- 6 weeks ago
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a jaw-dropping action-RPG clearly inspired by the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring that recreates Ming Dynasty China, but
is it worth your time and money?
Review by George Yang
Video by Hal Dimond
is it worth your time and money?
Review by George Yang
Video by Hal Dimond
Category
🎮️
GamingTranscript
00:00Wuchang Fallen Feathers is a solid Souls-like game with some unique systems that sets it
00:05apart from its contemporaries. Combat is flashy and fun, but it's bundled with some frustrating
00:10boss and movement mechanics. Still, a stunning world and excellent dungeon exploration make
00:15Wuchang Fallen Feathers definitely worth trying.
00:21In Souls-like games, when you get knocked down, you keep getting up and trying again.
00:26That's why the subgenre continues to flourish to this day. The cycle of repeatedly dying
00:31while slowly learning a boss's attack patterns eventually leads to a stunning and fulfilling
00:36victory when it's defeated. In Wuchang Fallen Feathers, however, sometimes you stay down
00:42because you can't get up in time. Though my own attacks barely cause bosses to flinch,
00:47many are otherwise able to quite easily stunlock me, knocking me down to the ground where I
00:52slowly, laboriously try to rise, giving just enough time for it to charge up another attack
00:57to kill me before I can even regain control, let alone my composure. These were some of
01:01the problems I had with the game's otherwise extravagant combat. But like many other Souls-like,
01:07I persevered and learned how to adjust to its mechanics to overcome its spectacular boss fights.
01:12It also helps that the journey in between these fights felt worthwhile, with dungeons filled with
01:17hidden paths and rewards, as well as sightseeing the breathtaking recreations of ancient China's
01:23landscapes. Wuchang Fallen Feathers follows a young woman named Bai Wuchang, who's infected by
01:28the feathering disease. This sickness drives its victims mad, but Wuchang is somehow more resistant
01:34to its effects, and sets out on a journey to uncover the secrets of the disease. It's set during
01:39the late Ming Dynasty, with various Chinese historical figures featured in the story as NPCs.
01:44Wuchang Fallen Feathers' cryptic story is hard to follow. This issue is exacerbated by the fact
01:50that NPCs show up at random locations during your journey, and spelt background information about
01:55the bosses and enemies you've faced so far. While flavor text is appreciated, the NPCs appear so
02:01sporadically that I'll usually forget what I had learned beforehand from another one several hours
02:06earlier. This makes it hard to piece together a coherent story, and all too easy to just stop paying
02:11attention altogether. Still, I don't really go into Souls-likes for the story, and Wuchang is no
02:17different. This is more of a vibe session about persevering through magnificent scenery. The
02:22environments are absolutely stunning, with dense forests, elaborate temples, and bright tundras.
02:28And since developer LeanZ Games is a studio based in China, I can feel that they crafted these settings
02:33with meticulous authenticity. There's also substance to back up the style too. Exploration is incredibly
02:39fun and rewarding, with divergent paths to find handy items and powers at the end. More often than
02:45not, I'd find consumable red mercury, the game's version of souls or runes, or a small healing item
02:51like steamed buns that would help me on my journey to the next save point. It never felt like I
02:55picked up
02:56a useless item. The extra consumable mercury I had on hand was always just enough to push towards
03:01a new level up, and using the small healing items let me conserve my health flask for when I needed
03:06them most. Finding secrets and shortcuts to your previous save points is gratifying too.
03:14Wuchang Fallen Feathers mechanics are where most players will either be turned away or fully embraced.
