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Developer Leenzee’s Wuchang: Fallen Feathers shocked me in essentially the most nice of the way. Going into the soulslike motion role-playing recreation (RPG) for assessment, I used to be anticipating a reliable recreation that might in the end wrestle to face out within the house, much like a Lords of the Fallen or Mortal Shell. What I discovered as an alternative was a deeply and consistently compelling motion recreation that I take into account to be the very best soulslike recreation since 2023’s distinctive Lies of P.
Review information
Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: July 24, 2025
A darkish tackle the Ming Dynasty period of Chinese historical past, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers tells a surprisingly grim story, replete with themes of cyclical violence, abduction, compelled marriage, and no scarcity of grotesque physique horror.
All this units the backdrop to what’s an extremely refreshing soulslike expertise. The recreation has that traditional, Dark Souls-type stage design, providing loads to discover and a number of areas you’ll be able to department off into at any given time. Combat additionally has shades of Bloodborne, vastly rewarding evasion over blocking, and that includes a comparatively cautious collection of weapons that each one pack their very own distinctive abilities.
Add in the truth that you’ll be able to respec your talent tree limitlessly and totally free, and also you even have a recreation that encourages you to combine up your type often. Some ranges and managers, for instance, are finest countered with particular weapons, abilities, standing afflictions, and so forth. Whenever I obtained caught on a very demanding boss combat, I normally discovered that a couple of tweaks to the talent tree might make a world of distinction.
Difficulty-wise, it’s not the toughest soulslike ever, and in the event you’ve minimize your tooth on rock-hard titles like Lies of P, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, or Nioh 2, you’ll be well-prepared for the horrors in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. That’s to not say it’s a cakewalk, although.
A handful of bosses will definitely cease you in your tracks, and ranges will sometimes have one or two key hazards to concentrate on. Sometimes Wuchang takes this a bit too far; two totally different flavors of poison swamp in a row is a bit a lot, one stage is plagued by landmines which might be needlessly troublesome to identify, and the ultimate space (with out spoiling something, after all) is an train in pure unbridled frustration to the purpose the place I really wanted to stand up and exit for a stroll earlier than I noticed the temptation to hurl my DualSense into orbit.
Even nonetheless, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a kind of uncommon situations the place, after rolling credit, I instantly needed to play by means of it once more. And due to the sport supporting New Game Plus at launch, it’s straightforward to dive proper again in, chasing down its a number of endings with all of your gear, abilities, and ranges intact.
Hope is the factor with feathers
You play because the titular Wuchang, a formidable pirate warrior who, in the beginning of the sport, has been struck with a bout of amnesia. Unfortunately, that’s the least of her worries, as she’s additionally been with a illness referred to as the Feathering – an excruciatingly painful illness that drives folks to insanity, beasthood, and issues even worse than that.
Wuchang is a particular case, as she’s in a position to harness Feathering to bolster her fight prowess. In gameplay, this primarily is available in two varieties – Skyborn Might and the Madness gauge. I’ve been over each in my authentic Wuchang: Fallen Feathers hands-on, however I’ll clarify additional why they’re now a few of my all-time favourite soulslike mechanics.
Skyborn Might is a fight useful resource you’ll be able to accrue in a number of methods, as much as a most of 5 stacks. The foremost methodology of constructing it up is to carry out a ‘shimmer,’ which is actually a well-timed dodge that utterly negates injury. The recreation’s 5 weapon sorts – longswords, axes, spears, one-handed swords, and twin blades – additionally all have their very own methods of constructing Skyborn Might when you unlock them within the talent tree (extra on that later).
Best bit
I used to be consistently impressed by the extent design in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. There’s loads to discover in every stage, shortcuts are dealt with neatly, and there’s sometimes a number of main areas you’ll be able to department off into in the event you’re struggling to make progress and fancy a change of surroundings. In that sense, it jogs my memory considerably of how the unique Dark Souls dealt with its stage design again in 2011.
Longswords, for instance, grant a cost upon hitting an enemy with the second assault within the mild assault combo string. One-handed swords can construct it mechanically over time. Spears, in the meantime, have their very own useful resource that may be transformed into a number of Skyborn Might stacks if performed successfully.
So, what’s Skyborn Might for? It has two foremost makes use of. Your weapon comes geared up with two abilities – one signature talent distinctive to that weapon, and one other referred to as a Discipline, which you’ll unlock on the talent tree. Discipline abilities could be utilized to any weapon of their respective household, and every weapon kind has round three or 4 abilities you’ll be able to unlock, not dissimilar to the Nioh collection’ unlockable strikes.
If you’re working a magic-focused construct, Skyborn Might can also be used to solid spells. This is an method that I actually love. Wuchang has no separate magic bar that it is advisable to carry on prime of, a la Dark Souls 3 or Elden Ring. Instead, you’ll have to resolve the best way to finest spend your Skyborn Might expenses; do you go all-in on the offensive together with your weapon abilities, or dangle again with spells? It’s a sublime system that rewards a cautious stability of offense and protection.
Going berserk
The Madness gauge, in the meantime, is decidedly extra advanced. Madness builds up while you die or kill humanoid enemies, and reduces when killing enemies with Feathering. There are thresholds at 50% and 90%, at which level Wuchang’s eyes glow pink, and you may make use of Madness-related talents unlocked through the talent tree. To get to those thresholds, you can too make use of sure objects that enhance the quantity of Madness you could have.
