Wuchang: Fallen Feathers launched final month to strong vital scores and big gross sales, reaching a peak participant rely of over 130,000 on its first day on Steam. The Soulslike did have a couple of efficiency points at launch, however it’s had a formidable begin to life that ought to solely proceed because the builders at Leenzee proceed to roll out new patches. And whereas Wuchang is a tough beast of a sport within the mould of Darkish Souls, many gamers have already completed their journey by way of the land of Shu and are searching for one thing else to play. You probably have Xbox Game Pass, there’s one other strong Soulslike ready so that you can dive into.
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Lords of the Fallen isn’t a wuxia sport like Wuchang, however it does share some similarities with Leenzee’s first sport. For one, Lords of the Fallen additionally shipped in a less-than-ideal state, resulting in middling vital evaluations and a combined response from gamers. The quasi-reboot of CI Video games and Deck 13’s 2014 sport of the identical title had a number of points at launch, together with fairly a couple of technical issues.
In contrast to Wuchang, Lords of the Fallen has time on its aspect and launched a significant replace, known as “Model 2,” in April. That replace is big, so I received’t listing all the pieces it modified, however the enhancements to on-line co-op are value mentioning. Now, you’ll take pleasure in seamless co-op, which suggests you’ll have shared development together with your pal and retain all loot earned throughout the session.
Plus, CI Video games now lets everybody have a free Buddy’s Pass. Even when your buddy doesn’t personal the sport, you’ll be able to ship them an invitation to obtain Lords of the Fallen and hop into your session. Importantly, they’ll retain and loot, and character development, so in the event that they determine to choose up the sport later, they received’t have to start out over from sq. one.
The replace additionally added revamped fight, a brand new character creator, and even a devoted soar button. It’s not a totally new sport, however the polish CI Video games added with Model 2 is commendable, and one thing Leenzee ought to try to hit because it provides fixes to Wuchang.
The early struggles aren’t the one similarities between the 2 video games. It must be apparent that the 2 share fairly a couple of gameplay similarities. There are all the time slight variations between Soulslike video games, however in case you’re searching for difficult fight that’s going to check your potential, Lords of the Fallen and Wuchang will each do this. Neither sport goes to reside as much as FromSoft’s mastery of the style, however whereas we anticipate The Duskbloods, each video games are strong sufficient mechanically that they’ll scratch that itch.
On high of the fight, Lords of the Fallen and Wuchang share an analogous sufficient design aesthetic that, in case you squint, you would possibly confuse them at instances. As talked about, Lords of the Fallen is a wuxia sport, so it doesn’t have visuals impressed by Chinese language fiction, however it does have similar-looking darkish, brooding environments and big, grotesque monsters.
Once more, it’s removed from a one-to-one comparability between the 2. Wuchang is about throughout the late Ming Dynasty, whereas Lords of the Fallen has a medieval backdrop. Nevertheless, very like the similarities you’d see between Darkish Souls and Sekiro, there’s a vibe between the 2 video games that makes them really feel a bit like cousins.
And even in case you disagree with me that Wuchang and Lords of the Fallen have an analogous look, Lords of the Fallen remains to be value enjoying for followers of powerful motion RPGs. There are numerous soulslikes on the market, however a lot of them drop the ball in execution. We haven’t seen anybody reside as much as or surpass FromSoft’s output, however Lords of the Fallen, like Wuchang, is an effective sufficient model of the system that any fan wants to present it a glance.
That’s doubly true in case you already gave it a glance again in 2023. Model 2 launched so many quality-of-life modifications that it’s nearly like enjoying a brand-new sport. Better of all, the updates to co-op play make it really easy to leap right into a Lords of the Fallen session with mates. And whereas I consider Lords of the Fallen stands up by itself, it’s nearly unattainable to not have a good time when enjoying a tricky sport together with your buds.
Lords of the Fallen is offered now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC. That mentioned, if in case you have Xbox Game Pass, you’ll be able to obtain it there at no additional cost, making it simple to advocate to anybody with the service. In the meantime, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC, however isn’t on Game Pass. That day would possibly come, however you’ll seemingly have to attend awhile.
