Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (version reviewed), PC, Xbox Series
Genre: Action RPG, Soulslike, China Myth

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers’ premise starts and continues its narrative with an interesting take on Chinese mythology: focus on the late Ming Period and how it was rife with poverty and famine, combining it with mythical spirits and creatures that contributed to the made-up Feathering Disease caused by half-bird half-human creatures roaming the land. Your main character? A badass female named Bai Wuchang who perseveres through the kingdom and land, even when afflicted with the magic bird flu.

Gameplay-wise? It’s a hardcore action role-playing game made by fledging Chinese company Leenzee. Your attacks are on the trigger buttons of your controller, your dodge is pretty neat but need proper timing, enemies and bosses are aggressive and hit really hard, and you need to keep trying these one-on-one boss fights as your constitution is purposely made low. Oh, and the levels are laid out in search action/Metroidvania fashion, with high-powered baddies sneakily hiding in corners and oodles of pots/crates to ambush you from. That’s the way these goddamn games are, and they’re not going to change, so you can thank From Software for that nonsense.

While it’s not the most original of game ideas and arguably the most played-out, it’s still a good time.

Wake Up, Bai…

This Soulslike action RPG has a few new features worthy of standing out from the crowd. For one, you can build Madness status (thanks to the bird flu) that lets you hit hard but take more damage the more times you die. If you die and respawn some more, it’s gone, so it’s really up to you if you want to make combat harder for yourself or not.

You also get two extra special moves per weapon in addition to the light and heavy attacks. Each weapon you get has its own skill tree that has substantial upgrades and passive buffs worth farming for. As with any Soulslike, enemies and bosses you kill net you resources to level Bai up and grant her new moves.

I cannot stress how useful it is to switch between longsword/2-handed sword mode and polearm mode so I can either poke my enemies to death, or just counter and last-minute-dodge certain enemy moves so I can use my heavy attacks to maximize my punishment attacks on foes. Wuchang is tough by design, for sure, but if you have the patience and diligence to power up Bai, you’ll go far and be a pro at dodging and countering while chucking spells and slinging swords in no time flat.

My only major gripe with this Soulslike game is that it could use a bit more flavour. Sure, the theme and setting are unique and well-presented, but the world and interactions are just standard and don’t make the world alive as it should. Call it a budget or time issue, but I have a feeling the developers wanted to add more conversations and alternate narrative paths in their already-crafted red-laced and beautiful-yet-dystopian world; maybe in future DLC patches?

Taking Flight

All in all, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a fun action RPG that’s worth adding to your Soulslike collection when you’re done with From Software’s finest and noteworthy clones like Lies of P. If you already hated the genre, you’re not going to find anything here to convince you otherwise. I have played worse titles, and this debut action RPG title from Leenzee is far from those.

Final Score: 70/100

Review code provided by publisher.