Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty PC Demo Impressions

In right this moment’s gaming local weather, releasing a free demo is emblematic of a developer’s utmost confidence — much more so on PC, a platform that has constantly acquired the quick finish of the stick by way of optimisation. Team Ninja’s newest, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, exhibits some promise — it is a theatrical dark-fantasy getaway that appears like a lovechild born of Nioh and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The quick demo offers us a peek into its China-set lore and showcases its flashy fight in addition to new options that may ease your journey inoto the intimidating Souls-like expertise. However, for a sport that is merely days away from launch, it additionally exposes some microstutters and a serious problem with keyboard and mouse controls.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo impressions: PC controls and digital camera

As a Koei Tecmo-published title, management points on PC had been considerably anticipated, however I commend Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s controls for being far easier than these of the Nioh collection of video games from which it feels descended. Keyboard + mouse button prompts may be enabled, which is a serious step up from 2021’s Nioh 2 PC port, which solely confirmed controller button icons it doesn’t matter what scheme you used. Sure, this was fastened in a patch, however till that occurred, gamers had been pressured to spend time acquainting themselves with the mapping.

Camera controls within the Wo Long demo additionally aren’t as much as par, and fail to reply effectively when utilizing a mouse. Even after maxing the in-game sensitivity setting, I could not shake the sensation of shifting by means of sludge, because the digital camera would decelerate at factors after which a sudden jerk would flip it round. This was pretty widespread with vertical motion and when operating across the map. Switching to a DualSense controller made the expertise clean and snappy. As somebody who has performed each Souls-like on a KB+M setup, the swap wasn’t simple, so I consistently swapped between high and low mouse DPI settings based mostly on the scenario. Thankfully, this did not pose a giant drawback throughout fight, as I may merely lock on to enemies.

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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo impressions: Premise and character creation

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty throws you right into a fictionalised model of the later Han Dynasty in China, plagued with demonic forces. Meanwhile, a mysterious Taoist in Black clings to the best of the Elixir — a uncommon substance that seemingly grants immortality. Amidst the insanity and everlasting bloodshed of the instances, a hero rises, who we construct within the character creation display screen. I’d recommend going all-out with the customisation right here since free demo progress carries over to the complete sport. You would possibly as effectively save your self a while after launch. The creation choices right here, whereas in-depth, are refined, so any main modifications to your character’s look will not be evident until you drag a slider to its excessive ends. Unlike Dark Souls, you possibly can’t actually fiddle with loopy pores and skin color to create a pasty inexperienced Grinch or a blue Smurf, both. The most you will get is a light-weight olive tone.

After deciding on a base determine — male or feminine — you possibly can fiddle with their facial construction, coiffure, and make-up; even together with some dashing scars. Each eye may be edited to look a definite color, with changes to pupil shapes and sizes. You may even stretch ears to resemble these of an elf. Pick a great physique, enhance your physique with tattoos, add an elongated neck for impact — these are simply a few of your choices. None of this has any impact in your stats, although.

There’s a restrict to how absurdly artistic you will get along with your characters
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Rahul Chettiyar

You begin out as a anonymous soldier combating the Yellow Turban Rebellion and ultimately develop right into a legend. If you are quick on time, choose a mannequin from the quite a few character templates, considered one of whom is a spitting picture of William Adams, the protagonist from Nioh. Cool easter egg!

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo impressions: Gameplay and fight

The newest free demo consists of two key Chapters, the primary of which locations you in a village engulfed in flames with sparks flying about. The framerate is somewhat tough and uneven right here, partly because of smoke and particle results, although these remained constant even in fight, in my expertise. Enabling V-sync and movement blur barely had an impact on efficiency, which was disappointing. Things obtained smoother within the boss space and past, however I can see this opening phase leaving a nasty impression on many individuals. The second space ran close to buttery clean at a constant 60fps, however with minor hiccups.

Sekiro veterans will really feel proper at dwelling right here, as Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s gameplay depends on completely timed parries. You can strive evading or blocking enemy assaults, however that may lead result in needlessly lengthy and drawn-out fights. Foes are smarter right here, so they may keep en garde so long as you retain spamming assaults. And so, you stay affected person. You wait till the final second — once they’re nearly to hit you — after which shortly deflect the assault, throwing them off steadiness to get a few strikes in. Repeat the method as soon as the enemy reassumes their defensive stance, and you have mainly mastered the core gameplay loop. However, depleting their well being bars is not the one strategy to obtain victory.

‘Hesitation is defeat,’ a quote from Sekiro, matches completely within the context of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s fight
Photo Credit: Koei Tecmo

“Hesitation is defeat” is a quote from Sekiro that matches completely on this context. You see, the sport has a Spirit Gauge that fills up as you efficiently land hits or deflect incoming ones, granting you the power to make use of martial arts, Spirit (heavy) assaults, and Wizardry Spells. The solely method to make sure that its degree stays up is to play aggressively, however beware, as getting hit by an enemy not solely reduces your Spirit, however your well being too. That mentioned, it really works the identical method with baddies, so you can unload a barrage of assaults till their Spirit Gauges are drained, basically staggering them and leaving them open to a deadly blow. It’s the identical posture bar mechanic that Sekiro has, the place your adversaries can have one hundred pc well being, however when you break their stance, it is GGs.

