Team Ninja's latest soulslike Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has been up on Xbox Game Pass since late last week, meaning you've had the weekend to try it out now - if you're at all inclined!
Here at Pure Xbox HQ we've been playing the game a little longer than that, and we very much enjoyed our time with the game for review. It scored an 8/10 with us, delivering a "solid soulslike experience that serves up top-notch combat in a hugely atmospheric setting".
But, how have you been finding the game so far?
Given its length and overall difficulty it's unlikely many of you have seen this one through to the end just yet, but still, we want to know how you've been finding the game's opening hours on Xbox Game Pass!
What do you think to Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty so far? Vote in the poll and let us know in the comments!
What Do You Think Of 'Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty' So Far? (688 votes)
- It's amazing, I'm loving it!
- It's pretty good, definitely worth a go on Game Pass
- It's OK so far
- It's not great to be honest
- It's poor!
Comments 59
I think it's pretty good. The magic could be cheaper to use, sometimes it feels pointless. Locking on, dealing with the camera, and switching between enemies, especially when there are several all attacking you at once, like Zhang Rang boss fight, can be frustrating. The legendary heroes I've come to know and love from ROT3K seem somewhat underwhelming in combat, but I kind of get it, they don't want the allies to beat the bosses for you. I just wish reviving them didn't almost guarantee that you would get hit for half your health. Usually I just let them die.
Overall it's really fun and challenging with a great ancient Chinese mythology vibe and really good voice acting in both Japanese and Chinese. Clearing areas feels rewarding and you can approach the encounters methodically working your way through the levels. I found that switching gear to different resists and countering the boss' elements with wizardry actually makes a difference, which is something I haven't really encountered since classic WoW.
To be honest, I think this game is Okay, but I'm more interested in playing through Elden Ring again now that I know an expansion is coming.
I have enjoyed what I played so far. I spent probably an hour on the first boss. Got the hang of the deflect and parry and just beat the third boss
It’s very good. Not at the level of Nioh 2 but still good.
I am glad I didn't waste my money on this game. I played for like 10 minutes on Game pass and it looked cheap and almost like a Ninja Gaiden game. Obviously I didn't give it too much effort and time so I am being overly critical. But knowing that it's a Souls-like game makes me not want to play it at all. I uninstalled it after 10 minutes and went back to Hogwarts.
Its a dream come true! Than you so much #TeamXbox
Loving every second. I've already beaten the sixth boss. Can't wait to play after work.
I spent about 4 hours on that first boss so I gave up and levelled up to level 15 got my morale to 24 and then spent about 30 minutes on it and finally beat it but so far it seems like an ok game
After taking the time to understand the mechanic of the game and passing the first boss, this is where it become more fun. Some kind of darksoul but on steroid as the combat are more fast and a bit different. I'm really enjoying it.
I’m absolutely loving it. Took me a long time to get past the first boss but once I did, the game became a fair amount easier. Still challenging but already beat two more bosses, one on the first try. Love the setting and the fast paced combat. Nothing will likely topple Elden Ring but this game will certainly be among my favorite Soulsbourne games.
Great win for GamePass!!!
Hope everybody is enjoying it. I've found myself tired/burnt out with souls like games.
It's really great. Probably my favourite gamepass release so far. But I'm a huge ninja gaiden/nioh fan. Will end up getting a copy on ps5 aswell for my collection
@Kaloudz i did hear that the first boss was the hardest in the whole game which kinda sucks when it technically a tutorial for the game but with enough levelling up it's not too bad
Since I beat the first boss I had a few things to do so i turned it off but once I jump back into it I'm pretty certain I will enjoy alot more and also I've never played dark souls or elden ring or nioh this type of game is new to me but it does feel and look good so I'm excited for whats to come (I've always stayed away from games like souls and don't know why I think the difficulty always puts me off)
Spent a few hours playing it on PC game pass. Couldn’t get past the second phase of the first boss. (I did see this tip: https://twitter.com/WoLongOfficial/status/1630930896567291905. But I can’t get the “divine beast” meter to fill up quickly enough before the second phase first boss hands me my ***.) Unlike Elden Ring - where I got my *** handed to me a billion times but kept going - I’m not interested enough to keep grinding at it; will wait for someone to make a mod to change the difficulty.
