Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Review – A Solid Soulslike Offering With Unique Twists

Here at Gaming News, we’ve plunged deep into the plague-ridden world of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, the latest Soulslike title from Leenzee Games and published by 505 Games. Available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, this game places players in the role of Bai Wuchang, a battle-hardened pirate grappling with the Feathering, a supernatural plague turning people into savage beasts. Our review focuses on the PlayStation 5 version, examining the game’s combat, customization, narrative, and overall performance to determine if it rises above the increasingly crowded Soulslike landscape.

A Familiar Yet Fresh Take on the Soulslike Formula

The Soulslike genre has undeniably reached a point of saturation, making it increasingly difficult for new titles to carve out a unique identity. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers doesn’t entirely reinvent the wheel, but it introduces enough novel mechanics and stylistic choices to stand out from the pack. It expertly blends familiar Soulslike elements with fresh ideas, resulting in an engaging and challenging experience. While it doesn’t ascend to the very top of the genre, it’s a polished and well-executed title that offers a satisfying adventure for veterans and newcomers alike.

Story and Setting: Ming Dynasty Meets Supernatural Horror

The narrative of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers centers around Bai Wuchang, a pirate afflicted by the Feathering. Unlike most, Wuchang isn’t transformed into a mindless monster but retains her consciousness, albeit with amnesia. The game is set against the backdrop of a beautifully realized Ming Dynasty-era China, adding a unique cultural flavor to the grim, plague-ridden world. Players must navigate this perilous landscape, unravel the mystery of the Feathering, seek a cure, and ultimately recover Wuchang’s lost memories.

While the core premise is intriguing, the story execution is somewhat uneven. The narrative unfolds through a combination of cutscenes, dialogue, and environmental storytelling, but it sometimes struggles to maintain a consistent level of engagement. The ending, in particular, can feel abrupt and unsatisfying, with multiple possible conclusions potentially undermining the overall impact of the story. It is also worth noting that the quest design sometimes lacked in overall variety. While the setting is engaging, the level design often felt more repetitive than we would have hoped.

Combat: Aggressive Evasion and Spellcasting

Combat is where Wuchang: Fallen Feathers truly shines, drawing inspiration from the fast-paced, aggressive style of Bloodborne. Battles are a thrilling dance of attacking, dodging, and exploiting enemy weaknesses. The game encourages aggressive play through its unique Skybound Might system. Successfully timed dodges grant mana points, known as Skybound Might, which can be used to cast powerful spells. This system incentivizes skillful evasion, allowing players to defeat enemies solely through dodging and spellcasting, a viable and often rewarding strategy.

The combination of melee combat and spellcasting creates a dynamic and engaging combat system. Players can utilize a variety of spells, from crimson spears to fiery skulls, to complement their weapon attacks. This allows for diverse combat approaches, catering to different playstyles.

Customization: A Deep Dive into Playstyle Tailoring

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers offers an impressive level of customization, allowing players to tailor their playstyle through a vast array of weapons, augments, and passive perks. The game provides a near-overwhelming number of options, encouraging experimentation and strategic loadout choices. Weapons can be equipped with three perk-granting stones, each offering unique benefits. Additionally, players can slot up to four “needles” into Bai Wuchang’s demonically feathered arm, granting weapon “tempering” effects such as increased fire damage or health-leeching attacks.

The weapon-swapping mechanic adds another layer of depth, unleashing a unique special attack based on the equipped weapons. This encourages players to consider their weapon combinations carefully, further enhancing the strategic depth of the combat system.

Weapon Proficiency and Skill Trees

The game features a variety of weapon classes, including long swords, spears, and axes, each with unique special attacks and traits. For example, players who prefer a defensive approach can utilize axes, which grant the ability to block, while those who favor magic can lean on short swords designed for spellcasting. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers slowly introduces new weapons, allowing players to master their chosen armaments. Progression revolves around improving proficiency with these weapons, which we found much more rewarding than constantly cycling through new loot.

However, the game’s massive, Path of Exile-inspired skill trees can feel restrictive. Players cannot freely improve crucial traits like stamina and health, as stat buffs are locked behind a predetermined order. This can lead to situations where players must unlock unwanted skills to access essential upgrades, hindering the overall customization experience.

Dynamic Difficulty Scaling: The Madness Meter

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers introduces a dynamic difficulty scaling system through the Madness meter. Repeated deaths build up the Madness meter, increasing attack power but also raising damage taken. This creates a “glass cannon” effect, forcing players to rely on their evasion and counter skills to survive.

When the Madness meter reaches its peak, an “Inner Demon” mini-boss spawns in place of lost XP. Defeating the Inner Demon allows players to reclaim their lost points, adding a layer of tension and excitement to the XP retrieval process. While the Inner Demon can become less threatening as players grow stronger, the Madness system effectively adds a dynamic element to the game’s difficulty.

Level Design and Exploration: A Familiar Structure

The level design in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers follows a familiar Soulslike structure, with interconnected biomes, shortcuts, and hidden items. Players will explore a variety of environments, from snowy palaces to hellish forests, battling enemies and unlocking pathways. While the level design is competent, it can sometimes feel corridor-like and lacking in originality. Annoying level hazards also detract from the exploration experience.

While the game is challenging, it is not overwhelmingly difficult. Most boss encounters can be overcome with a combination of skill and light level grinding. This makes Wuchang: Fallen Feathers a “comfortably difficult” experience, providing a sense of accomplishment without feeling overly punishing.

Performance and Presentation: A Mixed Bag

The art direction in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is strong, creating a visually appealing and atmospheric world. However, the game suffers from fluctuating graphical fidelity and performance issues, particularly on the base PlayStation 5. Frame rate drops and graphical glitches can occasionally detract from the overall experience, although these issues were intermittent. This should be improved in a future patch.

Final Verdict: A Solid Addition to the Soulslike Genre

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a competent and enjoyable Soulslike title that offers a unique blend of familiar mechanics and innovative ideas. The combat is engaging, the customization options are extensive, and the setting is richly atmospheric. While the story and level design may not be groundbreaking, the game’s overall experience is satisfying and rewarding.

While Wuchang: Fallen Feathers may not revolutionize the genre, it is a worthwhile addition to the Soulslike library. It is a game that has a large diversity of ideas and the combat sets it apart from many games. The game has a lot of content that will keep fans busy for a long time. We recommend it to fans of the genre looking for a new and engaging challenge.

Score: 7.9/10

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At Gaming News, our reviews are conducted with the utmost care and objectivity. We strive to provide our readers with a comprehensive and unbiased assessment of each game we review, considering all aspects of the experience, from gameplay and graphics to narrative and performance. Our scoring system reflects our overall impression of the game, taking into account both its strengths and weaknesses. We hope our reviews provide valuable insights to help you make informed purchasing decisions.

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