Multiplat Wuchang: Fallen Feathers **Out now

[Lovestorm]

​

WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers

Nothing is Forever! Face relentless enemies, uncover hidden truths, and survive a land torn by chaos.

wuchanggame.com

The dark and fantastical Soulslike story follows Wuchang, a female pirate, who awakens to amnesia and suffering in the final years of China’s Ming Dynasty during a chaotic era. A darkness has befallen the land of Shu, and a phenomenon known as Feathering is causing mutations. Thrown into an epidemic of plague and monsters, you will have to overcome cruel and twisted enemies with various fighting styles, hidden weapons, ancient firearms, and even the power of Feathering to forge a path through flesh and blood towards the truth buried beneath it all

PRECISION COMBAT, POWERED BY SKYBORN MIGHT
Unleash devastating combos by seamlessly chaining melee strikes, spellcasting, and weapon techniques. WUCHANG’s signature Skyborn Might system lets you adapt to enemy threats in real-time, turning every encounter into a test of timing, positioning, and raw skill. Empowering and tactical, this is combat designed to make you feel unstoppable, if you’ve earned it.

BOSS FIGHTS THAT PUSH YOU TO THE BRINK
Each boss is a fearsome spectacle of myth and menace. Expect unique move sets, high-pressure mechanics, and visual designs that stay with you long after the battle ends. Victory is never handed out; it’s earned through mastery. Join the few who have overcome overwhelming odds and claim a triumph worth remembering.

YOUR BUILD. YOUR PATH. YOUR LEGEND.
Equip a diverse array of outfits, weapons, accessories, and spell loadouts to tailor your approach. Through the Impetus Repository, allocate skill points to enhance attributes and unlock powerful abilities, enabling a progression path that reflects your unique playstyle. Defeat formidable bosses and absorb their signature powers to expand your arsenal. This interconnected system lets you evolve into a warrior shaped by your strategy, choices, and mastery.

INNER DEMON SYSTEM: POWER AT A COST
The mark of the Inner Demon grows with each kill and death, increasing your attack power while making you more vulnerable. Push too far, and the demon will take form, an unforgiving mirror of your own strength. Defeat it or lose what you’ve gained. This is a system built on tension, where every fight carries weight, and every mistake may come back swinging.

A RICH INTERCONNECTED WORLD TO EXPLORE
Journey through a hauntingly beautiful land inspired by Ming Dynasty China, where forgotten temples, cursed villages, and shadowed ruins form a vast, interconnected world. Every path hides secrets, and each shortcut changes how you explore. Fully voiced characters, high-fidelity visuals, and an atmospheric soundscape bring this dark realm to life. Your decisions shape the story, unlocking multiple endings and revealing new layers with every step.

 

[Lovestorm]

Some hands on previews that showcase the gameplay, combat systems, enemies and such.

 

[Zazen]

I’ll most likely get it because there’s not much else listed for the summer yet. I know it’s Chinese rather than Japanese but the enemy design reminds me of Nioh. My only concern is how it will run on consoles. China doesn’t have a big console market so their games target higher end PCs. Concerned that it will won’t run at a stable framerate. It looks like UE5 which I’ve also come to hate.

 

[Lovestorm]

Reviews are starting to drop,

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Review - Come for the Art, Stay for the Pain

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a new action RPG/Soulslike set during the end of the Ming Dynasty and focused on brutal, challenging combat.

cogconnected.com

84/100

It’s Complicated​

As a Soulslike player with tens of thousands of hours invested in the genre, I came away from Wuchang: Fallen Feathers with a complex mix of emotions. It’s one of the best-looking of the recent Soulslikes, and when its combat feels balanced, it is a lot of fun. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is encumbered by a few too many mechanics, sluggish animations, boss fights that need a tune up and slow progression. But it’s also a value-priced, substantial game with multiple endings and the potential for long-term play beyond the credits. It treads extremely familiar ground to be sure. Its greatest appeal might be to those devoted Soulslike players who are looking for an unadulterated old school challenge with up-to-date production values and new systems to learn.

The Good​

• Beautiful, detailed environments
• Challenging combat
• Lots of build variety within its systems
• Substantial content for modest price

The Bad​

• Some overcomplicated mechanics
• Bosses need balancing
• Progress is pretty slow
• Unimpressive audio

 

[Lovestorm]

FightinCowboy has a review scheduled for later as well,

 

[Zazen]

I have it downloaded on my PS5 Pro. Between this, DK Banaza, and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound next ill be busy until the fall gets here which is pretty much game after game that I’m interested in.

 

[Lovestorm]

Overwhelmingly negative reviews on steam. Performance is said to be pretty bad.

 

[Valhoven]

Overwhelmingly negative reviews on steam. Performance is said to be pretty bad.

Ah, bummer. PC and PS performance bad or only PC?

 

[GtehMVP]

Overwhelmingly negative reviews on steam. Performance is said to be pretty bad.

eesh, glad I didn't waste my time. Unreal Engine 5 slop strikes again.

