Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Reviews
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a fast, focused, and compelling game that is sure to challenge fans of soulslikes, but it does feel uneven at times.
Familiar issues with storytelling and loot aside, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is another great entry in Team Ninja's growing collection of action RPGs that features some of the best combat in the soulslike genre, even though those battles start to lose their tension due to a distinct lack of enemy variety to fill out the 20+ hour runtime.
Technical issues aside, Wo Long is a master of its craft that future soulslikes should study under.
Team Ninja evolves Nioh's formula in a Three Kingdoms-era action RPG where allies, flags, and stealth make its brutal challenges more manageable than ever.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is, at best, a serviceable Souls-like. If you enjoy Nioh and Sekiro, it’s a fun bit of filler, but it’s derivative and bloated, serving as a highlight reel of previous Souls-likes while missing the point of what made its inspirations, and even predecessors, unique to begin with.
Wo Long sees Team Ninja build on the core quality of the Nioh games. Its new systems, from the spirit gauge to morale levels within each stage feel well-considered and tightly honed to encourage exploration and bold, expressive fighting styles. Some old habits die hard, especially the tiresome loot gathering, but the game's core combat and traversal options always shine through.
But even as its second half failed to match what came earlier, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a finely honed delight. Its action is precise and responsive, and learning the intricacies of each adversary is exceedingly fulfilling. While I wish its back stretch was either pared down or had a wider variety of foes, this is a rare title that induces trance-like focus and euphoric moments of victory. It may not quite reach the heights of the works that inspired it, but it’s not far off.
Surviving the calamities of Wo Long requires nearly obsessive hours of practice. But what comes after is the exhilaration of being able to deftly execute hordes of enemies and demons alike with merely a reflexive twitch of your well-honed limbs. With its intricate combat system and an equally evocative setting, Wo Long is a journey worth embarking on — even if it means devoting three more hours to your next boss fight.
Wo Long has stylish, parry-heavy combat and a more approachable challenge than most Souls-like games, but difficulty spikes may prove to be a barrier.
That’s what I hope developers in the genre and players of these games take away, as well. Sometimes, you need help to take down an army, especially one with demons and evildoers high on performance-enhancing drugs. Doing it yourself is possible, as shown in something like Bloodborne. But as 1986's The Legend of Zelda put it, “It’s dangerous to go alone.” So, why not take some reinforcements with you? You’ll be grateful you did.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an excellent action game, and a tightly-focused, well-executed example of why Team Ninja is often mentioned in the same breath as FromSoftware. Razor-sharp combat that wields the power of momentum with deft ease, supported by intricate and well-designed levels, against the backdrop of an over-the-top historical fantasy? It’s just a shame about the quality-of-life aberrations that constantly chip away at your morale.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a dark fantasy take on the Three Kingdoms. The difficulty is high, almost seeming insurmountable at first, but part of what makes Wo Long great is how the difficulty isn't unfair.
Team Ninja has streamlined Nioh with dashes of Sekiro, but it stands on its own as a Soulslike with, arguably, the crispest combat out there.
Head into Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty with the right frame of mind and you'll find an enjoyable adventure that refuses to pull its punches.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an engrossing, dense, and hard-fought slog, but nevertheless a slog weighed down by some heavy recycling and inconsistent difficulty.
A hair-pullingly difficult journey through zombie-infested ancient China that left me Crushingly Defeated.DualShockers was provided with a copy of the game for review purposes.
Team Ninja shows its best side. In Wo Long there are still some of its common problems, but the result is a remarkable Soulslike.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A disappointing follow-up to Nioh, that has most of its same qualities but, unfortunately, almost exactly the same flaws; with two few new ideas to make up for the lack of advancement.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is nearly always a rush to play, and even when you're getting pummelled, it still feels as though you could overcome the fight if you just learned the attack patterns a little better, or maybe just summoned some more help.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a thoughtfully constructed Soulslike that makes thoughtful use of its Chinese setting.