Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Review: Souls-lite

Ali Hasan March 22, 2023

The Souls genre, which garnered its notoriety through a series of excellent games from FromSoftware, has reached new heights of popularity in recent times. Once considered a niche genre, it has now become a phenomenon that almost every gamer has explored at least once. Several studios have attempted to replicate the successful formula to create experiences that rival the original studio’s achievements. While some have succeeded, others have fallen short. Team Ninja, known for creating challenging games like Ninja Gaiden and Nioh, has now released Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, its latest spin on the soulslike genre. The question is, does it build upon previous attempts or does it fall short in comparison?

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty stands out from the typical Souls-like games with Team Ninja’s creative decisions that not only differentiate this game from its predecessors but also add depth and complexity to the overused and often times exhausted formula of the Souls genre. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty sets itself apart with its unique gameplay mechanics, creativity, deviations, and approachability. While it doesn’t best recent titles like Elden Ring and Sekiro, it certainly isn’t a bad attempt.

Wo Long’s Story is Largely Forgettable

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty starts out pretty much the same way every soulslike does. You create your character and go through a quick tutorial area before being thrust into the world. I do have to commend Team Ninja on their character creator, it’s reasonably robust with many sliders and options allowing you to create characters that can be as quirky as you like, while the tutorial era does well enough to introduce to the game. The opening boss, Zhang Liang sets a fairly decent but somewhat unrealistic precedent for what’s to come.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is set in a fictionalized three-kingdom era China. Like Sekiro, it taps into the country and culture’s rich and deep nuances, lore, and mythology to craft the world that you explore, including its enemy types, bosses, locations, and side characters. While the story isn’t anything special (and let’s be real here, a majority of people, including myself don’t play these games for the stories) the game does a decent job at world-building, its more explicit than what you’d expect out of a game like this which I thoroughly enjoyed, even though it wasn’t the reason it kept me hooked in.

There is an Immense Amount of Variety in Combat

Like any soulslike, the combat is the crown jewel of the entire experience and Team Ninja does well on it. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty features what is probably the most robust and varied combat experience in any soulslike ever made. You have your standard melee weapons which include, swords, dual blades, and hammers (among others), allowing you to choose whatever suits your fancy. If you want a hard-hitting weapon but you don’t care about agility you can opt for the bigger weapons (i.e. the hammers) but if you’re like me and prefer a faster approach to combat with slightly less damage output the dual-wielding weapon class might work best for you.

Each category has a plethora of weapons under it, giving you tons to pick and choose from. The combat is further accentuated by what I believe is the game’s best feature; the spirit bar. Instead of a traditional stamina bar, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty features a spirit bar, which doesn’t deplete according to your movement and attacks but it depletes in regards to how you approach combat.

Before we go into the spirit bar let’s talk about Wo Long’s other combat nuances. The game features two distinct mechanics that along with the game’s emphasis on parrying affect the spirit bar and how it works. Wizardry spells allow you to cast spells to aid you in combat, they can be as something as simple as throwing fireballs or something more offensive, like covering yourself in rocks to protect yourself from an onslaught of enemies. These spells are split into several categories, including fire, wood, and earth.

Martial Arts on the other hand are tied to the weapon you currently have equipped and allow you to deal attacks with substantially more damage than normal attacks do. These systems combined with the normal melee combat add so much variety to the combat of the game that often times it becomes a balancing act to dole out each blow and use each tool at your disposal in a way that not only maximizes your damage but also makes sure your spirit bar isn’t depleted too much.

Wo Long’s Combat Moves Beyond Established Conventions

Using Martial Arts and spells eats into your spirit bar while successfully damaging enemies and pulling off successful parries increases it, on the other hand. If you fall below a certain threshold you become stunned and take on increased damage. Thus, combat becomes a balancing act, pushing you to use every tool you have in a reasonable manner, showing restraint where necessary, and going all in when required. I think this is the best way Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty moves the souls-like genre forward and I wouldn’t be surprised if other studios adopt this idea in the future.