I liked what I heard about it from Fighting Cowboy and Ziostorm. Bloodborne-like frantic gameplay with Dark Souls 1 level design.

I'm not sure what Cowboy was playing on, but Zio was on PS5, so maybe that's better @Valhoven

Stellar Blade is probably the best UE5 game I've played at launch and even that was spotty, needed a mod. I hope the Cyberpunk 2 devs are working closely with Epic, as I'm getting tired of these shitty PC launches.

 

[Lovestorm]

Ah, bummer. PC and PS performance bad or only PC?

PS5 from what i've read can have stable graphics with performance mode/lock FPS on/motion blur off/depth of field high.

I'll be able to find out myself soon as i ended up buying it.

 

[Zazen]

Image quality isn't that great but it's not unplayable. Haven't had many issues with framerate playing on PS5 Pro.

With every game that releases I feel more validated in buying the Pro. PC just has so many issues at launch and I just don't want to spend my already limited time messing around with settings.

So far from what I've played it's a solid 8 out of 10 experience. I'm only in the first region but I enjoy the forest setting with temples. A lot of cool looking buddhas built into the cliffs along the way that I stop and look at. There's more exploration here than I thought there would be. I played Wukong trial and never bought it because it just felt like a boss rush mode with very little substance. This feels like a proper Souls experience. I'm not sure how the story will be, don't feel invested. Character is just a pretty face with not much interesting about her or at least not yet. Feels like they could have down a create your own character and it wouldn't have changed anything. The combat is what you would expect, very inspired by games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. A big positive is the flexibility you can have with character builds. There's a giant skill grid and unlike other souls games you don't simply pick a stat and level up, the stats here are bonuses you get along the skill path you choose. For example, if you choose a heavy magic user path then there will be more nodes that reward magic points. However, you never really feel forced into a path. There are multiple branches so you can still sort of choose the stats you primarily want to focus on. I'm going longsword path for now since I found that weapon to be most useful. Early game been prioritizing the vitality point nodes above others because I just want to survive longer.

Anyway, going on a bit longer than I wanted to lol. I'd say wait a few patches regardless of what you're playing on but I do think there's a lot of potential here. I'll continue to play on the PS5 Pro patch or not since I think it doesn't run nearly as poorly as Wukong does. At least for PS5 Pro owners, I think Wuchang is the better optimized one of the two recent Chinese games.

 

[Kratos94]

This game isn't at the top of my list, but will pick it up on sale.

 

[Cantalope]

I've heard pretty good things. Does it really run that bad on PC?

 

[Zazen]

I've heard pretty good things. Does it really run that bad on PC?

Yes based on reviews it seems to be really bad on PC. Base PS5 seems to have issues too. I'm playing on PS5 Pro in performance mode and not having any major issues. Probably one of the few that has been having a really good time with it. There's still a lot of room for improvement, even on the Pro the image quality could be better and less stuttering but it's nothing that bothers me.

 

[Valhoven]

Yes based on reviews it seems to be really bad on PC. Base PS5 seems to have issues too. I'm playing on PS5 Pro in performance mode and not having any major issues. Probably one of the few that has been having a really good time with it. There's still a lot of room for improvement, even on the Pro the image quality could be better and less stuttering but it's nothing that bothers me.

Is there a lot of pop-in for draw distance as you traverse the open world and eye afar or is that pretty stable, normal? Game has been on my wishlist for what feels forever.

 

[Cantalope]

Yes based on reviews it seems to be really bad on PC. Base PS5 seems to have issues too. I'm playing on PS5 Pro in performance mode and not having any major issues. Probably one of the few that has been having a really good time with it. There's still a lot of room for improvement, even on the Pro the image quality could be better and less stuttering but it's nothing that bothers me.

Thanks. I'll give it a little time to see if they do some updates.

 

[Zazen]

Is there a lot of pop-in for draw distance as you traverse the open world and eye afar or is that pretty stable, normal? Game has been on my wishlist for what feels forever.

I haven’t noticed any pop in but the image isn’t crystal clear when looking at distant objects. It’s completely playable on the pro as long as you have it in performance mode. Probably could still use a patch or two but I’m going to keep at it even without the patch because I’m not really bothered by it and am having a good time.

 

[Roxxo]

Playing on PC and it seems to run fine for me. Didn't play before the first patch, so I don't really know how much that improved things.

 

[GtehMVP]

Playing on PC and it seems to run fine for me. Didn't play before the first patch, so I don't really know how much that improved things.

Nice, looks like they put out two patches now. What are your specs and what are the settings you're running at, if you don't mind?

 

[Zazen]

I hope people don’t give up on this game because of performance. I finished the next two areas after the forest and I still think it’s great. I love the locations in this game. Some of them are terrifying. The whole game has been very immersive so far because of how well made these areas are. Definitely the best thing about the game imo. There are some frustrating things though like how many enemies come out of nowhere or drop from ceilings. A lot of traps too that give you nasty status effects. It’s really like old school dark souls and less like their most recent stuff.