Superb game. So far so good, feels a lot like Nioh 1. Difficult opening but then it clicks quickly and everything afterwards is amazing.
It's just nice to have a game "click" so early these days, far too many games only get good well beyond the halfway point after the handholding has stopped.
@GeeEssEff that's not exactly fair 🤣😂 very few games in the last decade are as good as Nioh 2 😅😂🤣
Sekiro is the only souls game I finished...I like the parry system more so I am quite enjoying this so far...beat the first 2 bosses and haven't pulled my hair out yet...but no doubt I will hit a brick wall and give up as I haven't got the time to play for hours on end just trying to beat one boss lol
It has made me more interested to play the nioh games aswell ...I know I own the second .not sure about the first..but I may give them a go at some point now
I think it’s not worth the time and effort required. The only thing that might keep me going is the challenge but just like Nioh 1/2 I think this is subpar in some key areas as a soulslike. Combat has some glimpses of excellence but it forces the player too much to rely on passive rhythmic mechanics. It’s not what I was looking for right now I guess.
@pip_muzz haha very true. For me it’s only soulslike that genuinely holds a candle to the fromsoft games and I’m some respects exceeds them.
Your comment about it suddenly just clicking is bang on as well. I was having a lot of difficulty in the first few hours and couldn’t understand the general consensus that this is a more accessible version of the formula but then the timing and controls came together and it was magical. The approach to multiplayer feels like a backwards step and the loot system is all over the place though. At the moment the 8/10s it’s mainly been getting seems fair.
its a 7/8 solid game for me. Looks very bland and dated by todays standards. The game play is good enough though
i think i made a mistake by buying several years of game pass. all i really want is starfield. none of this other stuff interest me.
Honestly a bit simple so far, very barebones. Like a step back from Nioh.
First boss is good, but kinda makes the next few trivial in comparison, especially because the ones I've fought so far haven't had two phases.
Also on the technical side very poor, lots of pop in, unsteady framerate. The boss soundtracks are also pretty meek in what's supposed to be a staple for these type of games.
But again only did the first 6 or so bosses. I'm in part 2 currently.
Huh. For some reason I didn’t know this was on Game Pass. Will give it a try when I get back from vacation early April.
@relaxplease Oh lord the camera on the Zhang Rang fight was really hard work until I changed the settings.
TOP TIP for others stuck on this fight...
You can disable the auto target next enemy. Once you kill the current foe the camera unlocks and becomes free until you hit the next target. Very useful in the crowded boss arena. Its in the gameplay options.
Haven't seen anything to drag me away from Elden Ring yet although I haven't really given it a fair try.
Will probably have another go at it when I've finished Elden Ring.
@awp69 That first bosses difficulty spike was nutts. I'm sure its the game gatekeeping the player to ensure that they fully grasp the mechanics. Parrying and blocking is absolutely the way to victory and not dodging.
Play the game.
Enemies just attack spam.
Attack spam them back.
Easily beat the demo.
I really want developers to stop making souls like games. It's so rare that any of them understand the formula properly and have a terrible definition of what "Difficulty" is. Souls games can be conquered by skill or knowledge and the best players can do both. This is just.. terrible.
I don't know, I haven't played it and I guess, I never will. Actually there's too much good games coming out right now, that's exhausting for a start of a year.
Fire Emblem Engage, Kirby Return to Dreamland, Metroid Prime Remaster, Dead Space, Wanted Dead, Wild Hearts.... It's too much, I'm nozmt even happy for RE 4 because my Backlog is rising again.
@rustyduck 1st world problem lol
@Nintendo4Sonic and yet others are complaining about not enough content
@Chuffer the unworthy do not get to play the rest of the game - no soup for you!
