Thanks to the fine folks at 505 Games, I got some hands-on time with Wuchang: Fallen Feathers at Summer Game Fest. For transparency’s sake, I did not have much interest in the title and did not pay much attention to it. However, after two hours with the game, Wuchang went to one of my most anticipated titles of this year. I will break down my experience below, so buckle up and let’s fight against the feathered disease.
Our journey began as we awoke and walked to a shrine. From there, we encounter people who are afflicted with some mysterious feathering disease. We learn more about this affliction, which the game calls “madness”. Everyone who is afflicted with this disease is impacted in different ways. Some may lose their memory, some may get deadly sick, and yet all are destined to the same fate. The fate of those afflicted is that they mutate into deranged, corrupted creatures. Unfortunately for the player, who is named Wuchang, she is also afflicted with the same disease. With no memory as to how it occurred, Wuchang is only suffering the minor symptoms at this point of the hands-on demo. The demo encompasses chapter one and some other moments. This also introduces players to the “madness” mechanic, which the player must deal with in Wuchang.
During my time, I had to learn that while Wuchang has a foundation of a soul’s game, it still plays differently. The game is all about mastering the tools you have and being aware of your surroundings and the enemy. Only certain weapons would allow for deflecting, parrying, and blocking. Outside of those weapons, the player needs to master dodging while being alert. One false move, and the player can be caught in a combo that could defeat them. This is where the “madness” mechanic comes into play.
I will flat out say it, if you do not master the combat, you will get your ass kicked… a lot. Literally in the first 5-10 minutes of the demo, you meet a random boatsman, who is aware you are afflicted with the feathering disease. From there, he convinces Wuchang to face her fears. This throws you into a secret boss. With little to no understanding of the mechanics as of yet, I got my ass kicked. The boss was no longer there when I respawned. I have to assume he would appear either later in the game, or it was a one-shot in the demo.
Wuchang is all about mastering the tools you are dealt and being efficient with them, as stated before. However, dying repeatedly will have Wuchang build up her “madness”, succumbing to the disease. Players will be notified that their strength increased, but so did their “madness”. Once it hits a breaking point and Wuchang gets defeated, they will respawn with a different twist. This twist is the introduction of your inner demon, the version of Wuchang who succumbed to the madness, will also manifest in the world at the location where you were defeated. This forces players to face the twisted version of themselves. When I first encountered this, I had no idea what was happening and audibly yelled “What the F***?” as this demon version of Wuchang looks just like Wuchang, but with an evil aura.
Needless to say, I got killed by my demon version as this was still very early in my demo playthrough (about 15 minutes in). After respawning, the game introduced this mechanic to me. I have to say this was a very surprising twist.
As the demo went on, I found myself favoring the longsword and learned to rely on dodge quite a bit. I beat one boss at the temple, a mutated creature. After this team loaded me into a different zone. In this different zone, you are introduced to new mechanics, such as summoning allies. This zone had another boss in it, another mutated creature. Additionally, you are given new equipment. I was defeated the first time around as I had to adjust to the new weapon. Second time around, I used the summon ability and felt mastery of the weapon, which made short work of the boss.
After this, I felt the utmost confidence in myself. I was ready to take on the game and whatever it threw at me. I am no Souls expert, but I took to this game faster than a Souls game… or so I thought. I asked the team at Summer Game Fest if there was anything else to show, and they said there was one more area, with an extremely hard boss. I went, “Great, let’s see it”. Once spawned into this area, you have new equipment and new weapons. I was guided to the boss by the team. I was ready to go. I began fighting this boss, who was another Human. This human made short work of me. The team noticed how utterly defeated I was and gave me pointers.
This went to changing equipment and some tips against the boss. The team stressed to take my time, learn, and adapt. This is where I spent the bulk of my demo experience, about 30-40 minutes. Mastering this boss was quite the challenge. However, I can confidently say I did not master it. The team disclosed that only a handful of people attending Summer Game Fest beat this boss. However, it was this battle that got me hooked on the game. I felt alive playing, mastering the boss, adapting, and trying again. It has been some time since a Soulslike game made me feel this way.
That was the moment that I was sold to Wuchang. I personally cannot wait to get my hands on the game again when it releases in July. It was a pleasure to have a game that has a foundation of a Soulslike, but found its own identity while introducing new things. It felt refreshing, and I am sold completely on Wuchang.