Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 681 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 505 out of 681
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 681
  3. Negative: 143 out of 681
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  1. YouKnowWho2020
    Mar 5, 2023
    6
    Expected more than a linear grind with rehashed enemies throughout. The combat is sublime but let down by wonky balancing and dated environment design. Waste of money as better souoslike experiences can be found with higher production quality.
  2. senkogarashi
    Mar 9, 2023
    6
    Nioh 1 is OK and Nioh 2 is an excellent game.Wo Long is just NOT that good.
    It's not because the game is too easy/hard for some people.Actually the combat system is boring.I noticed it when I beat the game in 13hrs after this game came out and soon I regretted spending so much time in the last DEMO.Some of the boss fights are satisfying but you could win easily by parrying all attacks    Nioh 1 is OK and Nioh 2 is an excellent game.Wo Long is just NOT that good.
    It's not because the game is too easy/hard for some people.Actually the combat system is boring.I noticed it when I beat the game in 13hrs after this game came out and soon I regretted spending so much time in the last DEMO.Some of the boss fights are satisfying but you could win easily by parrying all attacks without attack them.If you attack,sometimes you get countered and probably die.That's the biggst problem in this game.
    Still I did some no damage boss fights but the combat seems impossible to be as interesting as Nioh.
    Also,I don't like the story&BGM in Wo Long    … Expand
  3. IIIAHMIII
    Mar 17, 2023
    5
    Just got the platinum, what a nightmare expirience this was. After 50 hours the parry still felt horrible even tho it was at 90% chance. The game is way to easy compared to nioh and all others. The biggest enemy will be the parry that is garbage. Enjoy running over and over again in levels cause there are no checkmarkers for the collectables and there are many believe me. Not the worstJust got the platinum, what a nightmare expirience this was. After 50 hours the parry still felt horrible even tho it was at 90% chance. The game is way to easy compared to nioh and all others. The biggest enemy will be the parry that is garbage. Enjoy running over and over again in levels cause there are no checkmarkers for the collectables and there are many believe me. Not the worst game but im glad im done. Props for 1 boss figt which was amazing the rest meh. Story graphics were beautifull main game not so much. Level design also pretty horrible everything looks the same… Expand
  4. SimonExMachina
    Mar 6, 2023
    6
    An average mix of Nioh & Sekiro that comes nowhere near the quality of its peers. Main takeaways:

    - combat can be fun but just like Sekiro - there's only one right way to play, not much room for different styles & builds. - boss fights are cool and interesting visually - presentation looks early PS4 era, worse than Nioh 1 - story is pure trash - it's confusing / nonsensical, badly    An average mix of Nioh & Sekiro that comes nowhere near the quality of its peers. Main takeaways:

    - combat can be fun but just like Sekiro - there's only one right way to play, not much room for different styles & builds.
    - boss fights are cool and interesting visually
    - presentation looks early PS4 era, worse than Nioh 1
    - story is pure trash - it's confusing / nonsensical, badly written and poorly acted
    - level design is bland and uninspired, with little in way of worldbuilding or sense of discovery
    - there's a lot of loot and RPG mechanics, but most of it feels meaningless, with little impact on gameplay (no matter your build & gear it's a parry-counter game)
    -game's cleary made on a smaller budget: production values, enemy variety, weapon/armor/gear & environmental design all suffer
    - halfway through the only reason to keep playing are the bosses - exploration becomes boring and combat extremely repetitive because you're fighting the same rehashed enemies over & over again

    It's still fun and exciting at times to fight in Wo Long but after Nioh 1 & 2 I expected much more from Team Ninja... and honestly can't they hire a good writer to tell a decent story?    … Expand
  5. Jt0429
    Mar 5, 2023
    7
    Good-
    Flashy deflection system; Morale mechanic encourages exploration and offers a leg-up to less-skilled players; Awesome enemies with well-animated attack patterns.
    Bad- Combat boils down to deflecting/parrying; Companion AI is not great most of the time; Semi-frequent dropped controller inputs. Thoughts- Ultimately, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a fun Soulslike that, while still    Good-
    Flashy deflection system; Morale mechanic encourages exploration and offers a leg-up to less-skilled players; Awesome enemies with well-animated attack patterns.

    Bad-
    Combat boils down to deflecting/parrying; Companion AI is not great most of the time; Semi-frequent dropped controller inputs.

