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While there’s been a load of Souls-like games on the scene recently, there’s been a noticeable increase in titles that I’d refer to as action Souls-likes. These are games that combine typical Souls design tropes and tendencies with the combat systems of more traditional action games. Stellar Blade, Black Myth: Wukong, and even Team Ninja’s games abandon the more methodical engagements of the FROMSOFTWARE games in favour of more high-octane conflict.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers comfortably falls into this category of games. Developed by Lenzee, it bears striking similarities to last year’s Black Myth: Wukong. Much like that title, Wuchang is a solid Souls-like with some strange design choices that keep it from being truly great. I have no doubt that fans of the genre will get a kick out of it, but it’s far from being the next Lies of P or Nioh.
Set in the war-ridden lands of Shu during the late Ming Dynasty, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers follows Bai Wuchang, a pirate suffering from amnesia and a strange disease known as the Feathering. The Feathering is a plague spreading throughout the lands, gradually turning victims insane and eventually, into bloodthirsty monsters. As it slowly leads to the collapse of society, Bai Wuchang sets out in search of a cure for the Feathering before it can fully take hold of her.
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It’s an initially interesting premise with a couple of engaging characters, but is really let down by how much it relies on item descriptions, optional NPCs, and environmental storytelling to connect the dots. It’s far too easy to miss crucial narrative details, often leaving the broader plot feeling disjointed. Bai Wuchang herself also feels very underutilised, to the point where Lenzee may as well have had a customisable character as the protagonist.
There is a clear passion and love for the setting here, though. The late Ming Dynasty and its surrounding mythologies are so richly explored that it’s hard not to get sucked into it all. Ancient China is a place that’s been quite heavily explored in games as of late, but Lenzee do a great job of making Wuchang stand out. From enemy and boss design to a wide array of diverse environments decorated with Chinese architecture, it’s very easy to get pulled into Wuchang’s world.
Combat in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is fairly standard for a Souls-like of this type, but it has a couple of unique mechanics that keeps things fresh. You’ll dispatch enemies with light attack combos and charged heavy attacks for big damage. Deal enough damage to an enemy and you’ll eventually break their posture, opening them up for a critical strike. Where things are changed up quite a bit comes in the form of Skyborn Might a resource you’ll accrue in combat and use to activate abilities and magic.
There are a few different ways to build Skyborn Might. Each of the weapon types has unique ways to build it, whether that be by connecting certain hits in your combo string or by utilising weapon-specific mechanics. The most common way you’ll build it up is by executing last second dodges. It’s a fun game of resource management that has you weighing up your options for each scenario.
The only issue with this is that there are so many different parts of combat that use Skyborn Might. It often feels like certain parts of combat aren’t worth engaging with, like magic, since active skills feels immediately impactful – especially in boss fights. You’re able to stack up Skyborn Might pretty high when you hit the late-game if you’re unlocking the right skills, but the balance around the cost of Skyborn Might for different parts of Wuchang’s kit feels unbalanced. It also means you’re constantly on the defensive to build up more Skyborn Might when you want to get in the fray and fight.
When combat does flow smoothly, though, it feels great. Boss fights bring a nice challenge and the enemies you run into as you explore levels feel varied and unique. There’s a load of weapon types to play around with and upgrade as you progress, each with their own skill trees to progress through that unlock new combos and abilities to use in combat. It makes for a satisfying and moreish combat system that’s always bringing new layers and complexities into the fold.
As you succeed or fail in combat, Wuchang will build-up Madness. At certain thresholds, Madness unlocks new moves and abilities while also increasing Wuchang’s damage dealt and taken. Dying at maximum Madness will cause her Inner Demon to materialise at the point of death, forcing you to fight a demonic copy of yourself if you want to pick up your dropped resources. It’s a cool idea that forces you to balance your level of Madness and choose when to use consumables that can increase or reduce it.
Another interesting aspect of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is that it features a degree of non-linearity in its progression. Areas are interconnected and can be accessed at different times, all of which can be fast travelled to via Shrines. You’ll regularly visit a couple of different hub areas where you can take on side quests with consequences that affect the world and ending of the story. I do wish the actual areas were a bit bigger and better incentivised exploration, though.
As previously mentioned, this is a fantastic rendition of Ancient China. It’s densely packed with varied environments to explore, from serene temple crowns to dank and decrepit underground caves. Character and enemy models are fantastically detailed and the game runs a treat on PlayStation 5 on both performance and quality modes.
In a market so incredibly saturated by Souls-like games, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers does enough to justify its existence. It’s a good time that never quite reaches the territory of being great due to a few shortcomings. Regardless, this is a promising first showing from Lenzee and I’d love to see what another attempt at this formula looks like with the lessons learned from Wuchang.
