Action perfected.
Since 1996, Team Ninja has been a recognizable force in gaming. While they started their legacy with Dead or Alive, it wasn’t until 2004’s Ninja Gaiden that the team would be known for their capability to craft some of the best action games ever made. While Team Ninja certainly was inspired by the Soulslike formula created by Fromsoftware, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is nonetheless a definitive Team Ninja experience, a stunning culmination of nearly everything the studio has built over the past two decades.
Wo Long is not Team Ninja’s first attempt at taking a stab at the Soulslike as both Nioh and its stunning sequel served as fine examples of Team Ninja’s take on not just adapting the Fromsoft design, but how their style of action would complement the experience itself. Countless developers have attempted to carve a place in the genre for years, with few coming close, but Team Ninja’s experience at creating defining action spectacles has certainly granted them a seat at the table.
While Wo Long is set within the confines of real Chinese history, it certainly takes substantial liberties with the addition of monsters, mythical beasts, and magic. Set in the final days of the Han Dynasty, you’ll take up the sword of a nameless warrior who is immediately killed in action as the Yellow Turban Army is laying waste to a nearby village. However, the blindfolded young man you attempted to save resurrects you, granting you powerful abilities as you join forces to stop this unrelenting evil.
The narrative that follows is weaved around a magical and sacred substance called the Elixir that can grant unimaginable power to its keeper, one that can cause monstrous mutations upon contact or even that of immortality. Throughout the story, the Elixir itself becomes the property of various individuals, used in different ways, and all of it controlled and manipulated by an evil force behind the scenes.
As you attempt to put an end to the puppet master of these events, the nameless warrior will create unshakable bonds with a host of characters, all with goals and ambitions of their own, often united against a common foe. From betrayal to sacrifice, to the bonds of friendship, you’ll fight alongside these allies in your attempt to free this land from evil.
The game itself uses a few different methods to convey its story. You’ll have main battlefields that feature plenty of cutscenes and move the story forward, as well as sub battlefields that are bite-size quests located in the main battlefield environments. While most of these are extremely basic objectives, a few of these only consist of a single encounter, usually a test of strength against a few of your allies.
Wo Long itself feels like the evolution of where Team Ninja left off with Nioh 2, while also taking in combat elements from another of Fromsoftware’s legendary titles; Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Its reliance on its parry system over the conventional dodging or blocking systems, allows Wo Long to be as agile and fluid as its inspiration. Wo Long, like most of Team Ninja’s catalog, is often brutal, a difficulty that will see players needing to master all of its systems, but most notably, its deflect system.
In fact, players who cannot come to grips with its timing and challenge will not see much of the game as the tutorial boss himself is actually the most challenging fight across the 50+ hour adventure. Now, that comes with the sizable caveat of co-op not being accessible until after the battle, but honestly, I spent longer on that fight than half a dozen of the game’s bosses combined. This challenge is a substantial skill check that forces you to understand the mechanics during a two-phase battle, a challenge that is incredibly focused on ensuring you have mastered the timing to the last possible second.
The deflect skill is used across all main and off-hand weapon types, from swords, axes, hammers, and spears, to daggers, halberds, poleaxes, and more. You’ll have a robust assortment of weapons to choose from, easily allowing you to find a favorite or two. In my case, I opted for the Chivalrous Swordsman Dual Swords, a pair of dual swords that would propel me toward my foe with a twirling attack called Sudden Tornado. My secondary weapon was consistently the White Wooden Cudgel, which could be immediately swapped to either through the standard weapon select or amidst a particular weapon attack combo, thus allowing me to swap the weapon while attacking. The Cudgel itself was great to use, but oddly enough it was the "bonk" sound it made that kept it from leaving my kit.
Each weapon has what are called Martial Art attacks, powerful skills that range based on the tier rarity of the weapon. Each class of weapons has different Martial Arts equipped to them, even amongst the same weapon type. One pair of dual swords I found performed a fairly useful defensive backflip, another with a forward slash, as well as the Sudden Tornado attack I always was on the lookout for.
