Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Redefines the action RPG with spectacle and depth.

Team Ninja ups the ante and the difficulty from the Nioh series.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty shares some elements with Team Ninja’s Nioh games, such as randomised loot and challenging combat, but ultimately it feels very much like its own game. It’s faster-paced, has a unique morale system, and pushes players to deflect enemy attacks in order to succeed. What lets it down ever so slightly is that some of these new features often feel poorly explained and a little underdeveloped. Otherwise, this is fresh take on the Soulslike formula.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is one of my top 3 souls-like games and shines with its combat and setting, and if you are willing to compromise and deal with some initial issues, the game can be played on the Steam Deck.

I’ve been playing a lot of Soulslikes of late; in fact, I was bouncing between the sci-fi Scars Above at the same time I was engaging with Team Ninja’s latest, Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. While the former proved to be an ill fit for a genre that FromSoftware has made infamous, Team Ninja continues to carve its own niche into a genre that continues to grow in popularity.

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.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty differentiates itself from Nioh thanks to a few key mechanics, though the experience can feel a little linear and easy at times. Still a fun game for fans of Team Ninja, and faster Soulslikes in general.

If you’re new to Soulslikes, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty might be the most fun and accessible one yet thanks to a number of features it implements.

Overall, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a great entry point to the Soulslike genre for those who found some of FromSoftware’s offerings unapproachable. While it’s not going to be winning any GOTY awards, there is still plenty of fun to be had in the challenging boss fights and unique layouts of each level. If anything though, this will likely just make fans of the genre want to go back and play an entry that does it better.

All complaining aside, what ultimately makes a game great is whether it's fun, and I have to admit that, despite my frustrations, I'm not ready to give up. No matter how disappointed I am with the game and myself after each "Crushing Defeat," I find myself wanting to go back and play again, even if it's just to build up relationships with Liu Bei and Sun Jian, unlock their armor sets and weapons, grind for levels and new spells and, maybe some day, finally get to use that wizard's house key. It doesn't excuse the faults, and I will die (quickly and repeatedly) on the hill that it would be vast...

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.

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.