Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Hence, the comfort food. Wuchang is familiar. The food's good, but I've already had this meal before. You know what to expect, you know what ingredients you're going to taste, you might even be able to predict the order in which they kick in, and you probably won't get sucker punched by an unexpected spice.

Wuchang brings some fun ideas to soulslike boss fights, but the rest of it is a pale imitation of much better games.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is yet another great soulslike to add to the ever-increasing pile, featuring excellent combat, wonderful level design, an incredible skill tree, and fearsome bosses. Just watch out for some steep difficulty dips and spikes, and a reliance on cheap-feeling "gotcha!" ambushes.

I’m usually right there alongside them, as an avid soulslike enjoyer myself, but the game’s brutally unfair boss fights, inconsistent level design, and general attitude towards women broke me. Wuchang often shows glimpses of the game it could have been, but frustrations upon frustrations sour the whole experience.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a solid soulslike game with some unique systems that sets it apart from its contemporaries. Combat is flashy and fun, but it's bundled with some frustrating boss and movement mechanics. Still, a stunning world and excellent dungeon exploration make Wuchang: Fallen Feathers worth trying.

While WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers can be a fairly rugged souls-like suffering from mismanaged balancing and performance, its strengths in combat design and exploration truly excel once they hit their stride. Throw in intricate character customization with plenty of significant player choice, and you have an execution of the genre that will assuredly gel with souls-like enthusiasts. As it stands, WUCHANG can bite off a bit more than it can chew, though it shines more often than not.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers wears its inspirations a little too proudly on its sleeves, not to the point of the original plagiarism claims, but enough to fail to stand out in an increasingly saturated market. The game’s cultural authenticity is commendable, but it leans too heavily on familiar tropes. The middling technical performance is just the cherry on top.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is ultimately a victim of a crowded genre and stale ideas. Not only does it have to compete with what feels like a new Souls-inspired action RPGs coming out nearly every month, but it also has to try and offer new ideas compared to those games. It fails on the latter, and since it doesn't have particularly tight combat, strong level design, or a compelling narrative to hang its hat on, it's left feeling like just another one of those.