Last Updated on Jul 23, 2025 @ 16:15:39 PM.
The art of making a good Soulslike game has been refined over the years, ever since FromSoft released the trailblazing Dark Souls series. There have been plenty of attempts, plenty of misses, some hits, and some abominations that aren’t worth mentioning. Now, we have the latest attempt in capitalising on the gravy train that Hidetaka Miyazaki started, and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers might be the best example of doing nearly everything right in their attempt to copy the success.
Set during the end of the Ming Dynasty, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers follows Bai Wuchang, a beautiful pirate warrior afflicted with a mysterious disease with no supposed cure, ‘feathering’. It has torn through the local village and surrounding areas of Shu, leaving death and devastation in its wake, and a path of blood and gore before anyone who dares to follow it. Which, of course, we’re tasked to do.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the main character of the game is our protagonist Wuchang, but you’d be wrong. The main character is undoubtedly the environment. From twisted versions of sacrilegious shrines and temples, to dark and cavernous areas full of the worst feathering sufferers, there’s never a moment you won’t be permanently amazed at what you’re seeing. The sheer variety of areas on offer will keep you well engaged, and add in the story telling told by the items you encounter, the bosses you fight, and the few voices behind locked doors, scared to open up for fear of contamination, and you’ll feel how I did; enthralled.
In fact, the level design is some of the best in a Soulslike for years. Unlike The First Berserker: Khazan with its linear, level-by-level environments, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers continues to open up, return to, and develop the same environments throughout your journey. See a locked gate after an hour? You can bet you’ll be back here in ten hours, from the other side. See a rooftop far away, with some glistening loot on it? Grab a key from a hidden NPC in a village a few hours of gameplay away, and return here to open a door to get to the roof. Just like a Soulslike rewards persistence in its boss battles, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers also rewards exploration and inquisitiveness, as well as a damn good memory. It’s something that put me in mind of Bloodborne, truthfully.
The game isn’t afraid to stick to its principles either, with no map (beyond a fast travel indicator showing important people at different locations), map markers or quests, with the only direction given via quick chats with NPCs to direct the story and momentum, instead leaning on a compass mechanic that points to certain important items/people when you’re close. It is immersive, but it can lead to some frustrations when you happen to get lost, die, and then can’t find your way back through the maze-like areas. It’s a small trade-off that barely happened to me.
When you’re not exploring, you’ll be fighting. Wuchang; Fallen Feathers features five weapon types, from the rapid attack but weak dual swords, to the heavy-hitting but cumbersome spear. The weapons on offer will suit players of all dispositions, with each having the standard fare advantages and disadvantages we’ve come to expect in the genre. I landed on a middle ground longsword, which afforded me some serious damage at the expense of manoeuvrability. This meant that when I made a mistake, I was immediately and voraciously punished, but it also meant I was returning damage in spades.
The game also offers a range of spells to aid in your adventures, although you’ll quickly land on your favourites, and discard the rest. Any that caused my character to be slowed down, or put at risk, weren’t worth it, especially against the bosses that would wreck me at one mistake.
With the bosses being some of the worst affected by the Feathering (for the most part), they’re a real spectacle of body horror carnage, and definitely worth the price of admission. Not only are they well designed and varied, but they will force you to play differently for each one. No single strategy is catch-all for them, and it’ll make you a better, if not more frustrated, player along the way. Plus, there’s still nothing better than beating a Soulslike boss after way too many tries, right?
A regular complaint and criticism towards games in the genre is the confusing and overwhelming skill upgrades on offer, and I’m glad to say, not only does Wuchang: Fallen Feathers NOT suffer from this, it actually excels. No exaggeration, the upgrade menu is one of the best in the business, and reminded me of the sphere grid from Final Fantasy X. It’s so simple, yet at the same time incredibly intuitive. There are skill branches dedicated to each weapon type, which also boast attribute upgrades that benefit you as a whole. As mentioned, I decided early on to focus on a longsword build, which meant the bottom left of the grid was my focus, but if I wanted to change to a different build at a moment’s notice, I could. A quick reset of my skills and moving to another branch, and Wuchang would have an entirely different build. Alternatively, you could make your Wuchang a Jack of all Trades over multiple weapons, but that ended in tears when I tried it.
The feathering in the game isn’t just affecting the environment and your enemies, but Wuchang herself. Opening with her realising she’s not only affected, but somehow far more cognizant than others with the disease, you’ll find out you can use, to your advantage and bestow different feathering techniques into your weapons. Honestly, this is just a fancy mechanic to give elemental and other such like attributes to your weapons, but for fitting into the world, taking the disease killing everyone else and turning it into a strength is a unique approach, for sure. It’s also one that is easily missed, as it wasn’t until the 20-hour mark I even realised I could employ it to help me, and far longer before I found different ‘tempers’ that matched with my weapons to even allow it. It felt a little undercooked.
What didn’t feel undercooked was the optimization. Where do I start? From only taking up 15GB (60GB on PC) on the PS5’s SSD to never once crashing, suffering pop-in, or any noticeable frame drops, the game is genuinely a marvel in this regard, and should become the norm, not the exception.
Theres so much I could say about my time with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, but in a time where everyone and their dog is attempting to capitalise on the Soulslike craze, Leenzee have left me feeling like I’ve encountered and experienced something special with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, and something I can’t help but gush about to anyone that’ll listen. It’s fun, frustrating in the best way, and one of the best Soulslikes for a long while.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers is a soulslike, action RPG set in the land of Shu during the dark and tumultuous late Ming Dynasty, plagued with warring factions and a mysterious illness spawning monstrous creatures.
Summary
Whether it’s the engrossing atmosphere, the incredible Unreal Engine 5-powered graphics, the frankly unbelievable optimisation and performance, or the variety in bosses and enemies, constantly keeping you on your toes just when you begin to feel safe, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a fantastic adventure for any Soulslike gamer – and even for those starting out.
HOURS PLAYED: 67
PLAYED ON: PS5
- The fact that this massive, detailed and atmospheric game only takes up 15GB needs to be commended, so it becomes the norm.
- Huge variety in bosses, with each forcing a different strategy on you, the player.
- Beautiful to look at, fluid to play and pleasing audio that'll keep your ears happy, it's the full package.
- There are times when it's all-to-easy to get lost and lose your direction/purpose for the story, which can prove frustrating.
- 'Feathering' is little more than a new name and system for giving your weapon specific attributes.
- Odd Shrine placement means having to wait for the same lift, run the same (very long) distance to a boss here and there, or lose your exploration and where you were completely. Thankfully, it's semi-rare.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.
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Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
