Review: ‘Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’ knows you can reach perfection

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It took me a little under three hours to defeat Zhang Liang, the first boss in Team Ninja’s newest Soulslike, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. This statistic shouldn’t be particularly shocking — Team Ninja has always been upfront with their admiration for FromSoftware’s highly successful and punishing game design philosophies. Their previous attempts — Ni-Oh and Ni-Oh 2 — are loving tributes to the Dark Souls series, albeit ones that never reached the same acclaim as their inspirations due to their (rightfully) perceived brutal unfairness. However, spending even a few moments with Wo Long makes it clear that Team Ninja aimed to ape a different game from FromSoft’s stable this time around: 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. 

Let’s get the comparisons out of the way quickly. Both games: take place during a time of political upheaval for their respective countries (the fall of the Later Han Dynasty in China and the end of the Sengoku period in Japan); mix historical figures and settings with fantastical beasts and demons; are designed with semi-open linear levels with a focus on verticality; and rely on precise and perfectly timed parries to master their combat. Their core concepts, however, could not be more directly opposed, as Sekiro rewards stealth, patience, and planned offense, while Wo Long prompts players into full-frontal aggression while improvising a reactionary defense.

Influenced by Chinese martial arts, the various systems within Wo Long’s combat work together to make every encounter immensely satisfying. Basic attacks can mow down standard enemies, but heavy attacks (called Spirit Attacks) and weapon-specific martial arts attacks inflict spirit damage, which can break an enemy’s guard and allow you to perform a Fatal