Confetti’s Cozy Corner: Cozy Gamer tries new Souls-like Wuchang: Fallen Feathers and it went well!
Normally, I stick to my cozy game lane occasionally dipping my toes into the horror genre when a title catches my eye. But when extended the opportunity to preview Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, I took the leap to try something outside of my comfort zone… and spoiler alert, I am SO glad that I did.
For full transparency, my only experience with Souls-like games are the 21 minutes total I played of Elden Ring before having a panic attack and a little bit of Bloodborne where I roamed around mostly observing the graphics and environment. Never have I committed to seeing a Souls-like game through, and with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers I was glued to my screen. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is Chinese studio Leenzee Game’s debut title and they truly have set a high bar for themselves.
The story begins as Wuchang awakens in a dark damp cave with amnesia and her left arm is covered in feathers that seem to cause her discomfort. As she stumbles her way out of the cave we are introduced to beautiful landmasses in a region of China that has been overtaken by a phenomenon and affliction called the feathering. It is an aggressive, degenerative disease that mutates the body to begin producing feathers starting with the affiliated hosts limbs, eventually consuming the entire body, slowly turning the host into a monster and their mind into madness.
Wuchang arrives at a temple where she meets a man named Xuanyangzi, who ultimately buys her more time by slowing down the advancement of the feathering containing it to Wuchang’s left arm. Now it is up to her to step out into the world and not only get to the bottom of the feathering and how to cure it but to also find her missing sister.
There are many side quests and NPCs Wuchang meets on her journey that will give her tidbits of information directing her where to go, and background to help her on her journey. While there aren’t long exposition type scenes that layout the story, each conversation, enemy you defeat and cut scenes will leave you with an ancillary way to move you through the plot while keeping you on the edge of your seat.
When it comes to combat, especially boss fights, I had a [bad] habit of charging into fights to learn how the enemy fought. However, I quickly learned I needed to exercise patience and learn the enemy attack patterns, identify their moves and rely on strategy, blocking and parrying to win.
Each enemy and boss felt unique and elegant in their own way. While some boss fights felt like a fair challenge, others had me going on mental health walks. It was so frustrating! But in time, and a very high death count, I did finally conquer them.
One of the first bosses encountered is Commander Honglan, which confirmed something I had been experiencing with all enemies up until the first boss fight… the dodge time frame is extremely narrow and punishing when not executed to perfection. As a non-Souls-like player this took some getting used to. And the varying levels of challenge faced with each enemy and other bosses made getting timing right an interesting curve to overcome.
A boss fight I really enjoyed was Fang Ling. She was challenging but very fun, and ultimately rewarding. I found myself relying on magic skills in this fight and my one handed blade.
In Wuchang: Fallen Feathers there are five weapon types you can choose from: one handed blades, spears, dual blades, axes and longswords. I rotated between them all depending on which enemy or boss I was fighting, but did favor the one handed blades and longswords.
Talking of high death counts, I found myself dealing with an extra layer of challenges due to the madness effect. With each death Wuchang’s madness increases, which makes her more powerful but vulnerable to more damage. Death can be instant in most encounters while at full madness, so be careful and use this to your advantage if you can.
Wuchang’s skill tree system reminds me of a linear version of Final Fantasy X’s sphere grid system. It starts off simple with the five weapon types and a few stat skills and branches off into paths where players have flexibility to build Wuchang’s skills to their liking. Skills are not the only way to influence the flow of combat; as enhancements and items can be attached to weapons that will give certain effects in battle.
Things I liked about Wuchang: Fallen Feathers were the beautiful fighting forms between Wuchang’s weapon types, enemies and bosses. I am not afraid to admit that there were some deaths that occurred simply because I was looking at the elegance of an enemy’s fighting style! The sound design was also enjoyable and an element that caught my attention when I previewed this title at Summer Games Fest. The armor designs and weapon details are beautiful also and add to the overall jaw dropping beauty of this game.
As someone who loves cozy games and diving into other types of games occasionally, I will say I thoroughly enjoyed Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. It has a beautiful design, great challenges, and a conveying story. That’s enough to grab my attention and have fun.
While there were some graphical issues during my experience playing on PlayStation 5, I followed the recommended measures of adjusting the sharpening option in the settings to help make the game clearer.
This game has inspired me to step outside of my comfort zone more often, and I am already on my second playthrough already!
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers releases July 24th on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and day one on Game Pass.
Rating: 9/10
A review copy of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers was provided by 505 Games.
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