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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | Review Thread

Klosshufvud

Member
The first boss is the perfect wall. He's really good at teaching you the basics while also not punishing you for failing. Up to that point, I was very confused with the game. After defeating him, I had learned the basics.

I feel like the critics that hate on this fight miss its vital function.
 

TonyK

Member
I was having such a good time in that tutorial era, and then came the first boss and I got a rude awakening when I had "killed" him, because here was phase 2.

I hate that shit. Hated it in DS3 and I hear Sekiro is even crazier when it comes to that, like bosses where it's 3 or 4 phases. A good reason for me to never continue with that game.

This first boss would have been fine enough if it was just phase 1. He rushes you like crazy, barely have time to breath (so to speak) and it's the fucking tutorial area man, come on.

Not a fan of this. I won't give up though, neither am I going to completely ruin my good mood and scare my dog (my Stafford is super sensitive to me raging over a game, a sigh can be enough and she thinks she's done something wrong, bless her.)

We'll see.
Same here. Trying to decide if I continue attempting that shitty phase 2 or uninstall the game.
 

Acidjuice

Neo Member
Im having a frustrating time with this game so far. i got my ass kicked at the first boss until I disappointingly learned how to get good. Now the exploration is feeling like being funneled through corridors until the next cutscene and the combat is unrewarding. It feels too simplistic without giving you that real powerful feeling in combat. Its moreso just parry and juggle enemies until the screen is clear. Mostly though the FOV is KILLING me. With the narrow pathways and the lock-on system it always feels like i cant see shit unless i run around a bunch.
Scene direction however has been really cool albeit way too anime for my tastes.

Folks already on NG+++++, does it get better or just harder?
 

Orbital2060

Member
It took me a while but I finally beat Zhang Liangs ass. A steep learning curve but ultimately felt great figuring it out. Had to do it twice because I forgot how to call in the divine beast. Which has been my only issue with the game; there are a lot of systems and buttons to learn and some things are poorly explained. Its kinda old school Team Ninja in how relentless and unforgiving it can be. But its great, Im having a damn good time with it. Especially after figuring out how deflects and fatal strikes work together. Its more a Sekiro-like than a Souls-like. Its all dependant on the deflect mechanic.
 

nikos

Member
Combat in this game feels a lot better than other Souls/Soulslike games to me. I like the Spirit system, it's way more fun than having to deal with stamina and can reward a more aggressive playstyle. Parrying also feels great.

Tried co-op last night and it's done well. Progress saves for everybody, and there's a pretty nice revive system. The game also has the more traditional souls sytle co-op, if you prefer it.

I honestly didn't think I was going to like this game but I was so wrong about Wo Long. I may deserve a ban for that one.
 
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It seems to be significantly harder than the demo? In the demo I defeated the first boss after 2 times. Now I'm kind of stuck on that one. But I have to say, somehow I want to fight my way through tough games when they are from Fromsoftware. The clones have never kept me long.
yes! i'm exactly the same! what's up with this? 'ambiance', maybe?...
 

Klosshufvud

Member
Defeated the Cleric Beast/Vicar Amelia lookalike while poorly leveled. That was a great thrill. Died repeatedly but did not mind. Be careful not to go all out on the heavy gear. Not being able to parry is a death sentence.
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Defeated the Cleric Beast/Vicar Amelia lookalike while poorly leveled. That was a great thrill. Died repeatedly but did not mind. Be careful not to go all out on the heavy gear. Not being able to parry is a death sentence.
I fought that boss. One poorly timed parry will end your 3/4th downed attempt. I had a couple runs where I went in and kept missing the window. I want to make up for the time I’m waiting for his super powerful red charging attack, but the damage isn’t very noticeable. I’d run up and do a R1 + attack just to see what it does for the battle. Often times the boss’s recovery after certain move makes getting those extra hits pointless.
 

Yumi

Member
It took me a while but I finally beat Zhang Liangs ass. A steep learning curve but ultimately felt great figuring it out. Had to do it twice because I forgot how to call in the divine beast. Which has been my only issue with the game; there are a lot of systems and buttons to learn and some things are poorly explained. Its kinda old school Team Ninja in how relentless and unforgiving it can be. But its great, Im having a damn good time with it. Especially after figuring out how deflects and fatal strikes work together. Its more a Sekiro-like than a Souls-like. Its all dependant on the deflect mechanic.
How do you call in the divine beast? I’ve gotten to that stage in the fight twice but have died trying to figure out the button press haha.
 

nemiroff

Gold Member
Looking at the surface I'm surprised by the relatively high scores.. watched Asmon play it for a bit and the game kinda looked like trash (But I have GP so will be checking it out myself before judging further).

