Wuchang feels like the comfort food soulslike I didn’t know I needed
So I started playing Wuchang: Fallen Feathers a few days ago and honestly… I’m kind of shocked by how much I’m enjoying it.
For context, I’m a longtime Soulslike player and I was going through a real meh phase with gaming lately where nothing was really clicking: I didn’t enjoy Lords of the Fallen that much,
I liked The Surge for a bit (the dismembering mechanic was genuinely cool and innovative), but eventually found the rest of the game kind of shallow, and I also never really clicked with the Nioh games or Wo Long despite trying multiple times. So naturally, I wasn’t expecting much from Wuchang at all.
The mixed reviews didn’t help either. I had it sitting in my wishlist thinking maybe I’d grab it someday during a huge sale just to try it out. Then PS Plus offered i for free this month. And wow… this game REALLY surprised me.
What immediately stood out is that although it clearly takes inspiration from Sekiro in some aspects and presentation, it absolutely is NOT Chinese Sekiro or a Wo Long clone like I initially assumed. It has its own rhythm.
Combat feels more methodical and expressive. There’s a soft but very rewarding learning curve to mastering your weapon instead of just chasing stats or loot explosions. And honestly? I LOVE the decision to have fewer weapon archetypes.
A lot of Soulslikes throw 80 weapons at you and most feel interchangeable. Wuchang instead gives you a fewer weapon types, but each one is deeply designed. That philosophy really works for me.
I started mastering the spear simply because I liked the style of it, and over time it genuinely started feeling like a discipline rather than just a long weapon with poke attacks. The spacing, timing, flow, transitions… it all started opening up gradually. And that’s the sign of a great combat system with actual depth.
I just finished what I guess could be called Act 1 after beating Commander Honglan. She took me a few tries and I suspect spear isn’t even the ideal matchup against her mobility, but powering through with spacing/timing adaptation felt incredibly satisfying. And that’s another thing: the bosses so far aren’t brutally difficult… but they’re FUN.
Modern souls discourse has gotten weird where people judge games purely by how many hours did this boss make me suffer? But personally, I think there’s a huge difference between shallow easy combat and accessible but mechanically satisfying combat. Wuchang definitely feels like the second one. Not every boss needs to be Malenia on steroids to be memorable.
The art direction also deserves praise. The environments are gorgeous, creature design is memorable, and the atmosphere/mythological horror blend works extremely well. Some scenes genuinely look stunning.
And the game seems surprisingly long too? I genuinely didn’t expect that considering it’s only like 17 GB on PS5 lol. In the era of 80+ GB installs, that honestly feels refreshing.
Honestly, I can already see myself doing multiple NG+ runs with different weapon styles which is the biggest compliment I can give to a soulslike.
Curious how other Souls veterans (and new to the genre!) here feel about the game because I genuinely think this one might end up becoming a cult favorite over time.