There’s a steep studying curve to this fight fashion, particularly when combating demons with flailing movesets. But as soon as it clicks, you realise that each battle is a dance, with the metallic clang of weapons serving as beats. There is a selected rhythm to it that you have to discover.

The boss Zhang Liang has a terrifying second part the place he grows a flailing demonic arm
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Rahul Chettiyar

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo Impressions: Exploration and looting

Compared to the Nioh video games, exploration is extra open, with a concentrate on verticality. You can leap onto huts to find a gap within the roof that leads inside or seek for loot elsewhere on the planet. Who is aware of? You would possibly come throughout helpful shortcuts alongside the way in which. If you are fortunate sufficient, you possibly can purchase higher weapons, every catering to a special playstyle. The Polearm Podao that I discovered early within the sport helped create a long way between myself and foes, while dealing swift piercing injury. On the opposite hand, the Great Club of Polaris, which I earned by defeating the primary boss, Zhang Liang, dealt excessive injury numbers however was too heavy and sluggish for my liking. While you possibly can beat the sport with a single weapon, switching them based mostly on enemy assault patterns is the best strategy to go. Additionally, if combating a gaggle head-on feels scary, merely whip out your bow and arrow, and shoot them from afar — one after the other.

Weapons cater to totally different playstyles and scale with particular attributes
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Rahul Chettiyar

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo Impressions: Morale system

Difficulty in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty ties right into a Morale system, which is indicated by a floating quantity above every enemy’s head, serving to you gauge whether or not it is protected to have interaction them in fight or not. Think of it as a secondary levelling, so the upper your Morale rank, the stronger you might be. However, in the event you die to an opponent, you lose the XP you collected all through your run, and your Morale resets. Death ends in the enemy stealing your Morale, and the one strategy to get it again is to kill the being who beat you final time — solely now, they’re method stronger. Still, it is nothing a couple of completely timed deflects cannot resolve.

Some of this resetting may be mitigated through Fortitude, which may be raised by putting flags at designated posts, stopping your Morale from ever dropping to absolute zero. For occasion, in the event you collected 8 Fortitude, regardless of what number of instances you die, your Morale is not going to fall beneath 8. This ensures you’ve gotten a greater probability at redemption. The free Wo Long demo additionally features a quality-of-life indicator within the top-right nook — a radar of kinds and icons that denote any remaining flagposts you possibly can acquire.

Morale is indicated by a floating quantity above the enemy’s heads
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Rahul Chettiyar

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo impressions: Levelling

Flagposts additionally function checkpoints — or bonfires, as they’re referred to as in Dark Souls — for levelling up your character and resetting illnesses. These are divided into 5 phases or virtues. Wood impacts your HP, Fire determines Spirit build-up when attacking, and Earth signifies your gear weight restrict. The Metal attribute lessens Spirit consumption when casting spells, and Water helps with stealth. In the early phases of this sport, Wood would possibly look like the only option, however when you grasp the artwork of deflection, you will realise how rather more potent the opposite phases are. Some of those assist with weapon scaling, granting bonus injury relying on what armament you are wielding. Furthermore, these posts additionally allow you to fast-travel to different checkpoints, summon AI or gamers on-line for co-op, and even be taught Wizardry Spells.

You can degree up your character at Flagposts
Photo Credit: Screenshot/ Rahul Chettiyar

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo impressions: Wizardry Spells

All spells within the Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty demo align instantly with the 5 aforementioned components. Fire is extra offence-based, letting you hurl fireballs, summon pillars of flame, or imbue weapons with momentary buffs. Alternatively, choosing water-based magic can briefly flip you invisible, ship out a blinding fog, teleport you quick distances, and even allow you to throw sharp icicles that freeze and decelerate enemies. Poison or curse purists can dump their factors into the Metal class, whereas lighting assaults and the power to heal your self align with Wood. There’s lots to experiment with right here.

You can solely maintain 4 Wizardry Spells at a time, which I personally assume is enough. On keyboard, they’re assigned to the 1–4 quantity keys for fast entry — no unnecessarily lengthy combos. My solely gripe with spells is the casting time, which may very well be decreased. You may summon Divine Beasts to come back in and deal harmful injury, if you’re in a pickle.

By studying Wizardry Spells, you possibly can summon bolts of lightning to rain down on enemies
Photo Credit: Koei Tecmo

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo impressions: Closing ideas

The PC demo for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, very like different Koei Tecmo releases, actually has points with optimisation and keyboard + mouse controls. However, when you look previous that, it affords a hard-to-master but rewarding fight system, versatile exploration in an in any other case linear world, and instruments to ease your playthrough. As an extension of the punishingly tough Nioh video games, the studio is clearly catering to a bigger viewers with its newest launch, and this free demo serves as an important showcase to see if it fits you. Beneath all of the mythology-inspired visible glamour, I think the narrative will contain some well-worn tropes, however as a online game, it exhibits deep promise. Plus, this sport will likely be out there totally free to Xbox Game Pass members, which is all the time a optimistic!

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty releases March 3 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. The demo is now out there to obtain totally free throughout all platforms, with progress carrying over to the complete launch.

Finishing the demo grants entry to a Crouching Dragon Helmet DLC.