The surge of Soulslike games over the past few years proves just how profitable the genre has become despite the signs that they’re not easy games. It’s this very difficulty that helped FromSoftware’s Dark Souls and Elden Ring become major successes. It invites players to a gauntlet that constantly tests their wit, skill, and patience, to such an extent that other studios have begun creating their own versions of the genre, giving rise to the term “Soulslike.”
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers was a game I didn’t pay much attention to when it was first announced. The fatigue from too many Soulslikes had just overwhelmed me, so excuse me in advance if I am being too critical on some parts of this game.
Could I really handle another game using the same familiar mechanics from the popular Dark Souls series?
Surprisingly, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers proved me wrong.
After around 30 hours of my journey across this dark fantasy world, Wuchang continues to surprise me in more ways than one. In this review, I’ll break down what makes Leenzee’s Soulslike a special entry in an already saturated market.
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+ 9The world of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers blends the bizarre and the grandiose. Set in the land of Shu during the twilight of the Ming Dynasty, a mysterious affliction known as “The Feathering” is transforming humans into feathered, maddened monsters with severe memory loss. Wuchang, the game’s protagonist, is one of the afflicted. We spend most of her journey recovering her lost memories while fending off those who either fear her or have succumbed to the same affliction.
Wuchang, as a protagonist, is certainly a… choice. She’s your typical Soulslike silent protagonist character who arrives at the worst time in history. Part of me wondered why we couldn’t just create our own custom character, but as I continued through the game’s story, I completely understood Leenzee Games' intent and why the game is named after her.
click to enlarge+ 9Wuchang: Fallen Feathers plays exactly how a Soulslike game should, with its interconnected paths, intentionally convoluted lore, and obtuse NPC questlines. As someone who’s played plenty of Souls titles, much of Wuchang’s first few hours felt oddly familiar. I was simply going from point A to B, taking a few shortcuts, resting by bonfires, and then taking down a boss.
But as I continued, exploration became more deliberate with branching paths that evoked that good kind of “lost” feeling I had with Elden Ring’s shadowlands. It kept me constantly engaged as I unlocked new shortcuts and discovering new places, although its compass system leaves much to be desired.
As I explored Wuchang's world, there were also moments that left me in genuine awe. It felt as if Leenzee Games had taken notes on what made Elden Ring a cinematic experience with breathtaking views similar to the time I first entered the Siofra Well.
The game is also oozing with esoteric lore that's begging for a deep dive from popular Souls lore tubers. Although I get the bigger picture of the game’s main story, I still missed a few plot threads as I don't have the time to read every flavor text found in Wuchang's undergarments. Kidding aside, I’ll leave the lore stuff to VaatiVidya on this one.
click to enlarge+ 9Being a Soulslike game, I initially worried that its combat would feel like a mashup of Lies of P, Stellar Blade, or maybe even Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. But what surprised me was how Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' combat has its own style. It's all thanks to a mechanic called “Skyborn Might.”
Skyborn Might is Wuchang’s unique resource, akin to a magic meter. It can’t be refilled with a single drink of a potion. Instead, it builds up as you deal damage or perfectly dodge attacks. It has a satisfying ‘shimmering’ sound effect to know you got it right, and once filled, you can use it to unleash powerful spells or improve the potency of your weapon skills.
This mechanic encourages aggressive play, pushing you to stay on the offensive instead of relying on the usual “dodge and hit” loop found in most Soulslikes. It's a system I find highly effective for a fast-paced game, as most of Wuchang's late-game boss fights leave little room for mistakes.
click to enlarge+ 9And speaking of boss fights, there’s no shortage of challenging encounters in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. The game has a wide variety of these bosses, ranging from standard Imperial Guards to grotesque monsters that would give FromSoftware’s Bloodborne a run for its money.
Some of Wuchang's best bosses became major skill checks that cost me hours of rethinking my approach, subsequently forcing me to change my strategy, too. They’re not as deliberately broken or busted as Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s pre-patched final boss, but it's still a challenge hardcore Souls fans would enjoy. One standout boss for me was an Imperial General afflicted with the Feathering, turning her into a fight as tough and rewarding as Malenia from Elden Ring.
click to enlarge+ 9To get the most out of Wuchang’s combat, the game offers one of the best build-crafting systems I’ve seen in the genre. Unlike most Soulslikes, where you level up at bonfires by manually distributing stats, Wuchang’s progression system is tied to a massive Path of Exile-like skill tree based around the game’s five main weapon types: Greataxes, One-Handed Swords, Dual Blades, Spears, and Longswords. These act as the game’s class system.