It’s a danger/reward system, although. If you attain full Madness, you’ll each deal and take extra injury. And in the event you die whereas totally maddened, a harmful demon will manifest the place you final dropped your level-up forex (known as Red Mercury on this recreation).
During my preliminary preview, I felt this mechanic might get irritating and tiresome. After all, introducing one other highly effective enemy to an already-frustrating part is sure to go south, proper? What I didn’t know again then is that the demon assaults indiscriminately, that means it may be used to your benefit to distract or take down highly effective foes.
I now suppose that is an ingenious inclusion; whereas the demon doesn’t spawn in boss fights, in the event you’re caught on a very robust space or elite enemy, it may possibly lend an involuntary serving to hand and grant you much-needed room to breathe. Killing the demon may also reset your Madness to zero, so there’s nonetheless a alternative in whether or not you wish to interact it or not, relying on the kind of play type you’re going for.
Madness initially looks like one thing you wouldn’t wish to cope with, however when managed proper, it turns into a robust device and a licensed ace up Wuchang’s sleeve. Like many issues within the recreation, it’s all about stability. Madness could be dangerous, however the energy it grants Wuchang shouldn’t be ignored, particularly for the sport’s tougher encounters.
Dressed for the event
There are loads of methods to make Wuchang extra succesful all through your playthrough, which is the place the talent tree is available in. Leveling up in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a bit totally different than your common soulslike. You nonetheless get forex for leveling and shopping for objects upon defeating enemies, however you’ll as an alternative convert that forex into Red Mercury Essence, that are successfully talent factors.
The talent tree in Wuchang is fairly sizable and divided into six foremost branches – one for every weapon kind, and one other for ancillary options like enhancing therapeutic flask efficiency and unlocking highly effective Madness-related buffs. The talent tree remains to be dotted with upgrades in your foremost stats (together with well being, stamina, weapon, and magic assault energy), however you’ll additionally spend your factors on new talents, skill modifiers, and bone needle objects, which can be utilized to quickly add a standing factor to your weapon.
It appears a bit intimidating at first, however keep in mind, you’ll be able to reset talent factors everytime you need by resting at a shrine (this recreation’s equal of bonfires or websites of grace – successfully, checkpoints). Resetting is totally free, and you’ll select to both refund all talent factors or only a few to place some place else.
What this implies, then, is that you’re strongly inspired to combine up your talent level distribution once in a while, and Wuchang’s stage and boss design again this up. Some bosses, for instance, could be made a lot simpler by unlocking the longsword’s Deflect self-discipline, which might parry weapon-based assaults. Deflect is highly effective, however it’s not common, and gained’t work towards spells or enemies that assault with, say, their fingers.
Wuchang additionally locations nice significance on standing results and having the ability to withstand them. In most soulslikes, standing results generally is a gentle annoyance, however Wuchang typically expects you to have a solution to them. One space, for instance, is about on a cold mountain, and Wuchang will regularly accrue Frostbite whereas right here. To fight this and different standing results, you’ll be able to ingest status-fighting objects or items of armor made with these resistances in thoughts.
The recreation can sometimes lean into this a bit an excessive amount of for my liking, although. Having two flavors of ‘poison swamp’ type areas again to again is actually a alternative. Moreover, one very annoying enemy kind builds up Despair when in view, immediately killing Wuchang ought to it replenish. Then there’s the sport’s ultimate space, which can as properly be the ultimate boss of all poison swamps, complemented by relentlessly hostile enemies with large swimming pools of well being.
No spoilers, after all, however this one space was a little bit of a black mark on the entire expertise for me, and its large measurement positively made it outstay its welcome as I discovered myself begging and pleading for all of it to be over.
An distinctive soulslike expertise
Even with that ultimate space virtually making me wish to decide to the lifetime of a hermit, it didn’t utterly spoil what has been considered one of my favourite gaming experiences of the 12 months. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is an expertly crafted soulslike with among the subgenre’s most spectacular stage design. It’s so uncommon for a lot of these video games to instill the identical marvel that makes FromSoftware’s output so particular, however I used to be all the time so curious to see what Wuchang had in retailer round every nook.
Areas are additionally punctuated by some really unimaginable boss fights. There’s an excellent selection right here, too, from nimble humanoid warriors to hulking monstrosities. These encounters are the place Wuchang’s phenomenal soundtrack shines, too. One boss later within the recreation actually caught me off guard with a blistering steel observe that nonetheless felt completely in place given the boss’s look and context.
If you swear by soulslikes as considered one of your favourite sorts of gaming experiences, then Wuchang: Fallen Feathers would possibly simply land in your private recreation of the 12 months record, as a result of it’s actually discovered a spot on mine.
Should I play Wuchang: Fallen Feathers?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
Dedicated accessibility settings for audio and visuals are sadly minimal in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers at launch, together with the dearth of colorblind choices. You can select to show the sport’s management scheme on-screen, and you’ll totally remap controls to your liking within the settings menu. But there isn’t something noteworthy past that.
How I reviewed Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
I performed Wuchang: Fallen Feathers from begin to end on PlayStation 5, with my first playthrough clocking in at simply shy of 36 hours. That included defeating the overwhelming majority of the sport’s bosses (each obligatory and optionally available), thorough exploration of every space, and the completion of most facet quests. I’m now properly into my second playthrough on New Game Plus, which carries over your ranges, talent tree progress, and gear.
I performed primarily with the DualSense Wireless Controller on an LG CX OLED TV, sometimes hooking up my RIG 900 Max HS gaming headset to expertise the sport’s incredible music and ambient sound design.
First reviewed July 2025
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