    Thoughts-
    Ultimately, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a fun Soulslike that, while still providing a challenge, will be a breeze for seasoned Soulslike players.    … Expand
  6. srf5132
    Mar 7, 2023
    6
    In nioh, we saw a fairly generic action game, with some very brutal mechanics. The game was fine, but I wasn't a huge fan. In nioh 2, the studio was cearly coming into their own and the game was just short of amazing. It had a lot more flexibility in play style, and the gameplay was a lot less action focused, with more to explore and do. Additionally, it was much easier, and where IIn nioh, we saw a fairly generic action game, with some very brutal mechanics. The game was fine, but I wasn't a huge fan. In nioh 2, the studio was cearly coming into their own and the game was just short of amazing. It had a lot more flexibility in play style, and the gameplay was a lot less action focused, with more to explore and do. Additionally, it was much easier, and where I couldn't finish nioh, I had little trouble getting to the end of nioh 2.

    This game feels like a step backwards. The exploration is a lot less rewarding, the combat is much more minimalistic, and the challenge is turned up to 11. Perhaps for some diehard action junkies this will hit the spot, but I have no desire to force myself to use the unforgiving parry system, so this is a pass from me.    … Expand
  7. soooB
    Mar 11, 2023
    5
    Shonky difficulty curve makes this just another grind for me. I was hoping for something more like older Koei games but got something more like Nioh which personally I find very tedious (I finished Demons Souls. Persevered for a while but got bored of waltzing through a level with no real issues and then hitting a boss that was a totally different proposition and went back to grinding onShonky difficulty curve makes this just another grind for me. I was hoping for something more like older Koei games but got something more like Nioh which personally I find very tedious (I finished Demons Souls. Persevered for a while but got bored of waltzing through a level with no real issues and then hitting a boss that was a totally different proposition and went back to grinding on Toukiden 2… Expand
  8. George_Jungle
    Apr 4, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wo Long Fallen Dynasty is sadly a step back compared to the Nioh series. It's not a bad game by any means, it's just average. Gameplay, which is it's best aspect has changed dramatically from Nioh and now feels more like Sekiro(only easier). Faster, visceral and more personal,also the addition of "jump" mechanic gives more options in combat as well as exploration. An issue that makes it's return from the first Nioh is the very small enemy roster (bosses are more) and halfway through the game you've seen all there is to see, that affects difficulty because you have nothing to surprise you anymore. Areas are also boring, everything you see is something you've seen before, no surprises here,lazy work from the developers would be the proper word. Visuals are fine but certainly not next-gen,if you played Nioh you know what to expect.
    Music and sound effects are adequate.Voice acting in English language is below mediocre, better play it with Chinese or Japanese voice.Story, which was never Team Ninja titles strongest point (I don't mind) is a convoluted mess, characters come and go with very little time on the spotlight and by the end of the game i could hardly remember 1/3 of them. Maybe someone who has knowledge of Chinese history can understand it better and feel more familiar. Multiplayer is also an option and this time you can even invade other players(which is good), also if you don't like to get invaded there's a setting to turn it off so you can enjoy play with friends without any harassment. Speaking of multiplayer, i played since the day Wo Long got released for about fifteen days, it was very laggy, more than FromSoftware titles,maybe developers fixed the servers later or plan to. Also, Wo Long just like Nioh has NG+ cycle and so on, haven't played though.
    I may sound harsh but the truth is i expect more from Team Ninja, i enjoyed Ninja Gaiden back in the day and loved their more recent works,Nioh 2 especially. Wo Long isn't as good.    … Expand
  9. dangyosabyss
    Mar 7, 2023
    7
    TLDR: A fun Sekiro-inspired reconfiguration of Nioh. It isn't perfect but the condensed way it incorporates other games better ideas is pushing the studio forward. I'm interested to see where they will go from here.

    Good: It is Nioh condensed and given the Sekiro treatment, Graphics are pretty even if the maps are poor, When the combat clicks it's fun but imperfect next to games like    TLDR: A fun Sekiro-inspired reconfiguration of Nioh. It isn't perfect but the condensed way it incorporates other games better ideas is pushing the studio forward. I'm interested to see where they will go from here.

    Good:
    It is Nioh condensed and given the Sekiro treatment,
    Graphics are pretty even if the maps are poor,
    When the combat clicks it's fun but imperfect next to games like Sekiro (If I'm mentioning it a lot it's because the game is blatantly based on it),
    Cool weapons normally not seen in games like this,
    Original setting (to Westerners at least)

    Bad:
    The same poor level design as Nioh,
    Enemies and bosses that can one shot you (it's just troll game design),
    Lots of visual noise and a cluttered hud make it hard to focus on the various meters,
    The deflect button is also the dodge button,
    It basically is Nioh 2 : Remixed,
    Unintuitive RPG system,
    Its short,
    Occasional graphical problems, enemies disappearing from a few steps away,    … Expand
  10. Zquaranteneuf
    Mar 5, 2023
    5
    Whoever is comparing this to Sekiro is high on bath salts.
    There's nothing to compare here.
    But it did make me wish I was playing Sekiro... If you like Nioh you may like this, but otherwise it's pretty average and not worth wasting anymore time praising nor bashing. Generic, with some positives, but a bit messy and convoluted. Was also surprised to see the game making you choose    Whoever is comparing this to Sekiro is high on bath salts.
    There's nothing to compare here.
    But it did make me wish I was playing Sekiro...

