By Chris Picone, 31 July, 2025

I'm not a huge fan of Soulslike games - I mean, I like them, and I've really enjoyed a few (like Deathbound, which I reviewed last year), but they aren't one of my go-to genres.  But I was immediately sucked in by Wuchang's graphics, and mythic Oriental aesthetics, and the battle scenes in the trailer, and I had to have a go. So how does Wuchang: Fallen Feathers fare? 

Aesthetics

I'm lucky enough to be running a reasonably powerful and surprisingly compatible machine, so while Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is getting review bombed at the moment for a recent "fix" that's apparently preventing the game from being run at native resolution and causing performance issues, I've not experienced any problems. I'm running in extreme mode with no problems and the game looks bloody great.  It's not just that the graphics are high quality, it's the scale of view and the amount of detail put into things like the statues and other buildings and decoration.  And I do really love the aesthetic. There's running waterfalls and streams, forests, lots of bamboo, and tons of candles and statues and shrines.  And the animations look great - nice and smooth, although occasionally clashing with my controls, which can lead to some clunky combat.

Gameplay

I'm loving the vibe of the game - it encourages combo attacks and heavy attacks, although to execute either successfully, you need to both get your timing right, and also judge distance accurately.  Of course the usual enemy attack indicator / timed dodge is in play but Wuchang: Fallen Feathers goes further to encourage its use by giving you points for successful dodges that can be used to feed special attacks.  My one real complaint about W:FF is that I feel like the save points are too far apart, which means you at times need to replay through some annoyingly lengthy sections before you can progress, which definitely feels repetitive after a while.  Maybe I'm just awful at the game, I don't know.  One cool thing about dying a lot, though, is that it means I got to play with one cool mechanic the game does feature, which is the Feathering. Every time you die or kill humans (who will attack you because you appear demonic), your madness increases, which both makes you more powerful and more vulnerable, and eventually leads to a battle with your own inner demon. As a side note, there are plenty of NPCs and the story looks like it's going to be interesting but I haven't yet been able to survive long enough to really explore it.

Verdict

I think Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has a lot going for it.  It looks great, has an awesome aesthetic, and some cool and unusual mechanics.  I'm keen to play further but I'm going to set it aside for now because I'm a little over replaying the same section (which takes ~15 minutes every time - and I still haven't found the next save point!).  I think those who love their Soulslike games will find it a tad more enjoyable, although they'll probably have the same complaints I do about the clunky control/animation conflicts.  And hopefully they fix the native resolution/performance issue. 

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2277560/WUCHANG_Fallen_Feathers/