While portions of its combat will allow for a random flurry of standard button-mashy attacks as you lay down an onslaught of slashes, strikes, and slams, the greater threats will require you to pull off last-second deflects in order to significantly excel in combat. This is due to a Spirit Gauge that determines what you are capable of at any given moment.
As you deflect attacks, dodge, cast magic, perform Spirit attacks, or use your Martial Arts skills, these actions will consume your Spirit Gauge. Once it is empty, you’ll have to rely on standard attacks and performing deflections to replenish your gauge, less you get stunned for a few crucial seconds. This causes you to be methodical in how you approach combat and how much you take on at any given time.
Each enemy you encounter from the smallest grunt to the fiendish monster is also compliant with this same Spirit Gauge system. And, should you deplete their Spirit stock, they will stand open for a Fatal Strike, cutting into their health bar significantly. This is how you often win encounters. As you get more proficient with your deflecting, some battles can be often trivial as you’ll fight circles around them.
Enemies strike at you with two basic attacks, a simple strike that can be deflected, and a Critical Blow attack that is indicated in red. By deflecting these red attacks, you’ll lower the size of their Spirit Gauge, allowing you to deplete it considerably faster, resulting in the ability to pull off that Fatal Strike maneuver far quicker. Should you fail to take advantage of this reduced meter, then the foe can shrug off those limits and return back to a full-size bar. Wo Long is about being aggressive but quick to react to any and all incoming attacks, deflecting each and every one if you have any hope to survive.
From sound effects to visuals, pulling off Martial Arts and Fatal Strikes are immensely satisfying if sometimes a bit too flashy, creating a lot of unintentional visual chaos when you have swirling orange magic consuming most of the screen, especially when the camera pulls in close for a Fatal Strike. Still, each powerful attack feels as such, showcasing your might in all its glory. Even the most basic of attacks are deeply satisfying to pull off, regardless of your weapon of choice. This resulted in wanting to explore every nook and cranny that the game offered me, simply due to how engaging the combat flow remained. And, with each level hiding various potion upgrades and chests full of loot, exploring levels to their fullest was consistently rewarded.
Working alongside your central weapons, are a few additional items and gear that can prove useful in a pinch. As you find them, you can equip both a bow and a crossbow, each varied in power and capabilities. Bows allow you to freely move while aiming, whereas the crossbows I’ve used kept me stationary, but packed a punch. You can also equip throwing knives, fire pots, and even pebbles if you are looking to tick something off. There are also several equippable accessories that each have their own set of stats.
Very soon after you make it past the tutorial level, you’ll encounter the Blacksmith, Zhu Xia. It is here where you can upgrade your weapons and armor with the leather scraps and steel you’ll find, with higher-tier materials being rewarded for higher-level quests. And, you'll also be able to embed or extract jewels into your gear, which further allow you to add specific stats to weapons and armor, such as Spirit Gauge perks or additional HP. You can also decorate items via a transmog system, as well as salvage items into their raw materials or simply sell them, using that money to stock up on arrows and the like.
Now, while outfitting your character with powerful attacks, weapons, and armor is one thing, Morale Rank is a component of Wo Long that illustrates just how powerful you are within each level. Your Morale Rank affects your strength in battle, and the same goes for your enemies. If you attempt to take on enemies who have a far higher Morale Rank than you, your encounter is not likely going to go well. On the flip side, should you take on enemies or bosses with a much higher Morale Rank than theirs, then you’ll have the edge in battle that just might see you come out on top. In fact, I've often first-tried several bosses due to having considerably higher Morale Rank than them.
Morale is gained during battle as well as by planting Battle Flags and Marking Flags. Discovery of each flag will increase the threshold of your Morale Rank, preventing it from being reduced below that threshold upon your death. Battle Flags, however, are how you level up your character, recharge your Dragon’s Cure Potions, as well as travel to new destinations or access Wo Long’s co-op features. And, by resting, enemies will respawn all around you in a typical fashion. Most Battle Flags are protected, requiring you to defeat the protectors of that flag, each marked with a special icon next to their health/spirit gauge. When they are defeated, the Battle Flag can then be used and those particular foes will not return.
