Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Reviews
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty stakes everything on its combat system, a fascinating setting, and excellent game structure. However, the game remains hampered by an underwhelming technical realization and balancing problems. Still, these minor flaws do not prevent it from offering a viable option for all gamers looking for a spectacular action game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you are coming into this as a curious fan of the Souls series, there are a lot of commonalities that may be intriguing, but those are merely accents to what is truly a classic Team Ninja experience.
If we have to place Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty in the Team Ninja games, I would say that it is below both Nioh but still a good quality game. The game offers good dynamics, plenty of action, respectable but frustrating co-op at times and a good challenge. It is less complete than what Nioh 2 had to offer. But this will not displease those who thought that the previous Team Ninja game was still complex. Frankly, you won't be disappointed if you liked what they did before. For the rest of you, it's best to get properly informed before taking the plunge.
Review in French | Read full review
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty's shaky story and reliance on grinding let down one of the most satisfying soulslikes on the market. This proves Team Ninja is more than just the sum of its parts, even if it may need a sequel to get the most out of it.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty deserves praise as an ambitious title — one which tries to expand upon a formula that many thought could not be improved and a title that wants to pull in new players. You needn’t be intimidated. Wo Long can be played by anyone and it truly is the cleanest title Team Ninja have produced. Technical issues aside, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is challenging, tight, and focused. It’s a fantastic game, which will hopefully provide Team Ninja a foundation on which to develop even slicker games in the future.
Wo Long is fun and well made, but the features that allow it to shine aren't quite as developed as they should be.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a Souls-like Action RPG that feels like a fusion between Nioh and Sekiro. The gameplay is fast and offers a solid challenge as you are used to from the genre. For any Souls-like fan, the game is definitely worth playing.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a testament to how Team Ninja has complete mastery when it comes to making a quality action RPG. The agile and rewarding combat, hallmark of the studio's work, reached its best form in what can already be considered one of the best games of 2023.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With incredibly engaging combat and the greatest parry this side of Sekiro, the journey through this fallen dynasty only ever goes up.
Wo Long is definitely a good Soulslike, with addicting combat and epic encounters, but an uneven parry and level design drag the experience down.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A beautiful take on the ancient Chinese story, Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have joined forces to create something magical. Wo Long is a tour de force, with its only issue being that it tries too many new things that will largely be ignored. At its core, it’s a solid Souls take and gorgeous game to add to an action fan’s library.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty proves to be fast-paced and imposes a historically intriguing and magical adventure. No question, you are guaranteed one of the most ruthless action role-playing experiences in modern gaming, and some of the bosses can tempt some into quitting and never coming back. But, if you love a challenge, then this is one you simply cannot miss out on.
Review in progress
Wo Long takes Team Ninja’s white-knuckle action to the Three Kingdoms era with stunning results.
Far from an unqualified win, Wo Long does manage to be an entertaining ride. When it leans into the strength of its combat it’s a joy. But much like that combat, there’s a push and pull to the changes that never quite coalesce.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is another highly enjoyable effort from Team Ninja that wears its Sekiro inspirations proudly on its sleeves, but it may lack the brutal challenge that usually accompanies these games.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a damn near flawless game. The combat, while demanding, is the most rewarding combat system I’ve encountered, not just within Team Ninja’s portfolio, but within the Souls-like genre in general. By placing a focus on the timing of deflections and playing defense, without sacrificing any of their trademark speed and intensity, the developers over at Team Ninja have created a system that may just represent the peak of the genre. Along with the improved level design and a focus on exploration that rewards going off the beaten path, much like Elden Ring was for From Software, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty feels like the near-perfect refinement of the formula they’ve iterated on over the years. If you can look past the admittedly frustrating focus on randomized gear and a slightly incoherent story, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a masterpiece that deserves a place in the collection of any Souls-like fan.
Overall, I do think Wo Long has a good starting foundation that I’m sure other players in the community will be able to master more than me. I don’t want to claim I’m expert at the game (despite finishing NG+ on hard,) but I have seen others based on the demo manage to pull things off I haven’t. Basically what I’m saying is that the things I disliked, aren’t necessarily going to be the things the community dislike. Wo Long is still an entertaining game to play through. Its combat is solid, making it closer to Sekiro, Ninja Gaiden, and even Onimusha, though I do feel some things could have been fleshed out more. Souls and Nioh fans will no doubt be right at home with this, as it certainly scratches that Soul itch, and for that I do recommend you play the game at some point.
Even without a gripping story, Wo Long is a wild ride from the beginning to the end. The story and visuals suffer more than they should, but it's still a solid role-playing game. Seasoned Nioh fans will have to pick up their paces to adjust to Wo Long's combat system. Not everyone will relish Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, but those willing to take on the challenge will have a fantastic time.
Team Ninja refines and perfects its soulslike style to the maximum by relying entirely on the parry system. The studio delivers a frantic, fast-paced, very satisfying and, of course, sometimes frustrating adventure, but overall well-balanced thanks to the companions, combat styles and the magic of ancient China.
Review in Spanish | Read full review