Edit: I was wrong, it's pretty good.
 
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The first boss is the perfect wall. He's really good at teaching you the basics while also not punishing you for failing. Up to that point, I was very confused with the game. After defeating him, I had learned the basics.

I feel like the critics that hate on this fight miss its vital function.

The "reviews" on the MS store were all crying about this boss. You'd think none of them have played a Souls style game. "It's too hard" "it's unfair". Game has a 3.0 rating which I'd terrible. All because these babies can't push through some initial barriers of pain and learn the mechanics. This game is all about being super aggressive and parrying/dodging.
 

ungalo

Member
Do the AI companions stay with you throughout the game? My only complaint so far.
Not in every mission (although you can summon them with items even when they're not there), but most of the time in the main missions.

But you can make them disappear at the beginning of a mission with an item too, i don't know how it's called in english.
 

ZehDon

Member
Played through the tutorial and first area, and now into the second.

Really enjoying it, I can see why it's scored so well. It's definitely more akin to Sekiro than Dark Souls, and while I bounced of Sekiro, I'm digging the heck out of this. Can't wait to see what else is in store.
 
Played through the tutorial and first area, and now into the second.

Really enjoying it, I can see why it's scored so well. It's definitely more akin to Sekiro than Dark Souls, and while I bounced of Sekiro, I'm digging the heck out of this. Can't wait to see what else is in store.
I feel like this game is basically Sekiro-lite.
 
Just beat the most bullshit boss in the game (so far - Zhang Rang and his endless clones) and the game crashed immediately afterwards and didn't save my progress. :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I've been forgiving of the performance issues but crashes like that are just inexcusable. Team Ninja didn't even try with this PC port. They deserve the review bombing, and the person who designed this boss fight deserves a kick to the nuts.

Edit: managed to beat it again on my first try but skipped all the cutscenes afterwards so that it saves ASAP and didn't crash again lol
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I’d say the only level design I have never been fond of with NiOh and now Wo Long - it’s the underground caves or mines.
 

bender

What time is it?
"Played" some co-op with a buddy tonight. He couldn't manage the first boss. While it was a tad tricky, I didn't have too much trouble with his second form. The second stage and bosses were all really easy in comparison. The game looks incredibly dated visually. Everything about the game feels cheap'ish. The level design is really basic too. Not really sure what to think about the combat. I generally am awful at parrying in games but the windows seem really generous and it lacks the depth of Sekiro which murdered my soul. The stagger mechanic is interesting, ditto for the flag/fortitude system. I don't really like the stat upgrade system which feels like it is straying from genre just for the sake of being different. The Nioh styled loot system is also wearing thin on me. I'm early on but it feels like they had a bunch of ideas they wanted to try out but also borrowed a lot of what Nioh brought to the table. The mix seems odd at first, almost unfocused, and I wish they would have strayed further from some of their established formulas. Maybe it will grow on me.

Performance seems okay on XSX but I did get two really long freezes (5-6 seconds) that made me think the game crashed only for it to chug right along afterwards.
 
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ByWatterson

Member
I can't put my finger on it, but somehow the From games feel the more premium. And I have more trust in the world, artstyle and boss fights. You play it and you know that almost everything belongs where it is.

I mean it's a pretty mid-PS4 gen looking game. Kinda ugly, honestly.
 
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I finished the game earlier today. Last boss was not that hard and the boss before that was a complete joke. Ended at 67% of trophies. Farming the rest of collectibles now and doing the optional battlefields. GG.

Oh also for those who are wondering my final level was 102 when I killed the final boss. Right after doing that, you get sent back to the hub village and I hit 103 with the exp he gave me. I used a 4 star Sabre (1 handed ) upgraded to +9 which is highest you can craft up to.
 
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LastBattle

Member
Holy shit, I feel like this game shot itself in the foot in a big way with the first boss. It’s going to prevent a huge swath of gamers from proceeding further. The skill check is insane for the very beginning of the game. I’ve probably done 30 attempts now. However I doubt many will be as patient as me.