03:19Combat revolves around pulling off flashy skills and chaining attacks, making it a blast if you're
03:24skilled enough to execute your combos. Similarly to Blackmyth Wukong, your primary defense tactic is
03:29dodging. By timing a dodge, you're rewarded with a small stack of skyborne might, which powers up your
03:35skills and spells, making them more potent and do more damage when consumed. So not only are you
03:40rewarded for playing well defensively, but it also encourages you to stay on the offensive. It's a
03:45balancing act that prevents combat from becoming lopsided in either defense or offense. At least,
03:51that's how it's supposed to act, in theory. In practice, it's a bit different. Enemies are incredibly
03:57difficult to stagger, and this ends up usually ruining your combo potential since you can be hit
04:02out of it. This issue is more pronounced during boss fights. I find that many bosses don't provide
04:07enough openings for you to punish them after successfully avoiding their combos. After doing
04:11so, I go in and begin to execute my combo, but since bosses are difficult to stagger, my combo gets
04:17interrupted. As a result, I'm constantly on my back foot and playing a more defensive game, waiting for the
04:22best time to strike. Souls-like games are known for learning attack patterns of bosses, but that's
04:27even more so with Wuchang Fallen Feathers. A go-to strategy of mine was wielding my longsword with
04:33its blink kick skill. When I'd find an opening, I'd close in and develop a devastating kick that usually
04:38staggers, then I'd back away and repeat it over and over again. If I couldn't get multiple small hits
04:44in without being able to stagger the enemy, I figured I'd just get one large strike in and retreat to
04:49safety. It also takes forever to recover when knocked down. In similar games like Neo or Elden Ring,
04:56you can usually dodge roll in a different direction if you're toppled over, allowing you to bounce back
05:00rather quickly, but Bai Wuchang has little to no invincibility frames during her long animation
05:06getting back up. This almost guarantees that the boss will connect with a follow-up attack,
05:11knocking you over once again, and most likely killing you. It's demoralizing, and it makes fights
05:16more annoying than they should be. Despite that, boss fights are also strangely easier,
05:22with a few difficulty spikes every once in a while. By easy, I mean that boss attacks are
05:26predictably choreographed, and don't have as much area-wide coverage as I expected from other
05:31Souls-likes. This makes them easy to dodge and avoid damage. The main reason I'd often lose is
05:36because I'd get too greedy about getting a last hit in before the boss attacks. Another design decision
05:41I've noticed with Wuchang Fallen Feathers and its bosses is the relative lack of surprise second
05:46phase fights. In most other Souls-likes, there's a decent number of boss fights where, after you've
05:51taken down their first form, a cutscene plays, and now you're fighting their second form. It can be
05:56incredibly discouraging to find out that the first phase you've had so much trouble winning against,
06:01and running through all your healing flasks was only just the first half of the fight. While there
06:05are some boss fights in Wuchang that have two phases, they're nowhere near as common here, and I
06:10really appreciate it for doing that. When two phase bosses are overused, it lessens their impact,
06:16and makes them feel cheap. Wuchang only pulls them out a handful of times, making those particular
06:20boss fights feel much more rewarding when you finally overcome them.
06:27Wuchang's customization and skill tree options are plentiful, and feel unique compared to most
06:32Souls-likes. It's reminiscent of the sphere grid from Final Fantasy X, and it's pretty intuitive to
06:37navigate through. There are five different kinds of weapon types, axes, spears, dual blades,
06:43one-handed swords, and long swords. Instead of a dedicated universal block or parrying mechanic,
06:48each weapon has its own unique defensive skill, which sort of makes them act like traditional RPG
06:53classes. For example, the spear has the aerial bulwark skill. When timed right, as an enemy hits you,
06:59you'll evade and launch a counter. The dual blade has its own block skill, which when timed right,
07:04deflects enemies' attacks, and makes your own subsequently faster. If you're looking for a
07:09traditional block mechanic, then the axe has that. So based on how you typically play Souls-likes,
07:14you might opt for a certain weapon type. It's an interesting take on the usual block and parry
07:18mechanics found in the genre. It takes a while to get used to, but that way you're encouraged to
07:23experiment with the different weapon types. This is further supported by the fact that you can respec your
07:28skill tree at any time entirely for free. That freedom is paramount, and takes away the worry
07:33of whether you invested in the wrong build. Additionally, Wuchang's combat utilizes Swift
07:39Draw, where if you have two weapons equipped, you can consume one Skyborne might to unleash a special
07:44brutal swap attack as you instantly switch weapons. Switching between your arsenal keeps fights fresh and
07:50lets you chain together some satisfying combos. Aside from the various weapons, there are a variety of
07:56other attacks, like spells, to use. By stacking Skyborne might, you can incorporate magic spells
08:01into your combos. Some of my favorites are the Echo of Alnenji, which summons a massive bow to shoot
08:07five thunder arrows, and the Echo of Huan Yang, which calls for a swarm of insects to attack enemies.
08:13It's a ton of fun customizing your setup of weapons and spells thanks to the skill tree's fluidity.
08:21Wuchang Fallen Feathers is a solid Souls-like game, but it takes a while to get used to its quirks.
08:27The story is rather uninteresting, but combat definitely more than makes up for it. However,
08:32the boss's unwillingness to flinch sometimes makes their fights frustrating, and can get in the way of
08:38the excellent wuxia choreography-style combos that Wuchang otherwise tries to encourage. Its historical take on
08:44Ancient China is a beautiful one, and while some players may fall off, it's still worth a shot.
08:49We give Wuchang Fallen Feathers 3.5 stars out of 5. So, will you be picking up this new Souls
08:56-like
08:57epic? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to stick with GamesRadar for the latest news, reviews, and
09:03more.
Comments