I am so tired of the souls like games. It seems like every game has to be survival or souls like.
@AlwaysPlaying Lol I'm gargling that soup down.
No spoilers but out of curiosity I googled the names of big bosses just too how far I've made it. Turns out pretty dang far in just a couple of days I've beat most of them. There are just three left to fight which means the game may be super short :-S or hopefully the list of names isnt complete.
Played for a couple hours, reminded of why I don't like "souls" games. Just not my cup of tea, looks gorgeous though for sure
@Chuffer yeah I ended up changing that too. It is still somewhat frustrating even with two enemies when I want to fatal attack one that I'm not targeting, like after I parry the other's critical. I kind of wish it was auto lock on parry instead of melee, maybe that would be worse, not sure. That fight though man, just so much stuff flying at you lol, it almost broke me, but then I ended up playing for 3 more hours so it's doing something right. As far as other bosses I'm not sure, but I did see there are sub battlefields, have you tried those yet? Not sure what those are.
And for those saying "I don't like Souls games." Me either, it's not one size fits all. I find them ugly and slow and without a story to motivate me, the challenge isn't enough to keep me going (at least DS 1 + 2, haven't tried the other From games). Wo Long combat isn't really very much like Dark Souls, for me that works. I like Jedi Fallen Order too. I think Lies of P might end up good also. Is Flintlock soulslike? That looks pretty good, should be coming sometime soon
It's a pretty mediocre game IMO, a type of game I have played countless times in recent years.
I liker what I played, but got the floor mopped with me and Uninstalled it. I can admit, not a game problem, it's a me problem. I do wish I was skilled enough to see it through though because I liked what I played.
Ive stayed away from Soulslike but because Wo came to gpu I decided to give it a go and I absolutely love the challenge. Im stuck on the first boss but I am determined to beat it. Very satisfying combat.
Like a huge amount of people I spent ages trying to get past the first boss. Upon finishing the first stage of the fight I was like "Finally"!...then stage 2 started. I gave it all I got, and googled some tips, but after about attempt no 59 I gave up. So like a high majority of players we will never experience a high proportion of the game due to this problem...shame really.
I'm enjoying that the combat has multiple levels, it's not just "dodge and hit", the back and forth of the spirit bar adds a nice dynamic to the fights
Also enjoying that coop is both easier "I'll heal whilst that guy smashes you into the floor" but also harder "damn his spirit bar has completely recovered"
@Thenewguy the game should just come out and say "deflecting attacks is as important as landing actual attacks, maybe more. Also the game expect you to kill him with divine beast when it charges Y+B (should be ready when his second stage hits 40%) and not kill him the proper way
@abe_hikura yeah, deflecting is definetly important. Thanks for your advice. Gonna try beating him again tonight!
@AlwaysPlaying true words Bro.
@Thenewguy I don't know of the rest of the game is less mean, if your just better leveled after, or this fight breaks you until you forcing you to understand how it's fights works, but the other bosses don't feel as rough (though the next mid boss can be a right jerk)
Took my friend some time for everything to click... only so many times I can say "jump away from the ice attacks, deflect the lung and hit him twice, stay away from the whip, deflect the punch/grab and punish"
@Garamari obviously Itagaki has been gone for a long time but it's sad to hear that about a game from Team Ninja, their resurrection of Ninja Gaiden on Xbox really set the bar for skill based action games.
I'm loving the game so far! It took a while to get to grips with and the challenges with the bosses seem to have that replay value, nothing more satisfying than getting to that point of getting all the battle flags and beating the boss, this is my 1st game that I've played that's souls like and I'm surprised I've kept with it.. I've just beaten Lu Bu and it feels like the challenge factor got cranked up alot but I'm a glutton for punishment I guess!
Would have to give it a 9/10 so far but that's the only because of some of the UI menus can be a little more polished!
@Lucylu1983 @Kaloudz I decided to re-download it after seeing a couple of you say the first boss was harder than it should've been, and gets a bit easier after. So maybe ill give it another crack later.