    If you like Nioh you may like this, but otherwise it's pretty average and not worth wasting anymore time praising nor bashing. Generic, with some positives, but a bit messy and convoluted.

    Was also surprised to see the game making you choose "personal pronouns" in the character creator... I can't believe such stupidity has reached Japanese game developers.

    Easiest 5/10 rating ever.

    Wait for a discount and you may enjoy it more. Full price not worth it.    … Expand
  11. Nataraja
    Aug 22, 2023
    6
    Incredibly poor game design. The entire game is gatekept by a single, reflex related ability - deflect. If you cannot get the deflect down you can not progress out of the tutorial. If it was just defeating a single phase boss, fine. But to have two phases that rely on reflexes ONLY is a really, really poor game design choice. The only reason why it is not receiving a 1 from me is thatIncredibly poor game design. The entire game is gatekept by a single, reflex related ability - deflect. If you cannot get the deflect down you can not progress out of the tutorial. If it was just defeating a single phase boss, fine. But to have two phases that rely on reflexes ONLY is a really, really poor game design choice. The only reason why it is not receiving a 1 from me is that it was made available on Game Pass so at least all I was out was time and space on my SSD.

    I was able to get to the second phase multiple times but the pace of the deflects changes drastically. Also the deflect window is inconsistent and the hit boxes for the first boss are obscene, making any dodging impossible. The same is true of the second phase. If it were a single phase I could understand it. I think I will stick to From Soft games. At least there I can find multiple ways to progress.    … Expand
  12. YoMammy
    Mar 14, 2023
    7
    Don't get me wrong... I love games like this... but this game is too hard. This game is harder than Sekiro. I can't even beat the first boss. I want to throw this game in the trash after spending hours just trying to get past the first boss. This game is good for people who like dying over and over again until they can kill sometihing even without armor on like the speed runners butDon't get me wrong... I love games like this... but this game is too hard. This game is harder than Sekiro. I can't even beat the first boss. I want to throw this game in the trash after spending hours just trying to get past the first boss. This game is good for people who like dying over and over again until they can kill sometihing even without armor on like the speed runners but for casual gamers this is too hard.… Expand
  13. GirlGoneGamer
    Jul 19, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mid game with mid graphics. I’m also posting this on the PS5 Version since both are trash.… Expand
  14. Itisgunit
    May 4, 2023
    6
    I'm not a fan of the games that purposely try to overdue it when it comes to difficulty. The game does a horrible job when starting off explaining the different systems other then the main buttons. I spent almost 2 hours XP farming to get to level 15 and still couldn't beat the 1st boss that has 2 forms. Thankfully it was on Game Pass and I didn't purchase the game. Uninstalled and on toI'm not a fan of the games that purposely try to overdue it when it comes to difficulty. The game does a horrible job when starting off explaining the different systems other then the main buttons. I spent almost 2 hours XP farming to get to level 15 and still couldn't beat the 1st boss that has 2 forms. Thankfully it was on Game Pass and I didn't purchase the game. Uninstalled and on to the next one.… Expand
  15. MasterTiger4
    Aug 21, 2023
    7
    Pros:
    -Awesome Combat
    -Great Enemy variety
    -Great combat arsenal and skills
    -Semi-linear multi-path
    -Great boss fights
    Cons:
    -Failed basic 3rd grade biology at custom character creation.
  16. Harthik69
    Jul 9, 2023
    6
    okok kind of game and visuals but something is lacking thats why i dont want to play this agian

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2023
15
#15 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 74 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 74
  3. Negative: 0 out of 74
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 23, 2024
    60
    Bosses are fast, aggressive, tough. They hit you two times and it's over. But they all have the same mechanics and just different timing. So inexperienced players may feel frustration, while for experienced souls it won't be major problem to get through the game without a scratch. [Issue#326]
  2. PLAY! Zine
    Apr 7, 2023
    75
    Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a lovechild between Sekiro and Nioh games with some Chinese mythos and history sprinkled on the top. It is a truly great combat experience that is drawn back by somewhat convoluted storytelling, lackluster decisions to simplify magic and attributes and severe optimization problems. With that said, it is a really fun experience that any fan of the genre will surely love.
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  3. PLAY
    Apr 5, 2023
    90
    An evolution of Nioh 2, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an action-packed ride through history and dark fantasy that stands out in a post-Elden Ring world. [Issue#26, p.88]
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