Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is the latest Soulslike effort from Team NINJA, the same ultra-talented group of bods that gave us the superb Nioh games. Shifting the action from Sengoku Japan to Three Kingdoms era China, it’s already shaping up to be one of the best action RPGs of the year.
Be sure to keep this guide in your favourites as we go through everything you need to know about Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty including the release date, platforms, gameplay details, story details, demo availability, latest trailer and more.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Release Date, Platforms
The Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty release date has been confirmed as March 3, 2023. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be receiving a full release on PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store, as well as PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S platforms. As of this writing, it is currently not slated to release on Nintendo Switch.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – What’s It All About?
Unfurling its narrative tapestry across the Chinese Three Kingdoms era, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty puts players into the well-worn battle boots of a nameless soldier as they attempt to fight through a mythological dark fantasy that takes in all manner of corrupted warriors, fierce demons and a mysterious elixir that seemingly holds the key to immortality. With deep roots in Chinese mythology and traditional Chinese martial arts, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty provides players with a delectable setting for its Soulslike shenanigans that just really hasn’t been seen before.
How Does Exploration Work?
Though it plays broadly similar to Team NINJA’s Nioh titles, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty actually has more than a few tricks up its sleeve to ensure that it stands on its own two feet away from its genre stablemates. Certainly though the world is somewhat linear with a similar scope for exploration that was recognisable in the Nioh games, the addition of a jump button now means that there are all new areas that can be leapt across to and explored that previously wouldn’t have been possible.
How Does Combat Work?
Being a Soulslike, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty generally prides itself on having highly challenging combat with satisfaction that scales appropriately to the level of skill possessed by the player. Sitting at the core of Wo Long’s combat system is the concept of Qi, a resource that can be replenished by raising your Spirit level (heh) *cough* by smacking bad dudes and which also provides the necessary juice to power everything from devastating spells to bone-breaking martial arts techniques. The thing is, the opposition also has Spirit and with it they can use it to flatten you extremely quickly if you’re not prepared. Luckily, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty provides no shortages of ways for you to be just that.
One way that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty empowers the player is through a disruptive parry move that will immediately prove familiar (and likely preferable) for anyone that has had even a passing interest in fellow Soulslike Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, substantially depleting the Spirit of your foes if successful. Elsewhere, an extremely damaging Fatal Strike attack can be unleashed on unaware and low Spirit enemies, sometimes vanquishing them entirely in a single hit. Finally, in addition to a massive range of elemental spell based attacks, players can also summon one of five different “Divine Beasts’ during combat that can lay waste to enemies or provide passive buffs.
How Does Loot Work?
One of the more surprising aspects of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s design is how the concept of loot is handled. Sitting alongside the central notion of Spirit in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is the Morale Rank system which finds itself essentially twinned with Wo Long’s loot system. What all that means is that both players and enemies carry a Morale Rank that provides an abstraction of their perceived ‘power level’ – an enemy with higher Morale Rank than you will be much harder to defeat than one that has a lower Morale Rank. Where things get interesting though, is in how Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty provides exceptional and higher quality gear for those players that elect to tackle enemies of a higher Morale Rank. With the obvious flipside to this arrangement being that you can end up being one-shotted into crimson paste, the Morale Rank system provides Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty with a highly enticing risk/reward system to keep players engaged.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Demo – Can I Try Before I Buy?
As it turns out, there is in fact a Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty demo that players can get stuck into prior to the release of the game on March 3, 2023. The last demo to be released ahead of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty arriving on shop shelves, this final taster of Team NINJA’s latest Soulslike offering allows players to rampage around the entire first two chapters of the game, while also offering a complete suite of online multiplayer functionality to boot. Even better still, not only can save data from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty final demo be transferred across to the final game, but by completing the first chapter players will also earn the “Crouching Dragon Helmet” which can be redeemed on day one, too.
The final demo for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X platforms from February 23, 2023 @ 08:00 GMT/03:00 EST through to March 27, 2023 @ 06:59 GMT/01:59 EST.
Where Can I Watch The Latest Trailer?
As of this writing, the latest trailer for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a story focused video that delves into the narrative of the game. Spilling the beans on the mysterious elixir that seemingly holds the key to immortality, not to mention spreading demonic corruption across the Three Kingdoms like wildfire, it’s fair to say that the story trailer does a commendable job of setting the scene for its unique brand of Soulslike flavoured, demon-mashing action. You can watch the latest trailer for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty above.
Shop for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Now you’re equipped with what you need to know, head over to our Green Man Gaming shop to pick up Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty for PC at a price you’re sure to love.
