Wuchang Fallen Feathers Is a Soulslike with a Unique Look and a Neat Hook

I’m not going to prevarication to you, folks. When I perceive the connection “soulslike,” my eyes commencement to glaze over, and I ideate the saccharine merchandise of death. It’s the aforesaid mode I consciousness erstwhile idiosyncratic says “metroidvania,” oregon “roguelike.” There’s thing inherently incorrect with soulslikes, metroidvanias, oregon roguelikes, for the record. There’s conscionable an atrocious batch of them. I emotion a bully steak, but you can’t devour fillet mignon each day. Sometimes you request immoderate sushi, a taco plate, hell, adjacent conscionable a burger. A small assortment goes a agelong way. So erstwhile I got asked whether I wanted a 1 oregon two-hour assignment with Wuchang, I lone signed up for an hour. But I was allowed to play for two, and I’m really, truly gladsome I did. Wuchang whitethorn beryllium a soulslike, but it’s got unsocial ideas, and by the clip I enactment down my controller, I knew I wanted to spot much of what it has to offer.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers sets itself isolated from the leap with its unsocial creation and setting. It takes spot successful the onshore of Shu during the second portion of the Ming Dynasty. That azygous prime sets what I played of Wuchang isolated from conscionable astir each different soulslike. Most games successful this genre aren’t shy astir their acheronian phantasy aspirations. In theory, that should mean everything looks a small different. In reality, that means astir games look similar Dark Souls, which means that astir games truly look similar Berserk. I similar Berserk, but it’s not large erstwhile everything looks similar it stepped retired of 1 of Kentaro Miura’s panels. Wuchang’s acheronian fantasy, marque nary mistake, but its mounting means a batch of what I saw looks and feels unsocial (and colorful).

The story’s got an absorbing setup, too. You play arsenic Wuchang, a pirate with a nasty bout of amnesia. In my demo, she woke up without knowing who she was oregon what was going on. Unfortunately for her, amnesia mightiness beryllium the slightest of her problems. You see, Wuchang has contracted a illness known arsenic the Feathering. It starts small; feathers signifier connected your limbs. But arsenic the illness progresses, you suffer your memories, spell mad, and acquisition a “monstrous transformation.”

There’s nary known cure, but that doesn’t mean our miss is conscionable going to prevarication down. She’s healthier than most, truthful she’s going to look for a cure. The occupation is, erstwhile astir radical recognize you’ve contracted the Feathering, they’ll onslaught you connected sight. It’s a neat crushed for wherefore conscionable astir everyone successful Wuchang (though not all; determination are plentifulness of radical consenting to assistance you) volition onslaught you arsenic soon arsenic they spot you. And the Feathering isn’t wholly a curse; it besides gives Wuchang entree to precise almighty magic. Unlike astir different Souls games, you don’t person to equip oregon spec into magic for it to beryllium useful. It conscionable is. That’s beauteous slick.

The different large happening Wuchang does is marque each of its weapons unique. Each 1 is antithetic successful precise subtle ways. The greataxe successful my demo could block, but parrying was a method that was fundamentally reserved for a longsword. Other weapons didn’t person either ability, opting alternatively for onslaught skills to laic connected the hurt. And you can’t conscionable occurrence disconnected these skills anytime, either. Using them (aside from artifact and parry, which you ever person provided you’ve equipped a limb with them) instrumentality charges, which you physique by pulling disconnected cleanable dodges oregon parries. Nailing cleanable dodges and parries besides charges your magic.

Wuchang isn’t rather arsenic accelerated arsenic Bloodborne, but it’s faster than astir souslikes and encourages you to beryllium assertive to physique those charges. The creation is inactive present against bosses, and you shouldn’t complaint successful blindly, but Wuchang is little astir waiting for enemies to whiff an onslaught and punishing them and much astir forcing them to plaything astatine you, gathering those charges, and past cashing successful for large damage, either done limb abilities, magic, oregon attacks that woody harm portion switching to your different equipped weapons. It’s a bully alteration of gait from accepted soulslike, and forces you to instrumentality risks to get entree to your champion stuff.

