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Wuchang: Fallen Feathers particulars(Picture credit score: Leenzee / 505 Video games)Writer 505 GamesDeveloper LeenzeePlatforms PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Home windows PC (Steam & Epic Video games Retailer), and Xbox Collection X/SEngine Unreal Engine 5Release date 24 July, 2025It’s arduous to not let loose a heavy sigh when a brand new Soulslike seems. FromSoftware’s affect runs deep, and we’ve seen numerous imitators stumble of their shadow, not least as a result of they not often add one thing new and as an alternative riff on the identical tried and true concepts. However Wuchang: Fallen Feathers enters the fray with confidence, swagger, and a few significantly sharp tech.Powered by Unreal Engine 5 and brimming with sinister creativity, this Chinese language motion RPG comes out swinging, slicing, and somersaulting with fluid fight, grotesque boss battles, and a setting dripping with character and intrigue. There’s loads right here to like, even for seasoned Soulsborne followers.Wuchang is quick, it’s brutal, and it’s typically beautiful. It is also very grindy, repetitive, and, properly… it is one other Soulslike. For all its blood-drenched magnificence and intelligent, surprisingly deep mechanics, Wuchang by no means totally escapes the gravity or the trimmings of its style. This can be a robust addition to the Soulslike lineage, little doubt, and followers of FromSoftware’s distinct tackle the style will get a kick out of Wuchang, however this is not a reinvention.(Picture credit score: Leenzee / 505 Video games)Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a visible feastSony PlayStation 5 at Amazon for £419.99From the very first moments, Wuchang makes an impression. Fog creeps by means of desolate villages, whereas temples burn below greying skies. The sport’s Ming Dynasty-inspired setting is dropped at life with outstanding consideration to element; each stone pathway, tattered scroll, and flickering lantern feels intentional and alive. The developer has taken full benefit of Unreal Engine 5, creating environments that really feel layered, immersive, and lived in – there is a real-world put on and tear at play that makes each temple and village really feel grounded, even when trolls are hurling marble slabs at me.This isn’t simply technical know-how; there’s real artistry right here. The sport leans into its folklore roots with scenes that mix horror and mysticism: contaminated shrines overrun with feathered rot, twisted idols bathed in eerie moonlight, piles of burnt skulls trace at a horror you’ve got but to completely realise, and enemy designs which can be as theatrical as they’re terrifying. In a style typically trapped in gloomy castles and medieval tropes, Wuchang stands out for its setting alone.Later Chapter environments make full use of Chinese language fantasy, legend, and surroundings to evoke a way of surprise and unease in equal measure. Mist settles over radiant swimming pools that sit under towering Buddha statues, flickering in candlelight – stunning. However it additionally reveals the directed nature of Wuchang, you may typically really feel the hand of the developer over the motion, framing a scene, blocking a boss entry or just providing an unlimited vista for the attention to linger on; the draw of Wuchang for anybody not a Soulsborne fan, lies within the moments between the motion, the place you are merely inspired to benefit from the world.(Picture credit score: Leenzee / 505 Video games)However battle you will need to…Between lingering on the placement design, you are going to must battle, and fight in Wuchang is surprisingly fulfilling. Surprisingly, as a result of video games on this style will be torture. In contrast to slower, extra methodical video games within the style, comparable to Demon’s Souls, this sport encourages aggression. A lot so, I used to be bowled over within the first fights, as I waited to counter, solely to find, early within the sport, that no such factor exists.Dodging is your lifeline, you see, and offensive strain is commonly the perfect protection. The rhythm of battle in Wuchang is quicker, snappier, and extra fluid than I anticipated, nearer in fashion and move to Sekiro than Darkish Souls, however with a really feel all its personal. In fact, there are ultimately counter strikes, however these are unlocked as you degree up, spending earned ‘Pink Mercury’ on a weapons talent tree – together with distinctive counter assaults, swirling combos, and extra, in addition to upgrading vitality, power, and so forth.Essential to every thing is Skyborn May, a magical power that powers distinctive weapon strategies and abilities. Skyborn May is earned by completely dodging, parrying, or timing assaults, and so once more, taking part in extra aggressively yields better rewards. Even in defence, you are being inspired to be on the offensive.