Another great addition to the combat is the morale system. Your morale level dictates how much damage you’ll take and give within a certain combat scenario. For example, If your morale level is 2 and your enemy’s morale level is 18, the enemy will inflict more damage and you’ll take increased damage. Defeating an enemy with higher morale increases your morale level and it presents you with a high-risk, high-reward situation, one that can have a very big payoff if played right.

Between the parrying, martial arts, wizardry spells, spirit bar, and general combat and morale the combat system is stuffed to the brim but at no time did it become overbearing for me, every system just clicks and works in perfect harmony, all you have to do is decide how you’re going to manage your rather sizeable arsenal and tools.

Browse: PS5 games, consoles, and accessories

Wo Long is the Most Forgiving Soulslike to Date

The Combat in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is definitely the most forgiving out of all souls-like, on top of being the most nuanced. Throughout my nearly thirty-hour playthrough, I can probably count on one hand where I had to face a boss more than once and as someone who’s abandoned his fair share of FromSoftware games due to their steep difficulty, this was certainly a welcome change. At the same time, purists may disagree, but I do think this game was created with a more casual audience in mind.

Enemy variety is also very plentiful, from the normal enemies you face off during exploration to the big set piece boss fights, there was never a time where it felt like the enemies were two enemies were too similar. Although, some of the boss fights did leave me wanting a little more, not only are some boss fights fairly generic in regards to their design and structure but sometimes the combat difficulty feels a bit too low even for someone like me who doesn’t mind a little ease where it’s given.

You can play the game solo or use summons to help you along the journey. Summons in this game is definitely the most crutch mechanic if you’re struggling with a boss fight. They not only take some of the attention away from you but they also levy some pretty serious damage if you’re looking to take this one step further you can also play this game co-op (which unlocks after you finish the first area and boss) although I did find that summons worked well enough. I never felt the need to summon another player to aid me in combat, but the option is there if you want to use it.

The Level Design is Wo Long’s Biggest Let-Down

Leveling up in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is about as you’d expect from a game like this, you collect souls and take them to a bonfire, which in this game are known as marking flags, stat increases give you access you certain weapons which can be stat-gated from time to time. Marking flags, like bonfires in Dark Souls are littered throughout the many locations of the game.

The soul system is fairly straightforward but more forgiving in that you don’t lose all your souls if you’re killed during combat, and like bloodborne you can recover these souls by killing the enemy that killed you, this added level of forgivability once again plays into the game’s more casual approach and while it isn’t anything special I think it’ll definitely help people new to the genre not quit in a rage-induced fit.

The level design on the other hand is probably where Wo Long falters the most. The interconnected and interwoven level design of past FromSoftware games has long stood as its most interesting facet (aside from the fantastical boss fights) trodding along a path and coming upon locked doors only to later find yourself back at that very door but from a completely different direction is what made exploring those games such a joy. The world itself is beautiful although lacking the detail and granularity one would expect from a 2023 release.

I felt that it added more depth to the game and level design, this is something that is completely absent here and really takes away from the overall feel of the game. Even going off the trodden path proves less useful than usual because instead of finding a hidden boss battle or a secret shortcut you are more likely to end up at a dead end with little to nothing of use.

Also read: Evolution of Resident Evil

Verdict

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty successfully takes the tried and tested elements of the soulslike genre and adds its own unique flavor to create an approachable and enjoyable experience. While the game’s combat system is its greatest strength, it also introduces new mechanics and twists that even long-time fans will appreciate. However, the level design and a few questionable design choices detract slightly from the overall experience.

Looking to experience the exhilarating combat of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty yourself? pick up a new console or upgrade your PC today through our featured ads to make sure you have the best experience. Gameutha.com is Pakistan’s largest dedicated gaming marketplace featuring games, consoles, and accessories across a number of brands. Gameutha.com is also home to the latest in gaming news, reviews, and updates.