@Kaloudz that's super reassuring and now I'm excited to jump back in. I absolutely loved the world they created from the little I played, and has this pegged as my March game, so I was bummed when I dropped it. I'll do some more grinding then and go back to him. How do you get the defense spell? And which weapon did you use? I have a spear and sword.
Dear friend @GeeEssEff
Can not agree more...
@Magabro Ha, exactly my thoughts. I thought it was ok, but meanwhile, started a new play through for Elden Ring.
It felt unfinished. Like a poor man's Dark Souls. If I never played a From Software game, maybe I would have liked it. But, everything this game does or tries to do, From Software just does it better.
@Kaloudz Dude, now you got me thinking. Should I go back in and stick with it for a while? Hmm, might just do that.
@Kaloudz good stuff my dude. I will jump back in tonight.
@relaxplease Oww I like the idea of a fatal strike lock, or at least the fatal strike available for a foe should take priority over a regular lock.
Haha that Zhang fight was full on the first few times. I'm gonna leave this spoiler free for those reading that havent got to him yet... but when he did a certain thing when I thought I'd got him beat my soul got crushed. I legit thought it was impossible after i saw that. It took me almost as many goes to get him as the first boss after that initial difficulty spike.
Huh sub battlefields, I dont know anything about those. Did i completely miss those or is it something that unlocks after a certain section? Im currently on the snowy battlement level just after the Zhang fight, I've only explored about half that area.
I feel the same about the souls like games, Im not a huge fan really I especially didnt like the Dark Souls games but some others really grab me. Elden Ring being the one that truly pulled me in, although it did take me about 200 hours to beat it with trying to fully explore everywhere :-S
@Chuffer I looked at the map and saw that in part 2 my completion bars were not full even though I had gotten all the flags, so I scrolled through and noticed that there are Main Battlefields and Sub Battlefields. I recognized the Main Battlefields as the story ones I had done, but I didn't recognize the Subs so I guess it's like an optional side area or something.
I stopped at about the same place as you, right in front of I think Lu Bu, and haven't had a chance to go back to it yet.
I will probably try Elden Ring goty edition at some point. I'm still reluctant based on how much I didn't like DS though. I think the fervor by reviewers and fans puts me off a little too.
@relaxplease I'm so glad you mentioned these sub areas, I finally figured out where to access them. I had never used the travel system before and saw the same thing on the progression bars. For anyone who hasnt found these yet, you can find them by accessing the battle flag and using fast travel then pressing down on the area to select different sub areas. I must have completely missed where it mentioned these were a thing :-S
I just tried one of them the sub areas and it looks like they are the are the same maps as before but with new enemy placements. Looks like the game just got a bunch more content for me to look at so thanks!
Lol also just had my first fight with Lu Bu, he handed me my butt. Looks like this one may take some retries.
Absolutely try Elden Ring it is far easier in my opinion than Wo Long. It was my GOTY of 2022 which says a lot considering I usually dont do well with Souls likes. In Elden Ring you have many more options to deal with tricky parts and you can often find a different way to make it through a fight. Also there is much bigger focus on wandering around finding new areas as aposed to Wo Longs more focused narrow style of gameplay.
Haven't played a ton of it as I'm currently addicted to Vampire Survivors. I thought that I had beaten the first boss, but then he did that whole second form thing and broke my morale. I'll go back soon for more punishment.
Great game, and lots of fun doing random runs in coop. This games already a cult hit to me.
Wo Long and Atomic Heart... both these games knocked Hogwarts off my playlist... really good original games in there own right and amazing xbox was able to get them on GP!
@abe_hikura sooo... it took me 62 attempts but I just beat him. Been close sooo many times this week but when I finally did it everything just clicked and he only hit me twice. Really proud of myself and wanted to let you know. Thanks again for your advice. Have a good weekend.
@Thenewguy well done! Glad I could help. The next boss can be annoying but you have all the tools now.
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