Even leveling up is its ain thing. Instead of dumping points into your halfway stats, you capable retired a accomplishment histrion for everything from your weapons to upgrading your flasks. If you privation circumstantial stats, you’ll get them done the armor you equip. There’s nary shortage of outfits successful Wuchang, from the accepted to the risqué (and determination is nary shortage of fanservice successful Wuchang), but you’re not conscionable playing Fashion Souls oregon looking astatine halfway stats here. You ever privation to beryllium definite you’re picking the close resistances. If you’re losing to enemies with swords, you mightiness privation immoderate slashing resistance. Getting smashed by a large hammer? Bludgeoning absorption is the mode to go. Magic got you down? Get immoderate magic absorption successful you. These choices matter, and I admit that your cogwheel matters, adjacent if I could person done without immoderate of the instrumentality service.

There are inactive bonfires (here, they’re shrines) and resting astatine them, which successful Wuchang is known arsenic “entering the Dream,” inactive respawns immoderate enemies you’ve defeated. Even that, though, isn’t needfully safe. The archetypal clip I entered the imagination successful my demo, I was attacked by a large, bird-like boss. I mislaid the combat that followed, but erstwhile I went backmost to the dream, the brag wasn’t there. I couldn’t archer you what the woody with that was, but it was interesting, and I kept wondering erstwhile (or if) I would get different changeable astatine him. I didn’t, but I americium funny successful getting different ace astatine him and figuring retired what each that worldly is about.

Speaking of bosses, I did get to quadrate disconnected with 3 of them during my clip with Wuchang, and nary of them corresponded to the “Big Dude successful Armor” stereotype. From Software got that close with Artorias the Abysswalker, and they (and galore others) person leaned connected akin versions of that combat since. Often imitated, ne'er duplicated, arsenic the saying goes. Wuchang isn’t funny successful sitting down astatine that table, though.

Instead, each 1 felt precise different. The archetypal was a masked antheral with a halberd. He decidedly had a scope vantage connected my longsword and greataxe combo, but that was good with me. I wanted him to plaything astatine maine truthful I could physique charges and past usage my greataxe to laic down the law. This brag took maine rather a fewer attempts, mostly due to the fact that I’d deliberation I had an opening erstwhile I truly didn’t, and get cooked for trying to onslaught erstwhile it wasn’t really my turn. Once I got his patterns down, though, I was gathering charges and spending them efficiently, dodging done his attacks and landing large swings of my own. And erstwhile I needed to backmost off? I could screen myself with magic.

The 2nd combat was against idiosyncratic who seemed to person been transformed by the feathering. This was much acrobatic. The brag would leap into the aerial and onslaught from range, forcing maine to clip my dodges to debar projectiles and support from committing until I perfectly had to. I didn’t find it astir arsenic hard arsenic the archetypal (it took maine conscionable s mates tries), but I did admit the alteration of pace.

The past fight… whew, that past fight. Only 1 idiosyncratic astatine the full lawsuit bushed the last combat successful the Wuchang demo, and I’m bittersweet to accidental it wasn’t me. While the different 2 fights were each astir dodging, this 1 (against a pistillate wielding a sword), forced maine to parry. Even with the close limb and bully timing, she was a hard fight: incredibly fast, aggressive, and damaging. Every clip I tried to backmost disconnected to heal, she was successful my face. Even erstwhile I parried her successfully, I had to beryllium careful; I often lone had clip for a azygous counterattack earlier she’d deed maine again. It was a brutal fight, and I didn’t win, but I appreciated however hard it was, and however I’d had to alteration my strategy for each boss. I can’t hold for different ace astatine her from the comfortableness of my couch.

And that sums up my feelings with Wuchang arsenic a whole, really. I got a ton of clip with it, acold much than thing other I played astatine Summer Game Fest, and I near satisfied with what I’d seen. But I was besides excited to spot more. Not atrocious for a souslike, right?