(Picture credit score: Leenzee / 505 Video games)Every weapon feels distinct, and also you’re not locked into only one. Switching between two loadouts mid-fight is seamless and satisfying, providing new combo choices and tactical approaches. Blades are swift and exact, whereas heavier weapons like axes demand dedication, however as you’d count on, land with a devastating crunch. My desire early on is a ‘steampowered polearm’, partly as a result of it will possibly simply shut the gap on enemies, however principally as a result of I purchased it off a panda for the worth of a sentient corncob.Crucially, each strike and dodge feels responsive; there’s little or no friction between your inputs and the on-screen motion. In case you mess up, it feels truthful. Although sometimes you will get trapped on a random bamboo tree, fence, or environmental junk.Boss battles, particularly, are the place the fight system impresses. These aren’t merely grotesque prolonged well being bars with flamboyant strikes; they’re multi-stage duels, every demanding timing, statement, and adaptation. On a couple of event, I felt the necessity to rethink my weapon and transfer loadout, in addition to magic alternative, and even wiped my abilities progress and rebuilt to play with new ways.And visually? They’re body-horror wonders, maybe not as memorable as FromSoftware’s greatest, like Guardian Ape and Girl Butterfly, however Wuchang’s massive bads have their moments. Decaying generals and howling spirits clad in ritual armor, all unforgettable, all uniquely grotesque, but additionally all characteristic a linking theme of bony, earthy, fleshy design that makes every new encounter really feel linked to the broader world design.(Picture credit score: Leenzee / 505 Video games)Trapped by its personal designBut for all of the adrenaline and artistry, Wuchang can’t utterly escape the style’s well-worn method. Regardless of a compelling backdrop and elaborate world design, the precise construction feels overly acquainted. You discover interconnected areas, unlock shortcuts, defeat towering bosses, and return to hubs to degree up. You will typically must grind and rerun areas to degree up and stand a greater likelihood at defeating that boss, which simply will not die. The fight holds up, however working the identical gauntlets a number of occasions does put on skinny, significantly as you grow to be overpowered for the fodder however nonetheless cannot fairly break the boss.Some good touches elevate the grind. For instance, the ‘Insanity’ mechanic provides a brand new problem your whole personal making. Taking harm, dying, or overusing Feathering assaults will increase your Insanity degree, which in flip boosts your harm dealt but additionally makes you extra susceptible. Dying releases your ‘Internal Demon’ that may hang-out your Pink Mercury drop, however defeating it lowers your Insanity. In case you succumb to your Internal Demon, the Pink Mercury is misplaced for good. Oh-hum.You will have seen I’ve not but actually talked about with the protagonist is and what Wuchang is all about, as a result of, largely, it by no means feels that necessary. For the file, you play as Bai Wuchang, a talented feminine pirate warrior. She begins the sport troubled by the unusual Feathering curse and amnesia, and… that’s type of the place her arc stalls. Characters you meet trace at better lore and previous conflicts, a misplaced sister, however Wuchang herself is a silent vessel, a Chad-appealing clean canvas to decorate up in an array of bizarre and revealing armours.(Picture credit score: Leenzee /. 505 Video games)Extra of the sameFallen Feathers works arduous to outline its personal identification. It’s set in a contemporary interval, it faucets into wealthy folklore, and it affords quicker, extra aggressive fight than its friends, sitting someplace between Sekiro and Ninja Gaiden Black. Its use of Unreal Engine 5 is not any gimmick both; the sport is technically strong, superbly designed, and largely freed from efficiency hiccups on trendy methods (I am taking part in on a base PS5, and it is a easy expertise, to date).And but, pluck the feathers, so to talk, and what stays is a really acquainted skeleton. Bonfire-equivalents, demise penalties, restricted therapeutic, environmental storytelling, danger and reward; these are well-trodden mechanics that the sport not often subverts. In case you’ve performed Lies of P, Sekiro, or Nioh 2, you’ll know the rhythm by coronary heart.That’s to not say it doesn’t ship. The moment-to-moment gameplay and fight are wonderful, and the give attention to aggressive, magic-boosting assaults lends Wuchang a definite really feel; one thing followers of the style will love. However for gamers craving one thing that breaks the mould, or tells a extra gripping private story, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers simply fails to fly.(Picture credit score: Leenzee / 505 Video games)Sony PlayStation 5: Worth Comparability
