At the end of my hands-on experience with the fall of the Wo Long Dynasty, I stand with a trusted comrade-in-arms in the middle of a dusty battlefield high in the desert mountains. We just killed a boar the size of a farmhouse and we feel great about it. While my time with Team Ninja’s latest series, Nioh, was certainly worth it, I found Wo Long to be a much more accessible experience, even if it changes some key elements of the crazy combat formula that made its game predecessors so fantastic. like souls.
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty will look very familiar to you if you’ve played any of the Nioh games, especially Nioh 2. The focus is on fast light and heavy attacks, quick positioning, and punishing all the openings the game has to offer the enemy. . does stupidly.
When I start, it feels like an ominous, stripped-down version of the vast array of tools that have been around almost since Nioh began. No more weapon stances and ki pulses, no weapon skills, omio magic or ninja skills to unlock. After all the time I spent juggling menus and poring over stats in Nioh 2, I had a certain “it’s He?when I started my tour of preconstruction in two chapters.
However, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty retains some obvious Nioh elements. Set during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which you will no doubt remember from countless games, if not Romance of the Three Kingdoms. However, the Yellow Turban rebels are quickly joined by clumsy zombies and hulking demon officers as I scale the desert mountain where Chapter II takes place, and everything begins to look like Nioh again in rapid succession.
However, the main difference is in my more powerful technique. It’s not some kind of ability to use a powerful form of yokai, although the gods deigned to help me in time. Instead, the deadliest tool in my belt is the dodge: assigned to the B button on the controller by default, it’s more than just a way to get out of harm’s way. With good timing, the dodge allows me to dodge and move my opponent away from his own strike, using his own momentum to send him to the ground, open for a vicious counter.
Doing this is equivalent to successfully deflecting Sekiro’s attacks, but with less risk. If I mess up my dodge timing, I just won’t be deflected and I’ll be unscathed, and even some distance from my enemy if I double tap. As a backup, I have a traditional guard strapped to the left bumper in case it needs to take a few beatings.
However, dodge based deflection is key when I start taking on champions and bosses. Demon-possessed enemies will signal critical hits with a red flash, which can re-trigger Nioh reflexes on veterans. Again, this is an important opportunity, but instead of reacting aggressively, the key is to parry the attack by dodging at the right moment, dodge the attack like an experienced kung fu master, and then unleash my own furious critical strike.
Imperial martial arts also influence character development. Instead of resetting points in traits like strength, dexterity, and wisdom, Wo Long’s stat system is based on the five elements or energy states of Taoism: earth, wood, fire, water, and metal. Increasing proximity to any of these results in bonuses to related combat actions, like recovery speed and the amount of spirit I’ll use when dodging, but they also unlock sorcery spells that I can assign to face buttons. from my controller and use in battle: fireballs, ice lances, rock avalanches and more.
You can specialize or generalize as you wish – you have one point to use in each school at certain experience thresholds, and these are non-transferable. As you progress up the elemental tree, spells require more and more points invested in a particular element, so in order to unlock the most powerful magic, you’ll most likely need to focus your levels on one or perhaps two elements. .
Another interesting new system is Morale and Resolve. Although you have a general level of experience that will increase as you progress through Wo Long, each individual chapter has its own dynamic of switching between heroes and their enemies, which works like the mini-level system contained in each chapter. At the beginning of the chapter, the morale of the enemies is generally higher than that of the heroes, which puts me at a disadvantage. By killing distant enemies and finding places to plant my battle banner, I can increase my morale and change the balance, gaining an advantage over all enemies with the lowest morale.
This gives a feeling of momentum: success is built on success. However, the bonus morale I got from killing mobs and bandits evaporates when I get killed, unless I can get back to the bad guy who killed me and defeat him in a rematch. However, this can be tricky: killing heroes increases the enemy’s morale, so they tend to be stronger on the second turn.
It can be pretty devastating, but there’s a safety net: when I die, I only lose the morale I’ve gained above a certain base level, which is determined by the number of battle flags I put in the level. The lesson here is clear: I want to explore everything before going through the door and fighting the area boss, unless I want to fight at a disadvantage.
When I’ve finished Chapter II, I’m relieved: Wo Long is significantly simpler than Nioh 2, sure, but there’s a lot to sink your teeth into here. Every weapon I collect – spears, guandao, double swords, sabers, etc. – has its own special moves to learn, there are five magical trees to explore, and there’s always a giant twisted monster to fight over the next hill. . As much fun as I’ve had with Nioh 2, I’ve found that half my time in the game is spent managing my character and his inventory, and for better or worse, that’s usually not in Wo Long.
Wo Long won’t win any beauty contests, mind you: it’s a more difficult game, and the fact that the level I’m playing takes place under the midday desert sun doesn’t necessarily benefit it graphically. However, combined with the hilarious presence of familiar characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms speaking to each other with brave theatre, the sunny level that j’ai échantillonné bestowed on Wo Long an accueillant aura that could hardly feel more different than the vision of Sengoku du horror film. era of Japan that permeates the Nioh games.
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty will launch in early March and will be available on Game Pass for PC from day one. I can’t wait to see more because this new Team Ninja spin on the Three Kingdoms period has enough Ninja Gaiden DNA to make my old X and Y calluses tingle again.
Source : PC Gamesn