I went into this thinking it would be a fun challenge after recently finishing Sekiro. This fucker is close to the difficulty of Ishin Sword Saint. And it’s the very beginning of the game! Also the stun locks the boss put you in feel incredibly cheap and last for a good couple of seconds, leaving you completely vulnerable to additional attacks and subsequent stun Locks.

I’m going to persevere, and will defeat him eventually. Just feel like it’s a bit much. Rant over. Also what the fuck is the jade? What are you taking about bling fold guy!?
 

Klosshufvud

Member
Holy shit, I feel like this game shot itself in the foot in a big way with the first boss. It’s going to prevent a huge swath of gamers from proceeding further. The skill check is insane for the very beginning of the game. I’ve probably done 30 attempts now. However I doubt many will be as patient as me.

I went into this thinking it would be a fun challenge after recently finishing Sekiro. This fucker is close to the difficulty of Ishin Sword Saint. And it’s the very beginning of the game! Also the stun locks the boss put you in feel incredibly cheap and last for a good couple of seconds, leaving you completely vulnerable to additional attacks and subsequent stun Locks.

I’m going to persevere, and will defeat him eventually. Just feel like it’s a bit much. Rant over. Also what the fuck is the jade? What are you taking about bling fold guy!?
The first boss is fine. Once you learn the parrying timing, he goes down with ease. It's like the Genichiro wall in Sekiro, which admittedly came a bit later though. People are probably not being offensive enough, not realizing the game has no penalty whatsoever for offense but in fact rewards you with spirit gauge.

There is another boss that comes later on on horse back....oh boy. This is a huge wall for me.
 
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Orbital2060

Member
Holy shit, I feel like this game shot itself in the foot in a big way with the first boss. It’s going to prevent a huge swath of gamers from proceeding further. The skill check is insane for the very beginning of the game. I’ve probably done 30 attempts now. However I doubt many will be as patient as me.

I went into this thinking it would be a fun challenge after recently finishing Sekiro. This fucker is close to the difficulty of Ishin Sword Saint. And it’s the very beginning of the game! Also the stun locks the boss put you in feel incredibly cheap and last for a good couple of seconds, leaving you completely vulnerable to additional attacks and subsequent stun Locks.

I’m going to persevere, and will defeat him eventually. Just feel like it’s a bit much. Rant over. Also what the fuck is the jade? What are you taking about bling fold guy!?
I thought so too, and was surprised how many had beat it.

93897cc8-397e-4cd6-bi4e6s.jpeg
 

LastBattle

Member
The first boss is fine. Once you learn the parrying timing, he goes down with ease. It's like the Genichiro wall in Sekiro, which admittedly came a bit later though. People are probably not being offensive enough, not realizing the game has no penalty whatsoever for offense but in fact rewards you with spirit gauge.

There is another boss that comes later on on horse back....oh boy. This is a huge wall for me.
I can get through the first phase easy enough, just can’t seem to find the rhythm with the second phase. Then get frustrated and make stupid mistakes with the first.
 

Klosshufvud

Member
I can get through the first phase easy enough, just can’t seem to find the rhythm with the second phase. Then get frustrated and make stupid mistakes with the first.
The second phase is not a whole health bar. I think you're probably closer than you think. Just need to land a couple of blows and that's it.
 
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Orbital2060

Member
I can get through the first phase easy enough, just can’t seem to find the rhythm with the second phase. Then get frustrated and make stupid mistakes with the first.
In the second phase you should try and wait for the lunge which he winds up, and stay at medium range for it. Every deflect counts but focus on the red critcals and then guard or dodge through the normal swings.

You can hold guard LB/L1 and then hit B/O to deflect at any time. It helped a lot when I figured that out, because I first thought you should either wait to deflect OR guard but you can actually keep guard up a lot of the time and deflect from there. To mitigate some damage. With the Enhanced Defence wizardry + guard up I didnt take much damage from normal swings, except for draining the spirit bar..

But just focus on deflecting and punishing those until you get fatal strikes. And recast the enhanced defence each time hes down.

 

ungalo

Member
I'm less enthusiastic than before. I feel lucky that i never played Nioh and Stranger of Paradise or that would be way more boring. But i still can sense the lack of ambition. Bosses are pretty mid for the most part, 1 or 2 are really good. The gameplay is good though.
 

cireza

Banned
I started playing the game this week-end, thanks to Game Pass. I had not planned on buying it too early, even though I am a big fan of Koei Tecmo games (favorite publisher by far).

