Black Myth: Wukonghas really set a high standard for Wuxia games. They’ve played a huge part in putting the spotlight on Chinese game developers, and with its success came a swathe of multiple Wuxia games that will be released this year. And if you’re a huge fan ofARPG, then you’re in luck. You’ll be getting games likeAI Limit, Phantom Blade Zero, and Lost Soul Asideto name a few, which are titles from PlayStation’s China Hero Project. Recently, I got the chance to watch a new gameplay reveal forWuchang: Fallen Feathersthat just dropped, and in this article, I’ll be going over that. But first, we have to know what Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is.
What Is Wuchang: Fallen Feathers?
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a Soulslike ARPG developed by Leenzee, a Chinese game studio that was founded in 2016. They are based in Chengdu, China. They’ve previously developed a game called A.D. 2047 which is a VR game that can be described as an interactive movie game. This will probably be the studio’s first ARPG game. One interesting thing you have to know is that this game isn’t part of the China Hero Project, so it won’t be just a PlayStation exclusive with a PC release like with the other China Hero Project games we know. That means you can expect this title on Xbox as well.
The game has been compared to Stellar Blade because both ARPG games have really good-looking protagonists, along with having some polished combat mechanics. Not everyone is a fan of these sorts of designs though, and it has experienced some backlash from people because of it.
The game has been generating some buzz recently thanks to the hands-on previews and gameplay footage that were dropped. These previews are good enough to impress fans who are already looking for the next game to play after Black Myth: Wukong. And I’m sure Wuchang is looking to ride the waves generated by Black Myth: Wukong.
Story And Setting
The game is set during the late Ming Dynasty, a turbulent period filled with mystery and intrigue. You get to take on the role of Wuchang, a skilled pirate warrior suffering from amnesia and a mysterious condition called the Feathering Disease. This affliction, though pretty much largely unexplained, is deeply tied to the game’s narrative and is a huge part of both the story and gameplay. The Ming Dynasty was a time of intense political and social turmoil, and Wuchang adds a supernatural twist, crafting a dark, immersive world brimming with danger, intrigue, and mystery. Its story blends real historical events with mythological creatures, folklore, and eerie supernatural forces.The game takes you to actual Ancient China that is filled with political corruption, warring factions, and ancient, vengeful spirits. And I think it’s pretty cool that you’ll get to actual historical places there. It’s like a supernatural version of Ancient China since it’s crawling with demons, spirits, and whatnot.
Gameplay And Thoughts
Talking about the game, it seems pretty standard for a Soulslike. It even comes with the standard interconnected maps, along with the methodical action-heavy combat that punishes you if you mistime an attack or get too greedy with exploiting an enemy’s opening, and a strong emphasis on dodging and parrying. As for the gameplay, particularly the combat, it’s pretty fast-paced which is uncommon to Soulslikes, given how you’d generally want to approach enemies with caution. The game has also been compared to Sekiro with how fluid the combat is, which says a whole lot since Sekiro has one of the most fluid combat I’ve ever seen. And I’m only saying that it reminds me of how Sekiro is, and that people aren’t actually saying it does toe-to-toe with Sekiro. Do I think the game’s combat is on par with Sekiro’s? based on what I’ve seen from the game footage, no. But come on, it’s Sekiro. Nothing matches Sekiro when it comes to fluidity.
It also looks like players can go with their own playstyles by choosing from a variety of weapons and skills, and it seems like the game will have a very expansive skill tree, so I guess you’ll be able to create your own builds for this game. The skill customization is complex enough to let you have some flexibility in your character builds. And you also get to do some mystical stuff here, like casting what looks like spells. I’m not entirely sure what they do, but it looks like you’re casting buffs and you can also fire off some glowing projectiles that do some very significant damage. There was this one cool spell where you jump up and throw a red spear-like projectile into an enemy, and it looks like you’re The Greek god Zeus smiting someone but instead of a lightning bolt, it’s a flaming hot Cheeto.
Going into more detail about the gameplay, my first impressions from recent gameplay previews have been generally positive but I do have some gripes with how the game plays. Firstly, Wuchang’s movement outside of combat seems a bit too basic. There’s not much animation there when she’s walking while carrying her weapons or when she has them sheathed, even when she turns to face another direction it looks like her character model just snaps to that direction, it’s all pretty stiff. It’s not really a big deal, and it’s not much of a dealbreaker for me, but it’s really just something that you would not expect from a game that is releasing in 2025. Fortunately, the bad walking and running animation doesn’t translate to combat. The combat animation isn’t bad and it’s very smooth. You’d guess that the devs really put majority of their effort into refining the combat for the game.