Adding to combat are Wizardry Spells that are part of the five core phases; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each spell requires a specific level of virtue, which are the pillars of your character’s leveling system. Spells also require that you have a specific Morale Rank within combat to even access them. These spells range from creating an area where allies take less damage, spawning an icy trap at your feet, or allowing allies to regain health as they deal damage to enemies, regardless of how minimal its health gain truly is. For the most part, these spells help in small ways without being a true avenue to build any sort of damage-dealing magic build around them.
As mentioned, Virtue is how you’ll upgrade your character’s core stats as you gather the game’s leveling currency, which is called Genuine Qi. Each subsequent level requires more each time you level up, and honestly, earning Qi comes pretty quickly, especially if you respond to online requests for aid. When you’ve earned enough Qi to level up your character, you’ll choose from the aforementioned Vitue categories. Each Virtue handles different elements, from HP to attack, to how effective your Spirit Defense and Gain are. While it is possible to craft particular builds or classes by focusing on certain Virtues, the game has a pretty open system that allows you to respec as often as you want.
Another important aspect of the game are the Divine Beasts, or as I liked to call them “Who’s that Pokemon??”. As you form bonds with each of your allies, you’ll gain access to their Divine Beast through a broken amulet you earn within the game’s opening moments. This allows you to use these mythical beasts to create a massive healing pool for your allies, to unleashing a large tiger that pounces at nearby foes. Each Divine Beasts ability also grants your weapon elemental damage while it’s active as well, which is crucial since certain elements do more damage against others.
Upon completion of the game's opening tutorial level, should you make it that far, Wo Long opens up to allow online co-op as well as allowing you to start gaining allies to recruit and bring along with you. Two other adventurers can join you at almost any given time, regardless of them being AI, real people, or a mixture of both. Real players can join you one of two ways, either as a recruit within that instance, sent back to their own game once that stage's boss has been slain or should they also die, or via co-op in a fresh instance of that level, which allows them to stay with you long after the boss has been slain.
The recruiting system works well, allowing you to respond to players that are needing help in a certain mission and the experience rewards for doing so are quite decent. However, my only issue with the recruitment system is that being a recruit prevents you from unlocking flags or opening chests, making your impact here feel disappointingly minimal.
While I've played a good chunk of the game on my own, alongside a pair of AI teammates, a few of the game's more challenging foes were extremely satisfying to take out with other players. While your AI allies are functional, they don’t quite pull off the same advanced techniques to aid in breaking the Spirit Gauge of your foe. That said, each ally can be leveled up with continued use, making them more powerful and you'll unlock their outfit when they have been maxed out, resulting in owning a wealth of kick-ass outfits.
The large majority of my playthrough on Xbox Series X was through its performance mode, issuing a pretty rock solid framerate, regardless of any of the intensity of a tough battle. However, I noticed that performance mode had a significant amount of small detail pop-in throughout a few locations, most notably in environments that were daytime towns. Shadows and small details would pop-in pretty frequently, regardless of walking or running through these locations. While both resolution and performance mode both ran the game at 60fps, I noticed the pop-in occurred more frequently under this setting, despite the game looking slightly crisper. As for any technical issues, I had a single crash and a scenario where my HDR wasn't working correctly, forcing me to reboot the game.
Wo Long was tremendous fun, creating a fast-paced adventure that never let up. Its combat soars, its boss encounters were always impressive, and the world itself was a joy to explore, often rewarding me with new gear or shortcuts to take advantage of. Regardless of playing most of this adventure with random players, either via mic or in complete silence, I had a fantastic time having players fight alongside me or coming to the aid of a player struggling on a particular fight. Wo Long's initial skill check may throw a lot of people off the title, but pushing through it opens the doors to one absolutely incredible adventure. With the title being available on Game Pass, Wo Long is a must-play, so please give it a shot and stick with it.
Developer - Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo. Publisher - Koei Tecmo. Released - March 3rd, 2023. Available On - Xbox One/Series X/S, PS4/PS5, Windows. Rated - (M) Blood and Gore, Violence. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was downloaded and played on Xbox Game Pass.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.