I have been through the tutorial and the next three areas. Game is superb. You can feel how much experience the developers have in creating a competent action gameplay. It simply works and is incredibly fun. Once you understand what the game expects of you (which is well conveyed by the tutorial by the way), you have blast traversing well crafted levels. The game does not throw at you a stupid open-world, by the way.

Combat is super fun, parrying is satisfying and not too difficult. Spells are powerful, as well as bows. You have an ally as well, which is helpful. I also like the level-up system, which offers five themes and explains the benefits, rather than asking to raise single stats. Spells you can learn are also tied to the themes, and it makes sense overall. Really a great job.

Boss fights are also super fun, with some great spectacle. Also I think it is the first game in this formula that I play where I find the soundtrack to totally nail it. In Elden Ring, I found the soundtrack super annoying. Here it simply fits the atmosphere and never takes too much place. And the bosses have very good themes, especially the last one I fought.

Even the few cut-scenes are superb and pretty short, which is how they should be. They nailed it.

Only thing I am not a fan of is the inventory : too much items and a it tedious to manage.

Otherwise, this is an excellent game and everybody should play it.

Koei Tecmo are really something. Have fun !
 
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Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
I'm less enthusiastic than before. I feel lucky that i never played Nioh and Stranger of Paradise or that would be way more boring. But i still can sense the lack of ambition. Bosses are pretty mid for the most part, 1 or 2 are really good. The gameplay is good though.

Nah. Nioh & Stranger both play considerably differently than Wo Long. In fact having put a load of hours into Stranger actually made getting into this game a lot harder due to the different button configs.

The mistake I think is overlooking how important the RPG elements are, mainly because in every instance NG basically only requires a small fraction of the mechanics to be used. Whereas by the time you reach late or end-game cycles its basically mandatory that you need to know exactly how to create the right builds with your chosen fighting style. There are no shortcuts, you'll get annihilated otherwise.

As to bosses being "pretty mid", compared to what exactly? FROM has never made a game where every boss is an uber-differentiated classic! They recycle just as heavily, have more forgettable fights than memorable ones, and when they try and mix things up with spectacle they inevitably fall into gimmickry.

Sure, FROM are the champs at creating a grim-dark atmosphere and crafting complex interconnected worlds, but, Team Ninja, for my money are just better at the combat and RPG side. Their systems are deeper, more varied and interesting, and stay fresher for far longer.
 
Beat the first boss last night and first impressions were pretty good. Graphics are not great but i love the gameplay which is the most important part of a game anyway.
I couldnt care less about sony exclusives or square moneyhats but their team ninja exclusive is painful for a series x player.
How does the exclusivity work? Will it be pc too?
I sure as hell not gonna buy a ps5 for 1 game.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I finished the game earlier today. Last boss was not that hard and the boss before that was a complete joke. Ended at 67% of trophies. Farming the rest of collectibles now and doing the optional battlefields. GG.

Oh also for those who are wondering my final level was 102 when I killed the final boss. Right after doing that, you get sent back to the hub village and I hit 103 with the exp he gave me. I used a 4 star Sabre (1 handed ) upgraded to +9 which is highest you can craft up to.
Can you spoiler tag your point stats. Just curious on what you picked or did it matter?
 
Can you spoiler tag your point stats. Just curious on what you picked or did it matter?
Sure.

Stat Allocations

Level 103 (after final boss, but was 102 before final boss, don't remember exactly where I spent last point but it won't matter)
Wood Virtue 22
Fire Virtue 36
Earth Virtue 20
Metal Virtue 22
Water Virtue 7

Combat Abilities

HP 656
Melee Weapon 1 Attack Power 507
Melee Weapon 2 Attack Power 326
Defense 653
Physical Resistance 19.2%
Spirit Defense 295
Spirit Sustainability 127
Spell Duration 117.5%
Stealth 48
Luck 28

Spirit Gain Rate

Attack 118.0%
Deflect 113.3%

Spirit Consumption Rate

Martial Arts 72.7%
Wizardry Spells 80.1%
Deflect 97.5%

Equipment Weight

Max 55.5
Proportion 69.2%
Agility B
 
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