And I also noticed some frame rate drops while watching some footage. I’m not sure if that’s just because the video’s quality when it was uploaded wasn’t good or if that’s actually what the game looks like, but I guess it’s fine for now since it’s just some early game footage but they definitely need to optimize this before the launch because if they keep that sort of jank when the game releases then it’ll definitely be a point of complaint for players. Some have also pointed out that the game only has single hitboxes when it comes to the bosses, whereas other games of the same genre actually let you get creative with how you handle bosses. Usually, games nowadays give you bosses with multiple hitboxes like how you can damage a boss’s appendages or something, which kind of gives those games some strategic feel to them.
Regarding exploration, the game looks like it will have an expansive map that you may explore, but it won’t be an open-world game, which I do appreciate. I’m not against open-world games but I’d rather just have a huge map than an expansive open but empty world. It just makes explorations meaningless, you know? But this game has interconnected maps and it also looks like the game has its own bonfire system, in the form of Shrines. You get to upgrade Wuchang there and it’s probably also where you can improve your skills. I’m not entirely sure, but this could also let you warp to other Shrines. Pretty standard for a Soulslike.
Visuals And Thoughts
Now regarding the visuals, the game looks amazing. The character designs are very impressive, particularly the enemy designs. There was this one boss fight that was shown where Wuchang was against some guy wearing a mask wielding a flaming staff. The guy actually looked very menacing. There’s also this ogre-like enemy with a giant slab for a weapon and I thought he looked kinda cool too. It’s not just the designs that should be recognized, the scenery also deserves some praise too with how beautiful it looks. The falling leaves, the way the branches of the trees sway, it all just looks so natural. This is honestly why I was a bit disappointed with how Wuchang’s walking animation looked. It just felt really out of place in a game that has the physics nailed down. There was one stage there where it was raining at night, and the way the ground glistened to show it was wet was very impressive. That along with the lightning flashes actually made it look very close to real life.
And about the visuals while in combat, I like how there are not many particle explosions during clashes. It lets you see what’s actually going on. Some games have a lot of particle explotions and they sometimes make things hard to see, especially in combat sequences where you clash a lot with the enemy. There also seem to be no visual cues here so you’ll need to be very attentive when the enemy attacks.
I’m also really curious about the glowing arm and back. I saw some gameplay footage where Wuchang’s arm flashes blue, then pink. Is it like a toggle between playstyles? Like, would it be like a mode where you’re able to attack quickly but with little damage or attack slowly but with better damage? I can’t really tell. But it does look like it flashes pink when Wuchang parries. Maybe pink means Wuchang is in defensive mode.
Final Thoughts
One thing that needs to be pointed out is that this game is using Unreal Engine 5, which is a huge reason why it looks absolutely stunning, and is also probably one of the reasons why it has framerate drops. That’s the thing with Unreal Engine 5, it’s a double-edged sword. You get mindblowing visuals but it would take a toll on your performance, unless you have a setup that can fully handle the game, so if you’re planning to play the game on PC, you’ll definitely need a very capable rig to run the game properly.
The game will be released this year 2025, but there’s no exact date provided yet. I’m guessing sometime in Q3, seeing as they are now probably at the polishing stage. I’m sure we’ll be getting more information about this game in a few weeks, maybe next month, and then maybe they’ll announce the release date by then.
Overall, the game looks impressive and I’m looking forward to its release. I’ll be pretty honest when I say that there’s nothing groundbreaking about it in terms of gameplay mechanics. What we’ve seen so far is pretty standard for a Soulslike and there’s really not much to it that sets it apart from its contemporaries, but that’s not really a bad thing. I guess you can look at it in a way that there’s no mechanic introduced in the game that would ruin it. It follows the old formula right down to the dot, but with its own unique story and setting and we can always go back to the old adage “If it’s not broken, then don’t fix it.”.
So would I recommend the game? I would. It’s your standard Soulslike with its own story and enemies to experience, and these enemies have their own new mechanics that you will need to learn. But if you’re someone who is looking for something new in the genre, then you might find that this game is a bit lacking. But maybe I’m getting too ahead of myself. There are still a lot of things we don’t know about the game after all, and there might actually be some mechanics that haven’t been introduced yet. We’ve only really gotten several minutes of gameplay footage at the moment so it might be possible. It sounds like pure copium but who knows?
That’s it for this article, I hope it helps you get a better understanding of what you’re able to expect from Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. I’d also like to know your thoughts and opinions about the game, what would you say is the one thing you’re looking forward to the most with this game, and what’s one thing you wish the devs would change about the game? Please let us know in the comments below.