While I usually dread skill trees in games, this is one of the best stat implementations I’ve seen in the genre. The UI is intuitive, making it easy for newcomers to determine which path to follow or which skill to unlock.
You can respec with no cost, so experimenting with hybrid builds is highly encouraged. Want to run a magic build with a One-Handed Sword like Lies of P? Go ahead. Prefer a brute force with a Greataxe like your Elden Ring character? It’s viable too. Personally, Longswords was my preferred choice, as it has a skill that can parry regular sword attacks, essentially turning my playthrough into a Sekiro-like experience.
click to enlarge+ 9Wuchang has a bizarre Madness meter that’s similar but not as complex as Demon’s Souls’ World Tendencies. For a game that thrives with so much death, the ‘Madness’ system disappointed me.
It increases when Wuchang dies repeatedly or by killing human enemies. The higher the Madness, the more damage you deal, but the more damage you also receive. It’s meant to be a system that discourages repeated mistakes and being an 'overall good person', but with a genre known for countless deaths and hostile enemies, it feels counterintuitive. On paper, it sounds like a high-risk, high-reward system, but it's severely lacking in polish.
click to enlarge+ 9Another feature tied to Madness is that if you die with the meter maxed out, a Demon version of yourself spawns at your death site. If you defeat it, you regain all your lost Red Mercury. Fail, and you lose everything.
It became too frustrating to deal with later on, as there was this moment where I had to face both my Demon and another high-level enemy at the same time. It was simply too much for me to handle, so I had no choice but to retreat from the challenge and say goodbye to my 10,000 Red Mercury as it disappeared into the void.
Surprisingly, the Demon doesn’t appear during boss fights, and I think that's a major relief.
The Madness meter is one of the few things I really dislike in Wuchang. It's a system that felt undercooked and more of a pushover than an actual challenge. Later in the game, I discovered ways to mitigate Madness buildup, rendering the system mostly irrelevant.
click to enlarge+ 9I played Wuchang: Fallen Feathers on a base PlayStation 5, and the performance is also something worth talking about. As an Unreal Engine 5 title, performance issues may occur during heavy encounters or areas with numerous destructible objects. It's not as terrible as Black Myth Wukong, but there are noticeable drops in frames during these specific encounters. One immersion-breaking issue was where the game froze for a few seconds, possibly to load the next zone. It may or may not be an isolated case, but it happens rarely, and it's annoying when it does.
The good news is that it doesn’t have any game-breaking performance issues that ruin the experience. I can't speak for the PC version, but most of the problems on PlayStation 5 can be linked to the technically demanding Unreal Engine 5.
Things improved significantly after the day-one patch, with Performance Mode consistently hitting a steady 60fps, even during intense boss fights.
And then there’s the motion blur, which is easily the worst I’ve ever experienced in a video game. Luckily, it's turned off by default; otherwise, there'd be a lot of players complaining about severe nausea.
But these are small nitpicks on my end, and despite these hiccups, I’d say the game performs well enough overall in my 30-hour playthrough.
Verdict
As someone who's grown tired of Soulslikes trying to replicate the FromSoftware formula with barebones results, I was honestly impressed by how Leenzee Games' Wuchang completely understood what makes the genre effective.
While this is an intended experience built for hardcore Souls fans, it is hard to recommend for players new to the genre. It has a steep learning curve and bosses that punish even the smallest misplays. Apart from that, it has an intentionally vague quest structure made worse by a less helpful compass.
It's not as brutal and unforgiving compared to FromSoftware's Souls catalog, but if you crave a great challenge, it's a great starting point nonetheless.
click to enlarge+ 9Overall, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a surprisingly competent Soulslike that has the potential to make a name for itself in an overcrowded genre. Developer Leenzee Games nails the fundamentals of FromSoftware's deliberate, gauntlet-style design while introducing brilliant ideas of its own. With fascinating lore that blends history and dark fantasy, and intense combat backed by a deep variety of builds, it is one of the rare Soulslikes that genuinely understands the spirit of the genre.
It doesn't really revolutionize the Souls formula, but I think Hidetaka Miyazaki would be proud of it.
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