Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review – A paper tiger

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A star rating of 2 out of 5.

Initially, my experience with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers left me impressed as it sets off on a solid foundation. The initial stages, which I had the chance to explore during a preview event last month, suggest an expansive world brimming with gameplay mechanics that are both demanding and rewarding – traits any great soulslike title should possess.

In numerous cases, Wuchang meets expectations. However, it significantly underperforms in a multitude of other areas as well.

As I, a gamer, delve into the captivating world of “Wuchang: Fallen Feathers,” I find myself in the role of Bai Wuchang – a rogue pirate warrior who mysteriously awakens with no recollection of my past. In this Ming Dynasty China, I navigate through a chilling landscape where a dreaded affliction called the Feathering transforms its victims into terrifying monsters.

With symptoms apparent to herself, Wuchang embarks on a journey to recover lost memories. While the storyline isn’t groundbreaking, it provides a platform for me to delve into ancient China – a setting that I am eager to explore.

Essentially, the game adheres to a typical souls-like structure where you traverse different zones, defeat enemies along the way, encounter a boss at the conclusion of each zone who yields a valuable prize upon defeat, and overcoming them advances the narrative. This pattern is then repeated.

In simpler terms, the standout features of Wuchang are its boss characters. They usually strike a good balance between being difficult yet achievable. However, some bosses tend to play defensively, frequently evading attacks and teleporting, which isn’t my preferred style. On the other hand, a few bosses can be exploited slightly, but generally, I found Wuchang’s boss encounters enjoyable.

Performing the task was beneficial as it turned out that Wuchang turned out to be quite challenging and vexing from the moment I resumed work after my initial preview.

One significant flaw stands out as to why I find Wuchang less satisfying, and unfortunately, this problem permeates most parts of the gameplay.

I will preface this by saying that I will be comparing it rather heavily to Dark Souls.

Indeed, you’re correct. By now, it’s 2025. Comparing Wuchang to Dark Souls has become a worn-out trope in the gaming world. However, I find myself resorting to this comparison because, sadly, Wuchang seems to borrow heavily from other games.

In some areas, there’s a clear influence drawn from games like Dark Souls, with one instance specifically being reminiscent of Blighttown, as a developer has personally confirmed to me. This resemblance is quite evident.

In terms of some other elements, Wuchang appears to have taken specific characteristics quite directly from the Dark Souls series, as well as FromSoft’s overall collection.

Although borrowing ideas isn’t always wrong, Wuchang overdoes it to the point where it fails to establish a unique identity of its own. In my opinion, the creators of Wuchang may not fully grasp what makes Dark Souls so popular.

It seems that Leenzee was inspired by some Reddit posts from the mid-2010s praising Dark Souls for its difficulty, and they’ve decided to incorporate those challenging aspects – such as tough enemies, hidden traps, and seldom-used mechanics found in other soulslikes – extensively throughout their game.

In numerous places, the ground is strewn with landmines, making it necessary to keep your eyes on the path beneath you; unfortunately, if you find yourself in a confrontation, you may be forced to divert your attention elsewhere.

As a gamer, I’m always on my toes because unexpected ambushes seem to be hiding just about everywhere. Enemies wait in the shadows, poised to strike at any moment, while cannoneers hide inside seemingly vacant tents, ready to fire when least expected.

In many battles, you’ll encounter foes that can afflict harmful status conditions on you. These enemies are frequently arranged in quick succession, making it necessary for you to regularly switch your armor every minute to prevent being tainted by poison, corruption, despair, and other detrimental effects leading to your demise.

The experience of navigating through the game can be quite frustrating. The levels are intricately designed, sometimes leading to confusing loops where you may retrace your steps for extended periods without any significant rewards or advancement in the storyline. Additionally, since there’s no map available, it often feels like a process of trial and error until you find a path that seems promising.

Despite sounding quite complain-y, I want to emphasize that the situation in Wuchang is significantly more challenging than you might imagine. Even though it seems like these mechanisms are commonplace, trust me when I say they’re much more problematic.

Souls-like games inherently possess a high level of difficulty, yet it’s crucial to recognize the difference between demanding and aggravating. A game that presents challenges is engaging when those hurdles feel rewarding to conquer.

Compared to other soul-like games, Wuchang’s irritation lies in its persistent nipping at you. Unlike these games, unexpected ambushes and traps are rare occurrences rather than commonplace. It serves as an occasional reminder to always stay vigilant.

As a gamer, when ads are everywhere within the game, it becomes more than just an annoyance – it takes away the very essence of why I play.

Instead of finding each mine, surprise attack, or status effect a daunting obstacle individually, it becomes unsatisfying when the game artificially increases difficulty by adding layer upon layer without providing genuine challenges.

Overcoming Malenia in Elden Ring feels exhilarating. Escaping a landmine, on the other hand, is routine. If you multiply that feeling by the dozens, if not scores, throughout the entire game, you’re left with a formula for frustration.

In every souls-like game, there’s always one challenging zone that feels like a relentless labyrinth. It’s the kind of place where you find yourself muttering “finally…done!” once you’ve successfully navigated through its treacherous paths, much like stumbling out of Blighttown or Caelid after an exhausting journey.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers” – This game consists of numerous challenging obstacles, yet at its conclusion, it fails to deliver a fulfilling narrative or rich background that has earned Blighttown and Caelid such enduring affection, even amid their difficulties. Instead, Wuchang is designed purely for difficulty.

Although the primary problem hindering Wuchang’s gameplay experience is its struggle with originality, the game’s tendency to borrow elements from other titles contributes to a clumsy and perplexing core gameplay.

This game offers an extensive variety of elements. You can choose from numerous weapon types, apply diverse status effects, cast spells, utilize Skyfall Might, manage your feathering level, regulate your madness level, and much more.

The unfortunate aspect is that when Wuchang concentrates on something novel, it proves effective indeed. Skyborn Might, an ability offering charges for unique attacks and spells upon precise evasions, is delightful! It’s merely regrettable that it’s overshadowed by numerous other elements, preventing it from showcasing its true potential.

Wuchang is versatile but not exceptional in any one area, as its development is continually expanding in various directions without fully realizing the potential of each aspect, due to an excessive addition of features.

Regardless of the current mess, I sense a great game hidden within somewhere. I am confident in the team’s abilities, as hinted by brief moments of outstanding performance, and I firmly believe that if granted the freedom to create their own work, they would have delivered an exceptional game.

From where I stand as a player, it seems they didn’t have the liberty to make decisions, which is unfortunate.

Maybe Wuchang could have been popular about a decade back, during the time when soul-like games were still a growing fascination among gamers.

Soul-like games, once considered a niche genre, have now become more mainstream. Beyond the creations of FromSoftware, numerous innovative and evolutionary soul-likes are emerging not only from major studios but also indie developers as well.

Among the outstanding, distinctive modern games that belong to the souls-like genre, there are titles such as Lies of P, Nine Sols, Hollow Knight, Remnant, and Another Crab’s Treasure. This year, the solo indie project FlyKnight has shown just how adaptable this type of game can be.

Relative to peers like these, Wuchang is stale at best and simply not good at worst.

Some individuals might find this game appealing due to its challenging nature, and I really hope they enjoy it as much as I did. However, just because a game is difficult doesn’t automatically make it great in my opinion.

Initially, I was quite excited for Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, but releasing it in 2025 as a soulslike game from 2015 feels unusual. This game tries to emulate the masters of the genre, yet it seems to miss the essence of what makes those games exceptional. As a result, it falls short not just in terms of its unique identity, but also in providing an enjoyable gaming experience.

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2025-07-23 05:34