by them, you can thrive. It looks and sounds great, and the setting is compelling too.
There are, of course, multiple skill trees (oriented around the elements in this case) and a wide variety of gear to find and play around with, as you might expect from a game of this ilk. There’s one system I find particularly intriguing, though.
Protect Your Morale Rank
As you slice through opponents, you’ll improve your morale rank. This, combined with your weapons and other items, impacts the relative strength of the damage you dish out and your resistance to attacks.
There’s a big twist to this: enemies also have a morale rank. If they kill you, their morale will go up and you’ll lose a big chunk of yours. The higher their morale, the more damage they’ll deal in a fight. Get revenge against an enemy that killed you, and you’ll get your morale back along with the Genuine Qi (i.e. upgrade points) that you lost to them.
I love this approach, especially since it’s easy to tell when you’re very under-leveled against an enemy that’s close by. There’s one you’ll encounter very early on that has a much higher level than you. If you don’t want to deal with it, that’s fine, you can jusst sneak on by. But engage with a sneak attack (which does a great deal of damage to get you started) and overcome the beast, and you’ll get a big morale boost.
There’s another wrinkle to the morale system beyond your rank being wiped at the start of each mission. Throughout stages, you’ll find two types of flag. The main one is the battle flag, which is Wo Long’s version of a bonfire or Site of Lost Grace. It acts as a checkpoint and a place where you can spend Genuine Qi on upgrades.
There are also marking flags, which are hidden throughout levels. Raising either of those types of flag will increase your fortitude rank. When you die, your morale rank will drop to the level of your fortitude rank.
I don’t typically go out of my way to hunt for loot in games. I’ll come across a few things I like and stick with them, unless I happen to come across an item that has vastly better stats or abilities than the one I’m using.
Given how important your morale rank is, though, that’s a huge way to encourage players to look for marking flags. To me, that’s a bigger incentive to explore levels than a slightly better set of armor.
On the downside, the accessibility options are minimal. That’s going to be a blow for many players who might be interested in Wo Long, but may not have the ability to handle the gameplay. There aren’t any ways to adjust elements like enemy visibility, the tight combat timing or sustained damage. Features like summons and co-op could make the game a bit more approachable, however.
If I go back to Wo Long, I’ll likely recruit other players to help me as much as possible. I’m interested in seeing through the story, which pits you against demons during the Later Han Dynasty in China while dealing with the consequences of a powerful elixir. That might draw me back in if I don’t end up watching a playthrough instead.
There’s no doubt that Team Ninja has created an admirable, well-crafted game, but I think this is one that’s definitely worth trying before you buy. That’s the beauty of having a well-executed demo, something that more games could stand to have.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is out on March 3 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. It will be available on Game Pass for Xbox, PC and cloud gaming.
Disclaimer: Koei Tecmo provided me with a PS5 review code.